UNFAIR CONTRACT TERMS IN EUROPEAN LAW

The book examines Directive 93/13 on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts and its implementation with a twofold aim: first, to understand the extent to which the Directive has influenced and will influence fundamental notions and principles of contract law in the domestic legal systems of the Member States; second, it examines the extent to which the domestic legal traditions of the Member States have influenced the process of drafting of the Directive and, more importantly, will affect the way that the Directive is interpreted and applied in national courts. The focus is mainly on English law (including the 2005 Unfair Terms in Contracts Bill) and on Italian law, but frequent references are made to the French and the German systems.

At the same time, the book has a broader, more ‘European’ concern, in that it aims to distill from the existing Community acquis and from the history and rationale of Directive 93/13 notions and concepts that could guide its interpretation. It is well known that Community law uses terminology which is peculiar to it, and that legal concepts do not necessarily have the same meaning in EC law and in the law of the various Member States: every provision of Community law must be placed in its context and interpreted in the light of its own objectives and rationale, and of the objectives and rationale of Community law as a whole. In this respect, this book aims to identify the contours and features of the emerging European legal tradition, and to assess the impact that this may have on the domestic traditions.

Modern Studies in European Law: Volume 15

Modern Studies in European Law

1 Soft Law in European Community Law

Linda Senden

2 The Impact of European Rights on National Legal Cultures

Miriam Aziz

3 Partnership Rights, Free Movement and EU Law

Helen Toner

4 National Remedies Before the Court of Justice: Issues of

Harmonisation and Differentiation

Michael Dougan

5 The National Courts’ Mandate in the European Constitution

Monica Claes

6 EU Environmental Law: Challenges, Changes and Decision-Making

Maria Lee

7 European Union Law and Defence Integration

Martin Trybus

8 Principles of European Constitutional Law

Armin von Bogdandy & Jürgen Bast

9 EU International Relations Law

Panos Koutrakos

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© Paolisa Nebbia, 2007

Paolisa Nebbia has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

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ISBN-13: 978-1-84113-594-6 (hardback)

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A mia Mamma

Acknowledgements

There are a number of people to whom I am indebted.

Many of my colleagues have read, at different stages and in different forms, parts of or all of this work. I would therefore like to thank Hugh Beale, Steve Weatherill and Paula Giliker for their useful suggestions and Takis Tridimas for providing precious guidance when, a few years ago, I first dealt with unfair terms in EC law in my doctoral thesis.

I am grateful to my German colleagues, Peter Rott and Katja Ziegler for answering my questions on German law and to Erika Szyszczak for providing useful feedback on a paper on public services, which constituted the background to chapter 6.

I am very much indebted to Richard Hart, who believed in this project, and to all the staff at Hart Publishing, who have been incredibly helpful.

I also owe a ‘thank you’ to my own college, St Hilda’s, for providing an inspiring and friendly setting for the writing of this book.

Finally, on both a professional and personal level, I wish to thank Professor Marco Ricolfi of the University of Torino who encouraged my first steps in the academic world.

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