scholarly journals What's law got to do with it? Is consumer law the solution to problems faced by student tenants?

Legal Studies ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Emily Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Protection ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Consumer Contract ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Consumer Law ◽  
Legal Advice ◽  
Proactive Approach ◽  
Private Renting

Abstract This paper examines the extent to which law and regulation protects students renting from private individuals or private companies, as opposed to universities, in both of the main types of student accommodation, the private rented sector (PRS) and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA). It first examines the different problems faced by students in both tenure types, notably issues of repair and the failure of PBSA providers to complete accommodation in time for the beginning of term. Secondly, it considers consumerisation of private renting and the extent to which a consumer protection law approach can assist tenants generally, and students specifically. Thirdly, the paper explains how power relationships between students and landlords and issues with access to legal advice restrict access to justice for student as tenants. It is argued that whilst consumer contract law and consumer protection law have something to offer student tenants (particularly in PBSA) a generic consumer approach to the rights of tenants is insufficient because the nature of the landlord and tenant relationship inhibits access to legal redress. It is concluded that in addition to improved consumer protections, a proactive approach by both local authorities and universities could significantly improve the experiences of students.

scholarly journals (Conflict) Principles of European (Consumer) Contract Law – an Update

2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 957-967
Author(s):  
Gralf-Peter Calliess
Keyword(s):  
Action Plan ◽  
German Law ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Green Paper ◽  
Consumer Contract ◽  
European Contract ◽  
Consumer Law ◽  
European Consumer ◽  
Rome Convention ◽  
European Civil Code

In April 2003 I commented on the European Commission's Action Plan on a More Coherent European Contract Law [COM(2003) 68 final] and the Green Paper on the Modernisation of the 1980 Rome Convention [COM(2002) 654 final]. While the main argument of that paper, i.e. the common neglect of the inherent interrelation between both the further harmonisation of substantive contract law by directives or through an optional European Civil Code on the one hand and the modernisation of conflict rules for consumer contracts in Art. 5 Rome Convention on the other hand, remain pressing issues, and as the German Law Journal continues its efforts in offering timely and critical analysis on consumer law issues, there is a variety of recent developments worth noting.

scholarly journals RE-THEORISING CONSUMER LAW

2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Willett
Keyword(s):  
Contract Law ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
The Self ◽  
Consumer Contract ◽  
Consumer Law ◽  
Self Interest

AbstractThis article develops a new theoretical framework for understanding consumer contract law, one based on competing ethics of self-interest/reliance and need. It shows how this is a better way of understanding choices as to levels of protection than the traditional “freedom versus fairness” framework. The self-interest/reliance ethic favours rules allowing traders to use processes to escape responsibility for poor quality and harsh outcomes, while the need ethic is concerned with consumer weaknesses and better protects against such outcomes. The article also shows that need-based rules are usually more effective at improving clarity and certainty, and where such rules cause uncertainty, at least as much uncertainty is caused by the alternative self-interest/reliance-based rules.

scholarly journals “Cláusulas de permanencia”, prácticas comerciales desleales, y estrategias competitivas a la luz de ciertos contratos con operadoras móviles en España: Una visión holística del asunto

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna María Ruiz Martin
Keyword(s):  
Standard Form ◽  
Special Kind ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Consumer Contract ◽  
Consumer Law ◽  
European Consumer ◽  
Business To Consumer ◽  
Telephone Operators ◽  
Telecommunications Market ◽  
Business To Business

En el contenido de determinadas “condiciones generales de la contratación” establecidas en contratos de adhesión, y en concreto, de algunas compañías de telefonía móvil, es una práctica común, la inclusión de cierta “cláusula predispuesta” que por sus características y tras el análisis realizado en esta contribución podrían llegar a considerarse como una cláusula abusiva. Por otro lado, podrían además, tener la condición de práctica comercial desleal según lo establecido en la Ley 3/1991 de Competencia desleal española, atendiendo a lo dispuesto en la Directiva de prácticas comerciales desleales. El análisis pretende poner de relieve estos dos aspectos que están relacionados con otro problema de fondo. La dificultad y falta de mecanismos adecuados entre el reproche de deslealtad y el reproche que se hace en el ámbito del Derecho de los contratos de consumo Business to Consumer-B2C de abusividad a ciertas prácticas. De otro lado, se analiza de forma sucinta, si la inclusión de estas cláusulas podría considerarse como una estrategia competitiva en el Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones de tipo Business to Business-B2B por aquellos operadores que las predisponen en sus contratos de adhesión frente a los operadores, que siendo de menor tamaño, no las predisponen en estos mismos contratos. General Conditions of the Contracts, which are included in certain Adhesion contracts (Standard Form Contracts) and are drafted by the telephone operators companies, include a very special kind of clauses, “retention covenants”. These clauses constitute a limitation for the users and consumers, which also it refrain them to withdrawal the contract with the Mobil operator. One of the drawbacks is that, these legal conditions are allowed to the detriment of the weaker party, the consumer. According to the analysis, these kinds of clauses can be also constitutive of aggressive practices typified in the current Spanish Unfair competition Act and the European Consumer Law, stressing the problems between the connection between the unfair commercial practices and Consumer Contract Law, i.e.: considering these clauses not only as abusives but also unfairs. Moreover, these practices from a Business-to-Business (B2B) approach could be considered an anti-competitive practice, because by means of its establishemnt in these contracts, are hampering the competition, in the Telecommunications Market

scholarly journals They Live and They Make Consumer Law a Poor Instrument of Distributive Justice

2021 ◽  
pp. 76-85
Author(s):  
Szymon Osmola
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Distributive Justice ◽  
Consumer Culture ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Voluntary Agreements ◽  
Consumer Contract ◽  
Consumer Law ◽  
State Of Affairs

Even though consumer contract law concerns voluntary agreements between private parties, it is often considered to be an instrument of the principle of distributive justice, according to which the design of social institutions should benefit the worse-off members of society. The article claims that such a view is mistaken. It appeals to the so-called status quo argument, according to which interpreting consumer law as an instrument of distributive justice may entrench the current, unjust state of affairs, and therefore compound, rather than eradicate, distributive injustice. Within that framework, consumer law is treated as the legal instantiation of consumer culture, which, even if not inherently unjust, poses several risks for individuals and their overall wellbeing. Apart from presenting the abstract argument, the article illustrates it with a vivid example from popular culture – John Carpenter’s iconic film They Live.

scholarly journals The Relevance of the European Consumer Protection Law for the Development of the European Contract Law

2007 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Francesco A Schurr
Keyword(s):  
European Community ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Contract ◽  
Consumer Law ◽  
European Consumer ◽  
Business To Consumer ◽  
Further Development ◽  
European Contract Law

This paper deals with the interaction of consumer law and contract law in the European Union. Over the last two decades the European legislature has adopted many legislative measures in the field of consumer protection that were designed to strengthen the single market and to avoid distortion of competition. Thus the European legislature tried to approximate or harmonise consumer protection standards within the European Community and consequently created a new layer of supranational contract law which now coexists with the traditional national contract law regimes. The paper assesses the various types of contract law on the international, supranational and national levels and discusses the problems arising from the fact that the contract law in the European Community is so diverse. Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Business-to-Consumer Commercial Practices is discussed as a very prominent recent product of European Community consumer legislation. The paper points out how the development of European consumer law serves as a catalyst for the further development of a genuine European contract law.

Articulating the Task of EU Translation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.J.W. Baaij
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Internal Market ◽  
Language Diversity ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Consumer Contract ◽  
Eu Legislation ◽  
Policy Objectives ◽  
Legal Integration

The task that EU Translation needs to accomplish originates from the combined policy objectives of legal integration and language diversity, which in turn rest on two EU fundamental principles: the advancement of a European Internal Market and the respect and protection of Europe’s cultural diversity, respectively. However, a comparison of language versions of EU legislation in the field of consumer contract law illustrates the ways in which the multilingual character of EU legislation might hamper the uniform interpretation and application of EU law. It articulates why pursuing effective legal integration and protecting language diversity requires EU translators and lawyer–linguists to accomplish absolute concordance between language versions.

Commentaries on European Contract Laws

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Jansen ◽  
Reinhard Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Contract Law ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Consumer Contract ◽  
European Contract ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Broad Perspective ◽  
Complex Picture ◽  
General Contract Law ◽  
Common European Sales Law ◽  
European Contract Law

The book provides rule-by-rule commentaries on European contract law (general contract law, consumer contract law, the law of sale and related services), dealing with its modern manifestations as well as its historical and comparative foundations. After the collapse of the European Commission's plans to codify European contract law it is timely to reflect on what has been achieved over the past three to four decades, and for an assessment of the current situation. In particular, the production of a bewildering number of reference texts has contributed to a complex picture of European contract laws rather than a European contract law. The present book adopts a broad perspective and an integrative approach. All relevant reference texts (from the CISG to the Draft Common European Sales Law) are critically examined and compared with each other. As far as the acquis commun (ie the traditional private law as laid down in the national codifications) is concerned, the Principles of European Contract Law have been chosen as a point of departure. The rules contained in that document have, however, been complemented with some chapters, sections, and individual provisions drawn from other sources, primarily in order to account for the quickly growing acquis communautaire in the field of consumer contract law. In addition, the book ties the discussion concerning the reference texts back to the pertinent historical and comparative background; and it thus investigates whether, and to what extent, these texts can be taken to be genuinely European in nature, ie to constitute a manifestation of a common core of European contract law. Where this is not the case, the question is asked whether, and for what reasons, they should be seen as points of departure for the further development of European contract law.

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