Index
Aequivalenzprinzip 161, 166 Abstract assessment
and reasonable expectations 131
in the context of Directive 93/13 147
in the context of UCTA 56, 60–61, 66–68 in the context of the UTCCR 159160, 163 Italian law 160
Abuse of power French law 34, 89, 90
in general 27, 6, 21, 90
Acte clair 168–169
Acquis communautaire 22, 91–92, 134, 135, 166 Agreed damages clauses 29
Amsterdam Treaty 104
Avantage excessif (see excessive advantage) Average consumer 139–141
Bargaining power
and consumers 74, 83
as a contextual factor 60, 159
English law 36, 38–39, 41, 59, 65, 84, 122 in competition law 84
in Directive 93/13 144, 149, 166 in general 34–35,
Italian law 39–40, 122
Breach of a fundamental term (see fundamental breach)
‘But for’ approach 127 Business party
business to business contracts 24, 25–26, 66, 86, 123
in Directive 93/13 91–93 liability 31, 79, 87, 92, 123
small businesses 61, 82, 87–88, 123
Cahiers des charges 99 Choice of law 13, 17 CLAB database 22, 118
Clausole abusive 145
(see also clausole vessatorie) Clausole vessatorie
in the civil code 32–33, 37, 40 , 50, 117 in the consumer code 145
Clausole bilaterali 39
Commission for unfair terms (France) 27 Competition law
and consumers 70
and public services 105–110 and unfair terms 34 damages for breach of, 83–84
Conformity (of goods to the contract) 154, 168
Conoscenza, conoscibilità (of contract terms) 32, 46, 49–50, 52, 64, 138
Consumer
average consumer 139–141 businesses as, 83–88 competence-based approach 71 confident consumer 12–13, 19–20
consumers’ associations 34, 41–42, 77, 159 EC law 70–72
English law 30, 38, 54, 58, 75–76, 78–81, 86 French law 27, 34, 75
Function-based approach 72 German law 76
in competition law 69–70
in the Brussels Regulation 70, 73–74 in the EC Treaty 4–5
in the Rome Convention 13 inexperienced 141
Italian law 77–78, 81–83 legal persons as, 83
Consumer protection and Directive 93/13 21
as a mandatory requirement 10 in the EC 4–7, 9,70
Contextual factors 60–61, 66, 158–160 Contract
as a promise 126, 149, 162 cancellation of, 152, 163
circumstances surrounding conclusion of, 3–4, 66–67, 132, 159
for the provision of public services 96, 97–103, 105–110
on standard terms (see standard form contracts)
signed contract 35, 37, 38, 46, 50, 122 subject matter 4, 27, 49, 124–129, 129–132,
167 Contract terms
definitional approach 125–132 exclusionary approach 125–132 individually negotiated terms (see negotia-
tion)
relating to price 4, 26, 27, 115, 124–125, 130–132
‘Core’ terms 27, 124–129, 129–132
Damages
for breach of competition law 83–84 non-material 170
retailer’s right to, 86
Decreto legge 43
224 Index
‘Default’ rules
as ‘mandatory’ rules 96, 101–102, 110, 115 defective goods 25, 30, 89, 150
German law 26, 111
De minimis 18
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 41,42, 87, 103, 132, 133
Distance marketing of financial services 91 Distance sales directive
objective scope of application 134
subjective scope of application 70, 92, 93, 122 Distortions of competition 7, 11–12, 15, 19–21,
171
Doorstep sales directive
minimum harmonization formula 141 objective scope of application 134
subjective scope of application 70, 72, 92, 93, 122
Duty of information
as an obstacle to trade 17
Economic activity 107–110
Effet utile, effectiveness 83, 97, 166, 168, 171 Equal treatment 81–83, 84–85
Excessive advantage 27, 99, 144 Exclusion clauses (see exemption clauses) Exemption clauses
and fundamental breach 54,55 and free movement 17
and incorporation 29
and interpretation 52–54, 66 German law 26
Italian law 33,58
UCTA 30, 86–87, 125–128, 152 Expectations
and interpretation 56, 65, 66 and incorporation 47, 49, 65, 66 contextual expectations 158
normative expectations 153–155, 162–163 reasonable expectations 130–131, 155–158,
163, 165, 168
Fair dealing 48, 146, 149 Fairness 143–152
and formal controls 45, 56
Directive 93/13 3, 4, 105, 108, 143–145, 149–151
English law 28, 58, 65, 66, 146–148, 161–162 French law 27
German law 25–26, 161
Italian law 62, 138, 145–146, 160 (see also unfair terms)
Fair and reasonable 67, 138, 147–148 Freedom of contract 5, 23, 34, 48, 59, 65, 68 Fundamental breach 28, 29, 54–56, 125
Good faith
Directive 93/13 143–152, 3
Italian law 62–64
objective 145,148 procedural 147 subjective 145, 148 substantive 147
Goods
free movement of, 9–10, 11, 13, 16–21 166 and Directive 93/13 132–134
nature of, 4, 69, 105 unsolicited 6
sale and supply of 30–31, 55, 58, 79, 101, 113–114
Guarantee
deposit guarantee 145
in consumer sales 11, 14, 70 90, 161 written 30
In the course of a business 29–30, 35–36, 78–81, 92–93, 116
Incorporation
English law 28, 38 46–49, 66–67, 158 German law 24, 49
Italian law 46, 49–52
Inequality of bargaining power (see bargaining power)
Inhaltskontrolle 25, 100 Insurance
availability of, 59, 60, 61, 66
contracts 55, 60, 81, 125, 128, 137, 161 Internal market
and consumer policy 6, 7, 15
and Directive 93/13 3, 9–12, 21, 176 in general, 20–21, 90, 91
public services 103–104,
interpretatio contra proferentem 4, 33, 142 Interpretation
of EC law 20, 133, 165, 166, 169 Italian law 33, 51, 55, 62, 142
English law 28, 29, 52–55, 56, 65–66, 142 German law 25, 37
in Directive 93/13 142
Injunctions 42, 44, 157, 169
Kelsen, H. 68
Labelling 70, 137
Land, contracts relating to, 132–134 Limitation clauses
Directive 93/13 4
English law 55, 60, 61, 123, 125, 153 Italian law 32, 126–127
Mandatory requirements (Cassis) 14, 15, 111–112
Mandatory provisions 95–96, 100–103, 110–114, 166
Methods of adjudication abstract fairness 160–162 annex-based 152–153
contextual elements 158–160 in general 162–163, 166–168
normative expectations 153–155 reasonable expectations 155–158
MEQR 17, 20
Minimum harmonization 9, 88 Misleading advertising 14, 70, 71 139–140 Misrepresentation 31, 46, 146
Negligence
Italian law 33, 127
English law 29–31, 52–54, 57–58, 61, 66, 152 Negotiation (of contract terms)
Directive 93/13 3, 90, 115, 118–120, 166 English law 59, 87, 116–117, 121–124, 159
French law 34 German law 34
Italian law 32, 36–37, 117–118, 120–121, 148
Obstacle to trade
consumer protection, as 10–11 Directive 93/13 12–14
in general 16–19, 19–21, 85, 90 Occupation of the field 89
Office of Fair Trading (OFT) 42, 130, 138, 151–156, 159, 163
Opt-out provisions (see default rules)
Ordre public technologique 64 Ordine pubblico 58
Package travel 70, 131, 155, 170–171 Penalty clauses 51
Plain intelligible language 4, 37, 50, 115, 135–141
and core exclusions 4, 124 Pre-emption 9, 88–89, 91 Preliminary references 165–166, 170
Price, term relating to 4, 26, 27, 115, 124–125, 130–132
Preventive actions 42, 44, 158, 159 , 163 Product liability 70
Products safety 70
Professionista 93 Public order 33, 64 Public service
and competition law 103–110, 110–114 definition 95, 166
Directive 93/13 95–97, 100–103 French law 99–100, 171 German law 100
Italian law 98–99 UCTA 97–98
Index 225
Qualified Majority Voting 8
Rawls, J. 150 Reasonableness
and Directive 93/13 41, 144 and incorporation 47–48, 66
UCTA 30, 38, 58–62, 66–67,, 116, 166
Selling Arrangement 16, 18 Separation of powers (France) 99, 171 Significant imbalance
and methods of adjudication 152–163 Directive 93/13 3, 143–145
English law 146–148 Italy 145–146
possible meanings 148–152 Single European Act 8
Service of General Interest (SGI) 95, 103–105 Small business see Business party
Solidarity 108–109 Standard form contracts
Directive 93/13 6, 9, 21, 85, 89–90, 118–120 German law 24–26, 34, 49, 76, 100 individually negotiated terms 115, 116
in general 23
Italian law 32–33, 36–37, 117, 122
English law 35–36, 49, 116–117, 121–122, 123 Statutory provisions (see regulatory provisions) Subject matter 4, 27, 49, 124–132
Reasonable expectations (see expectations) Regulatory provisions
Directive 93/13 95–96 German law 100
in general 103 Italian law 101–102 English law 102–103
Timeshare 132
Total harmonization 91
Transparency 4, 25, 135–141, 156
Transaction costs 11, 15, 89
Treu und Glauben (see good faith)
Unreasonable disadvantage (German law) 25–26, 62, 139, 144, 155
Unangemessene Benachteiligung (see unreasonable disadvantage)
Unternehmer 24, 25, 76
Waffengleicheit 161, 166
Welfare state 5
