Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
S. Whittaker (2011)
The Optional Instrument of European Contract Law and Freedom of Contract, 7
[For more than 25 years, the European Union (EU) and its legal predecessor, the European Community, have adopted legislation directly aimed at improving the position of consumer who wish to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the internal market. This legislation generally deals with selected issues only, such as the provision of pre-contractual information or a right of withdrawal from a contract where the circumstances in which it was made (at a distance or at the consumer’s home) or the nature of the transaction so justifies. There are some measures of more general application, such as the regulation of unfair contract terms or the sale of goods to consumers. The particular type of measure used by the EU has been the Directive. A directive does not apply directly, but needs to be transposed into the national laws of each of the 27 EU Member States, i.e., each Member State has to adopt legislation, or amend existing legislation, to give effect to the requirements of a particular directive. This process is commonly referred to as “harmonisation”, although the terminology used in the EU Treaties is that of “approximation”. What this means is that the EU has tried to introduce a common set of consumer protection rules by requiring each national law to be adjusted, rather than by adopting legislation which would apply directly without the need of further action by the Member States. As the directives adopted to date only deal with specific aspects of consumer protection, there is considerable interaction between national provisions giving effect to EU directives and related areas of domestic law; indeed, it is often the case that domestic rules had to be adopted to supplement particular rules required by a directive.]
Published: Oct 24, 2011
Keywords: European Union; Optional Instrument; European Contract; Habitual Residence; Consumer Contract
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.