Crónica de una muerte anunciada: The commission proposal for a "directive on consumer rights"

Common Market Law Review

Volumn 46, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 471-519

  Micklitz, Hans W ^a,b   Reich, Norbert ^a,b  

^a EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE   (Italy)

^b UNIVERSITY OF BREMEN   (Germany)

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EID: 67649452223     PISSN: 01650750     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (261)

1. Title of a book by Marques, Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Chronicle of the death foretold) (Madrid, 1981).
2. COM(2008) 614.
3. Council Directive 85/577/EEC of 20 Dec. 1985 to protect the consumer in respect of contracts negotiated away from business premises O.J. 1985, L 372/31.
4. Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts, O.J. 1993, L 95/29.
5. Directive 97/7/EC of the EP and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts, O.J. 1997, L 144/19.
6. Directive 1999/44/EC of the EP and of the Council of 25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees, O.J. 1999, L 171/12.
7. Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours, O.J. 1990, L 158/59.
8. Directive 94/47/EC of the EP and the Council of 26 Oct. 1994 on the protection of purchasers in respect of certain aspects of contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis, O.J. 1994, L 280/19.
9. Dir. 2008/122/EC of 14 Feb. 2009 on the protection of consumers in respect of certain aspects of timeshare, long-term holiday product, resale and exchange contracts, repealing Dir. 94/47/EC, O.J. 2009, L 43/10. It contains a full harmonization clause though only for certain aspects (sale and resale of timeshares and long-term holiday products, as well as the exchange of rights deriving from timeshare contracts).
10. COM(2006)744 final, 4.
11. See critical remarks by Micklitz and Reich, "Europäisches Verbraucherrecht - Quo vadis? (Überlegungen zum Grünbuch der Kommission zur Überprüfung des gemeinschaftlichen Besitzstandes im Verbraucherschutz v. 8.2.2007)", (2007) Verbraucher und Recht (VuR), 121.
12. Micklitz, "Der gemeinschaftsrechtliche Verbraucherschutz-Acquis. Rechtspolitischer Überblick und Zukunftsperspektiven"in Wagner and Wedl, Bilanz und Perspektiven zum europäischen Recht, Nachdenkschrift anlässlich 50 Jahre Römische Verträge (ÖGB, 2007), pp. 293-323.
13. Twigg-Flesner, "No sense of purpose or direction? The modernisation of European Contract Law", (2007) ERCL, 198
14. Heiderhoff and Kenny, "The Commission's 2007 Green Paper on the Consumer Acquis: deliberate deliberation?", (2007) EL Rev., 740.
15. Twigg-Flesner, Europeanisation of Contract Law, (Ashgate, 2008), pp. 172-180
16. Terryn, "The Green Paper on the Review of the Consumer Acquis", (2007) Tijdsschrift voor Consumentenrecht & Handelspraktiken, 105.
17. See Micklitz, Reich and Rott, Understanding European Consumer Law (Intersentia, 2008), at para 1.8.
18. Directive 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 Sept. 2002.
19. concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services and amending Council Directive 90/619/EEC and Directives 97/7/EC and 98/27/EC, O.J. 2002, L 271/16.
20. Directive 2005/29/EC of the EP and the Council of 11 May 2001 on unfair commercial practices, O.J. 2005, L 149/22.
21. Directive 2008/48/EC of the EP and the Council of 23 April 2008 on credit agreements for consumers and repealing Council Directive 87/102/EEC, O.J. 2008, L 122/66.
22. COM(2001)398; and later progress communications, COM(2003)64; COM(2004)651; COM(2007)447 final; the discussion which followed will not be documented here.
23. Acquis group, Principles of Existing EC Contract Law, (Sellier, 2007) ("ACQP").
24. Study Group on a European Civil Code, Draft Common Frame of Reference ("DCFR") - Interim Outline Edition, 2008. For an evaluation see the contributions to Schulze (Ed.), Common Frame of Reference and Existing EC Contract Law (Sellier, 2008).
25. In the same vein, Rott and Terryn, "The Proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights. No single set of rules", (2009) ZEuP, forthcoming, and Howells and Schulze, "Overview of the Proposed Consumer Rights Directive"in Howells and Schulze (Eds.), Modernising and Harmonising Consumer Contract Law (Sellier, 2009, forthcoming), at pp. 3 and 10.
26. Howells, Micklitz and Wilhelmsson, European Fair Trading Law (Ashgate, 2006), at p. 36.
27. Pp. 2-3.
28. Vogenauer and Weatherill, "The European Community's competence for a comprehensive harmonisation of contract law - an empirical analysis", (2005) EL Rev., 821, at 834-835.
29. Regulation (EC) No. 593/2008 of the EP and the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations ("Rome I"), O.J. 2008, L 176/6; for a discussion see Garcimartín Alférez, "The Rome I Regulation: Much ado about nothing?", (2008) The European Legal Forum, I-61; Pfeiffer, "Neues internationales Vertragsrecht", (2008) EuZW, 626-627; Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at paras. 7.14-7.19; Lando and Nielsen, "The Rome I Regulation", (2008) CML Rev., 1687, at 1707-1710.
30. See for an early analysis Weatherill, "The evolution of European Consumer Law and Policy: From well-informed consumer to confident consumer"in Micklitz (Ed.), Rechtseinheit oder Rechtsvielfalt in Europa? Rolle und Funktion des Verbraucherrechts in der EG und den MOE Staaten (Nomos, 1996), p. 423 and for a critical account of the concept in the way it has been twisted by the European Commission: Wilhelmsson, "The Abuse of the 'Confident Consumer' as Justification for EC Consumer Law", (2004) Journal of Consumer Policy ("JCP"), 317.
31. See Howells and Wilhelmsson, EC Consumer Law (Ashgate, 1997), at p. 19 insisting on legal pluralism
32. Stuyck, "European Consumer Law after the Treaty of Amsterdam: Consumer Policy in or beyond the Internal Market?", (2000) CML Rev., 367, at 381-382.
33. Micklitz, Reich and Weatherill, "EU Treaty Revision and Consumer Protection", (2004) JCP, 367. See also the explanation in the Opinion of 15 Nov. 2007 by A.G. Trstenjak in Case C-404/06, Quelle v. Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen, judgment of 17 April 2008, nyr, at paras. 52-53 concerning Dir. 99/44.
34. See Reich, "Competition between legal orders - A New paradigm of EC Law?", (1992) CML Rev., 861, at 890
35. see also Weatherill, EU Consumer Law and Policy (Elgar, 2005), at p. 249.
36. Weatherill, "The Constitutional Competence of the EU to Deliver Social Justice", (2006) ERCL, 136
37. Roth, "Rechtssetzungskompetenzen für das Privatrecht in der EU", (2008) EWS, 401.
38. Stuyck, "Politique Européenne de la consummation", Lexis-Nexis Fasc. 2000, 2008, at paras. 18-20
39. a somewhat different approach has been suggested by Unberath and Johnston, "The Double-Headed Approach of the ECJ concerning Consumer Protection", (2007) CML Rev., 1237, at 1281 criticizing the "double headed"approach of the ECJ to consumer protection: in the area of negative harmonization it left little room to Member States measures restricting free trade, while in the are of positive harmonization the Court widened the interventionist potential, without however putting doubts on the minimum harmonization principle, even though it might create barriers to trade; see Cases C-322/01, Doc Morris, [2003] ECR I-14887, para 63.
40. C-71/02, Herbert Karner Industrie-Auktionen v. Troostwijk GmbH, [2004] ECR I-3025, paras. 50-52.
41. C-441/04, A-Punkt-Schmuckhandel v. Claudia Schmidt, [2006] ECR I-2093.
42. Case C-205/07, L. Gysbrechts, Santurel Inter BVBA, judgment of 16 Dec. 2008, nyr; for a critique of the even more outspoken Opinion of A.G. Trstenjak of 17 July 2008, see Reich and Micklitz, op. cit. supra note 11, 431.
43. P. 4; see for a critical account Loos, Review of the European Consumer Acquis (Sellier, 2008).
44. Schulte-Nölke, Twigg-Flesner and Ebers (Eds.), EC Consumer Law Compendium (Sellier, 2008), at pp. 789-790.
45. Explanatory memorandum, 8.
46. See with regard to a similar problem in the field of unfair commercial practices Abbamonte, "The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and its General Prohibition"in Weatherill and Bernitz, The Regulation of Unfair Commercial Practices under EC Directive 2005/29. New Rules and New Techniques (Hart, 2007), p. 11.
47. Wilhelmsson, "Full Harmonisation of Consumer Contract Law?", (2008) ZEuP, 225.
48. Wilhelmsson, "Full Harmonisation of Consumer Contract Law?", (2008) ZEuP, 225; see Eurobarometer Oct. 2008, at 23, 97, 98, 104, 106, 109 which confirms such an interpretation, ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/docs/eurobar_298_report_final_en.pdf.
49. Council Directive 2003/8/EC of 27 Jan. 2003 concerning legal aid in cross-border litigation, O.J. 2003, L 26/41.
50. Schulte-Nölke, Twigg-Flesner and Ebers, op. cit. supra note 30, at p. 797.
51. See Reich, "A European Contract Law or an EU Contract Law Regulation for Consumers?", (2005) JCP, 383; Stuyck, op. cit supra note 27, para 13.
52. Weatherill, "Pre-emption, harmonisation and the distribution of competence"in Barnard and Scott (Eds.), The Law of the Single European Market (Hart, Oxford, 2002), at p. 52. See now Art. 5(1) EU of the Lisbon Treaty which restates the existing constitutional acquis of the EC/EC and has been underlined by the ECJ in its well known tobacco judgment, Case C-376/98, Germany v. EP and Council, [2000] ECR I-8419, at para 83.
53. For an overview of duties of national courts under Art. 10 see Temple Lang, "Article 10 EC - The Most Important General Principle of Community Law"in Bernitz et al (Eds.), General Principles of EC Law in a Process of Development (Kluwer, 2008), p. 75, at 89-92.
54. Roth, op. cit. supra note 27, 401, at 414.
55. See Weatherill, "Maximum or minimum harmonisation; or What kind of Europe do we want?"in Boele-Woelki and Grosheide (Eds.), The Future of European Contract Law, Essays in Honor of Ewoud Hondius, (Kluwer, 2007), at p. 133.
56. It is here that the deficiencies of the DCFR can be found; see Reich, (2008) JCP, 369; Micklitz, "The Visible Hand of European Regulatory Private Law"in (2009) YEL, forthcoming. See also Cafaggi, "Contractual Networks and the Small Business Act: Towards European Principles?", (2008) ERCL, 493, at 525.
57. Which so far has had little importance in the monitoring of legislative acts by the Community, see Roth, op. cit. supra note 27, at 404.
58. Case C-344/04, IATA and ELFAA v. Department for Transport, [2006] ECR I-403, para 80; Stuyck, op. cit. supra note 25, at 397.
59. See Case C-470/03, A.G.M.COS.MET v. Suomen Valtio & T. Lehtinen, [2007] ECR I-2749.
60. Critique by Reich, "A.G.M. COS.MET or: Who is protected by EC safety regulation?", (2008) EL Rev., 85.
61. Details Howells, Micklitz and Wilhelmsson, op. cit. supra note 25, at pp. 49-81; Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op, cit. supra note 12, at pp. 2.12-2.16.
62. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at 5.4-5.10.
63. Pfeiffer, op. cit. supra note 23, 626; Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at 7.16.
64. C-269/95, Benincasa v. Dental Kit, [1997] ECR I-3767.
65. C-89/91, Shearson Lehmann Hutton v. TVB Treuhandgesellschaft, [1993] ECR I-139.
66. Case C-464/01, Gruber v. Bay Wa AG, [2005] ECR I-439.
67. Reich, Understanding EU Law, 2nd ed. (Intersentia, 2005), at 246.
68. Case C-541/99, Cape v. Ideal Service, [2001] ECR I-9049.
69. Case C-361/89, di Pinto, [1991] ECR I-1189.
70. Directive 2006/123/EC of the EP and the Council of 12 Dec. 2006 on services in the internal market, O.J. 2006, L 376/36.
71. Directive 2007/64/EC of the EP and the Council of 13 Nov. 2007 on payment services in the internal market, O.J. 2007, L 319/1.
72. Regulation (EC) 261/2004 of the EP and the Council of 11 Feb. 2004 establishing rules on compensation and assistance of passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation and long delays of flights, O.J. 2004, L 46/1.
73. The European Commission has recently published two draft regulations which extent that concept to other areas of passenger rights, COM(2008)816 final on maritime passengers and COM(2008)817 final on bus passengers.
74. Directive 2003/54/EC of the EP and of the Council of 26 June 2003 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 96/92/EC, O.J. 2003, L 176/37.
75. Directive 2003/55/EC of the EP and of the Council of 26 June 2003 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 98/30/EC, O.J. 2003, L 176/57.
76. Overview in Micklitz, "Customer rights, consumer protection and public services"in Cremona and de Witte (Eds), Academy of European Law (2009) forthcoming.
77. This is, however, criticized by Eidenmüller et al., "Der gemeinsame Referenzrahmen für das Europäische Privatrecht", (2008) JZ, 529, at 548.
78. Schulte-Nölke, Twigg-Flesner and Ebers, op. cit. supra note 30, at pp. 670-699
79. For an overview of the discussion Hondius, "The Notion of Consumer: EU vs. Member States", (2006) Sydney Law Review, 89.
80. D. 2005. 1948. See Calais-Auloy and Steinmetz, Droit de la consommation, 7th ed. (Dalloz, 2007) paras. 12-15.
81. BGHZ 162, 253, 257 distinguished by the later judgment of 15 Nov. 2007, WM 2007, 2392 = WuB IV A. § 14 BGB 1.08 with annotation Micklitz and Purnhagen; for an overview of German law see Micklitz, "Commentary before §§ 13 BGB"in Münchner, Kommentar zum BGB, 5. A. (Beck, 2006), § 13 BGB paras. 50-55; Grundmann and Ochmann, "German Contract Law Five Years after the Fundamental Contract Law Reform", (2007) ERCL, 450, at 456.
82. Howells and Weatherill, Consumer Protection Law, (Ashgate, 2005), at p. 393 including persons setting up a business.
83. Koller-Tumler, "Grundlagen des vertragsrechtlichen Konsumentenschutzes"in Kramer (Ed.), Konsumentenschutz im Privatrecht (Helbing Lichtenhahn, 2008), at pp. 72-73.
84. For the new consumer credit Directive 2008/48 see the discussion by Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at para 5.10.
85. Case C-101/01, Bodil Lindqvist, [2003] ECR I-12971.
86. Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 Oct. 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (O.J. 1995, L 281/31).
87. Reich, "Crisis or Future of European Consumer Law"in Twigg-Flesner et al. (Eds.), The Yearbook of Consumer Law 2009, (Ashgate, 2008), p. 3, at 18-25.
88. Ibid., at pp. 6-10.
89. Beginning with the famous Cassis case, 120/78, Rewe v. Bundesmonopolamt für Branntwein, [1979] ECR 649; for a later example see Case C-358/01, Commission v. Spain, [2003] ECR I-13145, at para 53 relating to free movement of goods.
90. Howells, Micklitz and Wilhelmsson, op. cit. supra note 20, at pp. 147-158; Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at para 2.34; criticism has been voiced by Leistner, "Bestand und Entwicklungsperspektiven des Europäischen Lauterkeitsrechts"(2009) ZEuP, 56, at 75.
91. See the study by Rischowsky and Döring, "Consumer Policy in a Market Economy: Considerations from the Perspective of the Economics of Information as well a Behavioural Economics", (2008) JCP, 281.
92. Reich, op. cit supra note 70, at p. 9.
93. See Micklitz, "Regulatory Strategies on Services Contracts in EC Law"in Cafaggi and Muir Watt (Eds.), Regulatory Strategies and New Modes of Governance, forthcoming.
94. Ackermann, "Das Informationsmodell im Recht der Dienstleistungen", (2009) ZEuP, forthcoming.
95. Rott and Terryn, op. cit. supra note 19.
96. Recital 56 of the Proposal reads as follows: "Nothing in this Directive prevents traders from offering consumers contractual arrangements which go beyond the protection afforded by this Directive."
97. Micklitz, "The Service Directive - The making of consumer contract law via standardisation, the example of the Service Directive"in Festschrift für G. Brüggemeier (2009), p. 483.
98. For a discussion see Twigg-Flesner and Wilhelmsson, "Pre-contractual information duties in the acquis communautaire", (2006) ERCL, 441; criticism of this approach has been voiced by Jansen and Zimmerman, "Restating the Acquis Communautaire? A Critical examination of the 'Principles of Existing EC Contract Law'", (2008) MLR, 505, at 532.
99. For comments see Twigg-Flesner, "Pre-contractual duties: from the acquis to the CFR"in Schulze op. cit. supra note 18, at p. 97.
100. Beale, "Pre-contractual Obligations: The General Contract Law Background"in Varul et al. (Eds.), European Initiatives (CFR) and Reform of Civil Law in New Member States, Juridica International (Tartu, 2008), p. 42.
101. scepticism with regard to commercial contracts has been voiced by Fages, "Pre-contractual duties in the DCFR", (2008) ERCL, 304.
102. critique by Eidenmüller et al., "Der gemeinsame Referenzrahmen für das Europäische Privatrecht", (2008) JZ, 529, at 544-545.
103. Howells, Micklitz and Wilhelmsson, op. cit. supra note 20, at p. 111.
104. See on the relationship between unfair commercial practices and contract law, Leistner, Richtiger Vertrag und lauterer Wettbewerb - eine grundlagenorientierte Studie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der europäischen Perspektive, Habilitationsschrift, Jus privatum Band 119 (Tübingen, 2007) and Whittaker, "The relationship of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive to European and national contract laws"in Weatherill and Bernitz (Eds.), op. cit. supra note 37, at p. 139.
105. Calais-Auloy and Steinmetz, op. cit. supra note 67, at paras. 51-54.
106. Sefton-Green, Mistake, Fraud and Duty to Inform in European Contract Law (Cambridge University Press, 2005)
107. Kaerdi, "The Development of the Concept of Pre-Contractual Duties in Estonian Law", (2008) Juridica Int., at 209, also referring to German law.
108. See Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at para 8.1; Magnus, "The damages rule in the acquis communautaire, in the Acquis Principles and in the DCFR"in Schulze, op. cit. supra note 18, at p. 206.
109. for a more general discussion see Tridimas, The General Principles of Community Law, 2nd ed. (2006, OUP), at p. 418; Reich, op. cit. supra note 51, at p. 239.
110. For a discussion see Reich, op. cit. supra note 70, at p. 8.
111. Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001 of 22 Dec. 2000 on jurisdiction and the ecognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, O.J. 2001, L 12/1.
112. Regulation (EC) No. 864/2007 of the EP and the Council of 11 July 2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II), O.J. 2007, L 199/1.
113. See Case C-334/00, Fonderie Officiene Meccaniche Tacconi and HWS, [2002] ECR I-7353, however concerned with business relations.
114. Para 23.
115. Case C-274/96, Criminal proceedings against H.O. Bickel and U. Franz, [1998] ECR I-7637; Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, 1.13.
116. For a recent example see Case C-490/04, Commission v. Germany, [2007] ECR I-6095, para 71, concerning documents for posted workers from non-member countries to be translated into German; for an overview and its importance for consumer law see Micklitz, "Zum Recht des Verbrauchers auf die eigene Sprache (C.cas.)", (2003) ZEuP, 653, Somma, "Sprachgesetzgebung in Frankreich und Italien: Rechtsnationalismus oder Recht des Schwächerern", (1998) ZEuP, 701.
117. There are exceptions in the Timeshare Directive 94/47 (now Art. 4(3) of Dir. 2008/122) and in Annex III of the Life Assurance Dir. 2002/83/EC, O.J. 2002, L 345/1.
118. see the somewhat protracted Piageme controversies, Case C-369/89, Piageme v. Peeters (Piageme I), [1991] ECR I-2971, at para 13.
119. C-85/94, Piageme and Others v. Peeters, [1995] ECR I-2955, paras. 15, 29 concerning the imposition of a mandatory language requirement of the area in which the product is marketed beyond the "easily understood language"which may be another language, maybe even English as lingua franca of the EU; see Twigg-Flesner, op. cit. supra note 11, at 70.
120. Art. 44 of Directive 2002/83/EC of the EP and the Council of 5 Nov. 2002 concerning life insurances, O.J. 2002, L 345/1.
121. Rott, "Informationspflichten in Fernabsatzverträgen als Paradigma für die Sprachenproblematik im Vertragsrecht", (1999) ZVglRWiss, 382-409, at 394 (applicability of the lex causae - Vertragsstatut).
122. Directive 2000/31/EC of the EP and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market ("Directive on electronic commerce"), O.J. 2000, L 178/12.
123. For a plea in this direction see the contributions in Wilhelmsson, Punio and Pohjolainen (Eds.), Private Law and the Many Cultures of Europe (Ashgate, 2007).
124. See Art. 19 of Directive 2001/34 of the Parliament and Council of 4 Nov. 2003 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading and amending Directive 2001/34/EC, which implicitly relies on English alone, Mattil and Möslein, "Die Sprache des Emissionsprospekts", (2007) WM, 819, at 820.
125. Sefton-Green, "Sense and sensibilities", (2008) ERCL, 281, at 287.
126. Whittaker, Cambridge Yearbook of European Studies (2006), at 229
127. Reich, "Transformation of Contract Law and Civil Justice in the New EU Member Countries - The Example of the Baltic States, Hungary and Poland", (2005) PennStateIntLR, 587, at 616-619.
128. See BGHZ 63, 382; 79,281 at 283; 87, 302 at 304 based not on contract but on culpa in contrahendo.
129. for a more general discussion see Bruns, "Die Umgehung des Verbrauchsgüterkaufs durch das Einschalten von Vertretern", (2007) NJW, 761.
130. See with regard to financial services Rott, "Europäisierung des Rechts der Finanzintermediäre", (2008) EWS (2008), 21.
131. See explanatory memorandum, p. 6.
132. Lurger and Augenhofer, Österreichisches und Europäisches Konsumentenschutzrecht 2. Auflage (2008), p. 56.
133. Brönneke, Widerrufsrecht und Belehrungspflichten - Rechtsdogmatische Analyse und rechtspolitische Vorschläge (2008)
134. Micklitz and Reich, Die Fernabsatzrichtlinie 97/7/EG im deutschen Recht (Nomos, 1998).
135. Rott, Die Umsetzung der Haustürwiderrufsrichtlinie in den Mitgliedstaaten (Nomos, 2000).
136. Recital 25.
137. See Micklitz, "Fernabsatz und e-commerce im Schuldrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz", (2001) EuZW, 133, same author, "Gemeinschaftsrechtliche Vorgaben für ein Verbrauchervertriebsrecht oder für eine Regelung der Vertragsschlußmodalitäten? - Zur Integration von Haustür-,Fernabsatzgeschäft und E-Commerce in das BGB"in Schulze and Schulte-Nölke (Eds.), Die Schuldrechtsreform vor dem Hintergrund des Gemeinschaftsrechts, (Mohr Siebeck, 2001), p. 189; and in particular Schirmbacher, Verbrauchervertriebsrecht (Nomos, 2005).
138. Gysbrechts, cited supra note 28.
139. Gysbrechts, cited supra note 28; Opinion of A.G. Trstenjak in Case C-489/07, Messner v. Krüger, pending.
140. As investigated on behalf of the European Commission in Schulte-Nölke, Twigg-Flesner and Ebers (Eds.), op. cit. supra note 30, p. 79.
141. See COM(2006)744 final, at 6; see also Howells and Schulze, op. cit. supra note 19, at 4.
142. C-20/03, Burmanjer, [2005] ECR I-4133.
143. C-441/03, A-Punkt, [2005] ECR I-3043.
144. See with reference to the debate, Micklitz in Münchner, Kommentar zum UWG (I Distanzkommunikation), para 75.
145. However, the ECJ applied the Dir. 85/577 in Dori although the incriminated contract was concluded in front of the station of Milan, Case C-91/92, [1994] ECR I-3347.
146. See Rott andTerryn, op. cit. supra note 19, and UK OFT Studies on Doorstep Selling - proposal to abandon exceptions - http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/consumer_protection//oft716.pdf .
147. See Howells and Schulze, op. cit. supra note 19, at 13 et seq.
148. See in this direction Micklitz, in Grabitz and Hilf, Recht der Europäischen Union (at Oct. 1999), A 2 Haustürwiderrufsrichtlinie, Art. 1-3 Nos. 30-32.
149. BGH, Judgment 03.11.2004 VIII ZR 375/03; see in this context the narrow interpretation of Art. 5(1) (c) of the E-Commerce Directive in Case C-298/07, Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband v. Deutsche Internet Versicherung AG, judgment of 16 Oct. 2008, nyr.
150. See references in Rott and Terryn, op. cit. supra note 19.
151. Grundmann, "The Structure of the DCFR - Which approach for today's contract law", 3 ERCL (2008), 239.
152. See Micklitz and Reich, op. cit. supra note 105, p. 149.
153. Art. 3(3)(a) of Directive 2002/65 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 Sept. 2002 concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services and amending Council Directive 90/619/EEC and Directives 97/7/EC and 98/27/EC, O.J. 2002, L 27116.
154. In that respect Howells and Schulze, op. cit. supra note 19, at 14.
155. Micklitz, "Der Vorschlag für eine Richtlinie des Rates über den Verbraucherschutz bei Vertragsabschlüs sen im Fernabsatz", (1993) VuR, 129.
156. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at 7.12.
157. Howells and Schulze, op. cit. supra note 19, at 14.
158. See with regard to the Belgian law, Rott and Terryn, op. cit. supra note 19.
159. See with regard to the Belgian law, Rott and Terryn, op. cit. supra note 19; with regard to German law, Micklitz in Spindler and Schuster, Recht der elektronischen Medien, Kom mentar (2008), § 5 TMG Nos. 15 et seq. with references on the discussion.
160. Art. 14 Directive 2008/48 on consumer credit, Art. 6 Directive 2002/65 on distanceselling of financial services, Art. 5 Directive 94/47 on time sharing (now Art. 7 of Dir. 2008/122), Art. 44 of Directive 2002/83.
161. Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No. 1182/71 of 3 June 1971 determining the rules applicable to periods, dates and time limits, O.J. 1971, L 124/1, Recital 21.
162. See §§ 186-193, German BGB.
163. See Howells and Schulze, op. cit. supra note 19, at 16 et seq.
164. In this sense Rott and Terryn, op. cit. supra note 19.
165. Case C-481/99, Heininger, [2001] ECR I-9945.
166. See Bernardeau, Le droit de rétractation du consommateur, un pas plus vers une doctrine d'ensemble. A propos de L'arret CJCE, 13 décembre 2001, Heininger, Aff. C-481/99; J.C.P. No. 40, 1719-725.
167. A.G. Maduro, however, pleaded for a refinement of Heininger, see Opinion of 21 Nov. 2007, in Case C-412/06, Hamilton, judgment of 10 April 2008, nyr, at paras. 46 and 48.
168. See Howells and Schulze, op. cit. supra note 19, at 16 et seq.
169. Case C-412/06, Hamilton, supra note 135.
170. Rott and Terryn, op. cit. supra note 19.
171. See e.g. Rott, op. cit. supra note 115, with reference to 15 Member States.
172. See Schulte-Nölke, Twigg-Flesner and Ebers (Eds.), op. cit. supra note 30, pp. 101, at 344.
173. See Art. 5 Directive 85/577 on doorstep selling, Art. 6(1) Directive 97/7 on distant selling, Art. 5(1) Directive 94/47 on time sharing, now Art. 7 Directive 2008/122.
174. Micklitz, "The Relationship between national and European consumer policy - Challenges and perspectives"in Twigg-Flesner et al. (Eds.), The Yearbook of Consumer Law 2009, (Ashgate, 2007), at 37-41.
175. Art. 81 Unfair Trade Practices Act, see Rott and Terryn, op. cit. supra note 19.
176. Gysbrechts, cited supra note 28.
177. In Germany the return charges cannot exceed 40, § 357 Abs. 2 Satz 3 BGB (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch).
178. See Rott, "Ein teurer Rückruf, Besprechung von OGH 27.9.2005 1 Ob 110/05s", (2006) VuR, 218.
179. Case C-489/07, Messner v. Krüger, pending.
180. See Rott and Terryn, op. cit. supra note 19, who face similar problems in understanding the rule.
181. See Case C-481/99, Georg Heininger and Helga Heininger v. Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG, [2001] ECR I-9945, Case C-350/03, Schulte, [2005] ECR I-9215; Case C-229/04, Crailsheimer, [2005] ECR I-9273; Case C-412/06, A. Hamilton v. Volksbank Filder, judgment of 10 April 2008, nyr.
182. See Opinion A.G. Léger, C-229/04, Crailsheimer, [2005] ECR I-9273, at 72.
183. In the affirmative Rott and Terryn, op. cit. supra note 19.
184. Rott, "Minimum harmonization for the completion of the internal market?", (2003) CML Rev., 1107.
185. Calais-Auloy and Steinmetz, op. cit. supra note 63, para 233 concerning the implementation of Dir. 99/44 by ordinance of 17.2.2005, to be part of the Code de la consommation.
186. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at paras. 4.25-4.27; this choice was qualified by proportionality considerations protecting the seller.
187. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at para 4.28.
188. Grundmann and Ochmann, op. cit. supra note 64, at 456-461; overview in Schulte-Nölke, Twigg-Flesner and Ebers, op. cit. supra note 30, at p. 648.
189. Art. 6.363 (8) of the Lithuanian Civil Code of 2001: Reich, op. cit. supra note 102, at 614.
190. See Howells and Weatherill, op. cit. supra note 65, at para 3.6.2.
191. with regard to the implementation of the Directive, see Rott and Twigg-Flesner, "No closer to harmonisation? The Implemenation of Directive 1999/44/EC into English and German Law three years on"in Howells, Nordhausen, Parry and Twigg-Flesner (Eds.)Yearbook of Consumer Law 2007 (Ashgate, 2006), p. 121.
192. Free choice of remedies provides inter alia that the same defect has reappeared within a short period of time, Art. 26(4)(c), a ruling which would narrow down the level of protection e.g. in Germany.
193. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, at para 4.29 rejecting any duty of examination.
194. According to Article 307 Civil Code: Reich, op. cit. supra note 102, at 613.
195. Reich, op. cit. supra note 70, at 64.
196. See Schnyder, Das EG-Grünbuch über Verbrauchsgütergarantien und Kundendienst - Erster Schritt zu einem einheitlichen EG-Kaufrecht (Sellier, 1997), p. 8.
197. Micklitz, "Ein neues Kaufrecht für Verbraucher in Europa?", (1997) EuZW, 229.
198. See the "grey letter"rule in Schulze op. cit. supra note 18, p. 323.
199. Schlechtriem and Schwenzer, Kommentar zum CSIG, 3rd ed. (Beck, 2006), Art. 39(6).
200. For a discussion see Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at para 4.22.
201. In German law, § 478 BGB provides for a right of compensation which cannot be waived unless there is an "equivalent compensation"(gleichwertiger Ausgleich) for the final seller; problems of implementation have been found in Schulte-Nölke, Twigg-Flesner and Ebers (Eds.), op. cit. supra note 30, at p. 705. Art. 4 has triggered a series of PhD theses mainly with a comparative law perspective. Originally the European Commission intended to launch a tender with on the implementation of Art. 4 but then refrained from doing so without giving reasons.
202. see regard to Art. 4, Magnus, "Der Regressanspruch des Letztverkäufers nach der Richtlinie über den Verbrauchsgüterkauf"in Basedow, Meier, Schnyder, Einhorn and Girsberger (Eds.), Private Law in the International Arena - Liber amicorum Kurt Siehr (2000), p. 435.
203. Bittner, Der Regress des Letztverkäufers (Dr Kovac, 2008).
204. Reich, (2007) ZEuP, at 166.
205. Case C-402/07, Sturgeon v. Condor Flugdienst.
206. C-432/07, Böck & Lepuschitz v. Air France; for an overview see Micklitz, "Rechtsprechung zum Europäischen Verbraucherrecht", (2008) EWS, 353, at 358-360.
207. Hesselink, "CFR and Social Justice", (2008) ERCL, 248, at 263.
208. The German concept of Leistungsstörungen is different from the EC concept of remedies. This is sometimes overlooked, see Riesenhuber, Europäisches Vertragsrecht, 2nd ed. (2006), p. 285.
209. This is for example possible under Polish law, see Reich, op. cit. supra note 102, at 614 which may have to be abolished under the full harmonization principle. It probably owes its origin from the socialist economy of scarcity where an effective after sales service was unknown. German law is more restrictive, see BGH 15.7.2008 (2008) NJW, 2837 refusing a consumer right to compensation if the defective floor panels (Parkettstäbe) have to be installed again, unless the seller acted negligently.
210. Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning liability for defective products O.J. 1985, L 210/9.
211. see Case C-402/03, Skov Aeg v. Bilka Lavprisvarehus, [2006] ECR I-1313.
212. critique Reich, op. cit. supra note 70 at 42.
213. comment Whittaker, (2007) ZEuP, 865
214. Howells, (2007) Sydney Law Rev., 64; Unberath and Johnston, op. cit. supra note 27, at 1259.
215. Unberath and Johnston, op. cit. supra note 27, at 1259.
216. See the critique by Raik, "Review of the Consumer Acquis - Towards Maximum harmonisation?", 6 Tilburg Institute of Comparative and Transnational Law Working Paper (2008), at 15
217. Case C-168/00, Leitner v. TUI, [2002] I-2631; see the discussion by Zoll, "The remedies for non-performance in the system of the Acquis Group"in Schulze, op. cit. supra note 18, p. 189, at 202.
218. COM(1993)509 final; comment by Schnyder and Straub, "Das EG-Grünbuch über Verbrauchsgütergarantien und Kundendienst - Erster Schritt zu einem einheitlichen EG-Kaufrecht", (1996) ZEuP, 8; Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at para 4.1.
219. See the discussion and material in Ebers, Janssen and Mayer (Eds.), European Perspectives on Producer's Liability (Sellier, 2008).
220. See Schulte-Nölke, Twigg-Flesner and Ebers (Eds.), op. cit. supra note 30, at p. 651, 795; similarly, Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at 4.35.
221. Calais-Auloy and Steinmetz, op. cit. supra note 63, at para 231; Puig, "Faut-il supprimer l'action directe dans les chaines du contrat?"in Melanges Calais (Dalloz, 2004), at p. 911. Existing regimes may create barriers to trade, Schulte-Nölke, Twigg-Flesner and Ebers (Eds.), op. cit. supra note 30, at p. 650.
222. Skov, cited supra note 173.
223. Micklitz, "Die Verbrauchsgüterkaufrichtlinie", (1999) EuZW, 485
224. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at para 3.8.
225. Reich and Micklitz, "Unfair Terms in the DCFR", (2008) Juridica Int., 58, at 60.
226. Wilhelmsson, "Various Approaches to Unfair Terms and Their Background Philosophies", (2008) Juridica Int., 51.
227. See in that direction, Berger, "Zu europäischen Entwicklungen im Internationalen Privatrecht und im Verbraucherschutz", (2009) ZEuP, forthcoming
228. Zoll, "Unfair Terms in the Acquis Principles and the DCFR", (2008) Juridica Int., 58.
229. See Sefton-Green, 297-300 referring to the DCFR, Art. II-3:106.
230. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at para 3.2.
231. Case C-478/99, Commission v. Sweden, [2002] ECR I-4147.
232. Joined Cases C-240-244/98, Océano, [2000] ECR I-4941
233. At p. 250.
234. Reich and Micklitz, op. cit. supra note 183, at p. 60.
235. Directive 2005/29/EC of the EP and the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council ("Unfair Commercial Practices Directive"), O.J. 2005, L 149/22.
236. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at 3.19 with regard to the similar formula in Art. 3(2) of Dir. 93/13.
237. See on the model of an abstract control procedure which has to take the circumstances of the cases into account Micklitz, "Some Considerations on Cassis de Dijon and the Control of Unfair Contract Terms in Consumer Contracts"in Boele-Woelki and Grosheide (Eds.), The Future of European Contract Law (Kluwer, 2007), p. 387.
238. Reich, op. cit. supra note 102, 601, at 605.
239. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at paras. 2.43-45.
240. Joined Cases C-261 & 299/07, VTB-VAB v. Total Belgium et al.
241. In this sense Stuyck, "The Unfair Commercial practices Directive and its Consequences for the Regulation of Sales promotion and the law of Unfair Competition, 2007"in Weatherill and Bernitz (Eds.), op. cit. supra note 37, p. 153, at 170; for a differentiated view see Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, paras. 2.46-48.
242. Micklitz in E. Lauterkeitsrecht (Ed.), Münchner Kommentar zum UWG, para 10 et seq.
243. See Reg. 2004/2006 Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 Oct. 2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws (the Regulation on consumer protection cooperation) Text with EEA relevance O.J. 2004, L 364/1, for the convergence of private and public enforcement, Cafaggi and Micklitz, "Collective enforcement of consumer law: A framework for comparative assessment", (2008) ERPL, 391.
244. The best known example is Dir.1; 83/189 as amended and as a consequence Case C-192/94, CIA v. Signalson, [1996] ECR I-2201prohibiting Member States and to some extent also private parties to invoke non-notified technical standards against traders.
245. see Weatherill, "Compulsory notification of draft technical standards: The Contribution of Directive 89/189/EEC to the Management of the Internal Market", 16 YEL (1996), 129
246. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at para 1.33.
247. Case C-237/02, Freiburger Kommunalbauten GmbH Baugesellschaft & Co KG v. Ludger und Ulrike Hofstetter, [2004] ECR I-3403. For a discussion on the different approach taken in Oceano see Unberath and Johnston, op. cit. supra note 27, at p. 1267.
248. See the convincing argument by Roth, op. cit. supra note 27, 401 with many references.
249. Schulte-Nölke, Twigg-Flesner and Ebers (Eds.), op. cit. supra note 30, at p. 350.
250. Micklitz, op. cit. supra note 195, at, 387.
251. See Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at para 2.13.
252. Howells, Micklitz and Wilhelmsson, op. cit. supra note 25, at pp. 71-73.
253. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, paras. 5.6-5.10.
254. Riehm and Schreindorfer, "Das Harmonisierungsrecht der neuen Verbraucherkreditrichtlinie", (2008) GPR, 244
255. Proposal, at 7.
256. Stuyck, op. cit. supra note 27, at 396 under the minimum harmonization principle prevailing at this time.
257. Wilhelmsson, Punio and Pohjolainen (Eds.), op. cit. supra note 99, at p. 10.
258. Micklitz, Reich and Rott, op. cit. supra note 12, at paras. 7.13, 7.17.
259. Stuyck, op. cit. supra note 27, para 25.
260. And not targeting full harmonization, as Howells and Schulze, op. cit. supra note 19, at 6, put it.