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 (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 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.

scholarly journals Liability in Polish law for infringement of the pre-contractual obligation to inform

2018 ◽  
pp. 153-168
Author(s):  
Magdalena Dziedzic
Keyword(s):  
Contract Law ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Consumer Law ◽  
Contractual Obligation ◽  
European Consumer ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Business Entities ◽  
Theory Of Law ◽  
Obligation To Inform

In contemporary contract and consumer law, obligations to inform are an example of instruments (protective ones) which imposes on business entities a duty to make a statement of knowledge (a representation), the content of which is determined by regulations and the purpose of which is to aid the consumer in taking a well-informed, rational decision. Appropriate regulations referring to liability for failing to carry out this obligation to inform aim to maintain optimal trust between the contracting parties and, as a result, lead to a balance in the parties’ position, at the same time upholding the principle of the freedom of contract. In accordance with the fundamental assumption in European consumer law, one’s liability towards a consumer should meet the criteria of both efficiency and proportionality, which means that one should not strictly consider such liability purely formally, i.e., as maintaining an economic balance between the parties. The sanction the company shall incur is to serve the actual satisfaction of the interests of the consumer, and not only to make a profit. Additionally, the sanctions for neglecting the obligation to inform are expected to encourage companies to comply with them. Neglecting this obligation to inform in the pre-contractual phase may take the form of not providing information which is required and explicitly defined by law or providing incomplete information. A large amount of detail in determining a business’s responsibility is presumedto guarantee the consumer knowledge of his/her rights and to enable him/her to evaluate the risks resulting from entering into a particular transaction. One must not, however, ignore the fact that providing excessive, thus illegible, information must be treated equally to non-disclosure of such information, which may result in infringement of the aforementioned regulations. Neglecting the obligation to inform may also arise in such a case where the consumer is not provided with a particular piece of information, despite the lack of a definite legal basis in this regard – such as a detailed regulation contained in an act – but such a duty would result from a general loyalty duty between the contracting parties. In the beginning, it should be noted that the liability for an infringement of the pre-contractual obligation to inform is characterised by system heterogeneity. In particular, it refers to the distinct consumer protection regime. It is very often the case that depending on the contractor’s status (professional or nonprofessional) the legal consequences of failing to inform or improperly informing are framed in different ways. One must bear in mind the difference between solely the failure to inform or to improperly carry out the pre-contractual obligation to inform (pursued within pre-contractual liability, fundamentally according to an ex delicto regime) and the consequences arising from the content of the delivered information, i.e., the guarantee of definite elements in the legal relationship of an obligatory nature (assigned to the classic liability in an ex contractu regime). The subject of civil liability for the infringement of duties to inform can be analysed from two perspectives: firstly, from an economic point of view, i.e., whether for the aggrieved party and for the market at large it would be more favourable for the infringement of the duty to inform to be pursued within an ex contractu or ex delicto regime, and secondly, from the perspective of the theory of law, whether for the system of contract law it would be better for this liability to be pursued within an ex contractu or ex delicto regime. In response to the second question, the position of academics is that the liability for the violation of trust due to failing to properly inform the consumer should be pursued in an ex delicto system in order to maintain the internal cohesion of contract law.

Contracting with small businesses: include unfair terms in your standard form contracts at your peril

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 550
Author(s):  
Anne Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Standard Form ◽  
Consumer Law ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Form Contract ◽  
Unfair Terms ◽  
Gas Space ◽  
Business To Business ◽  
Standard Form Contract

Many companies operating in the oil and gas space might think that the Australian Consumer Law has little impact on them. However, in November 2016, amendments were made to the Competition and Consumer Act extending the unfair contract terms regime under that legislation beyond dealings with individual consumers to small businesses. This reform has potential far-reaching consequences for companies in the oil and gas sector which use standard form contracts with suppliers of goods and services. A standard form contract is one that is prepared by one party to the contract where the other party has little or no opportunity to negotiate the terms. If the contract counterparty is a small business (employing less than 20 employees) and if the upfront price is no more than $300 000 or $1 million if the contract is for more than 12 months, it is caught by this regime. If the standard form contract contains terms which are unfair, those terms may be declared void and there may be other consequences, including orders for monetary redress, penalties and the entire contract being avoided. This extended abstract will explain the business to business unfair contracts regime, including what contracts it affects, which contracts and terms are excluded from the regime, and it will examine, by way of some case studies, the types of terms which have been found to be unfair.

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 Contratos de compraventa de bienes (Directiva 2019/771) y suministro de contenidos o servicios digitales (Directiva 2019/770) – ámbito de aplicación y grado de armonización = Sale of goods (Directive 2019/771) and supply of digital content and digital services (Directive 2019/770) – scope and degree of harmonisation

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 930
Author(s):  
Jorge Morais Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Contract Law ◽  
Digital Content ◽  
Official Journal ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Consumer Contract ◽  
Member States ◽  
European Consumer ◽  
Digital Services ◽  
Scope Of Application

Resumen: La Directiva 2019/770, relativa a determinados aspectos de los contratos de suministro de contenidos y servicios digitales, y la Directiva 2019/771, relativa a determinados aspectos de los contratos de compraventa de bienes, publicadas en el Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea en mayo de 2019, representan un hito muy importante en el Derecho contractual europeo en materia de consumo. En el presente texto se analiza el ámbito de aplicación de estos dos instrumentos jurídicos y se destaca el margen de arbitrio que tienen los Estados miembros, señalando los aspectos en los que habrá que modificar el Derecho nacional, en algunos casos reduciendo el nivel de protección de los consumidores.Palabras clave: consumidor, compraventa de bienes, contenido digital, servicio digital, Direc­tiva 2019/770, Directiva 2019/771.Abstract: Directive 2019/770 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services and Directive 2019/771 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods, published in the Official Journal of the European Union in May 2019, represent a very impor­tant milestone in European consumer contract law. Throughout this text, an analysis is carried out of the scope of application of these two legal instruments, highlighting the margin of discretion that Member States have and pointing out aspects where national law will have to be modified, in some cases by re­ducing the level of consumer protection.Keywords: consumer, sales contract, digital content, digital services, Directive 2019/770, Di­rective 2019/771.

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