Handbook of Research on International Consumer Law

by Geraint Howells, Iain Ramsay, Thomas Wilhelmsson, David Kraft

Overview

Consumer law and policy has emerged in the last half-century as a major policy concern for all nations. This Handbook of original contributions provides an international and comparative analysis of central issues in consumer law and policy in developed and developing economies.The Handbook encompasses questions of both social policy and effective business regulation. Many of the issues are common to all countries and are becoming increasingly globalised due to the growth in international trade and technological developments such as the Internet. The authors provide a broad coverage of both substantive topics and institutional questions concerning optimal approaches to enforcement and the role of class actions in consumer policy. It also includes comparative insights into the influential EU and US models of consumer law and relates consumer law to contemporary trends in human rights law. Written by a carefully selected group of international experts, this text represents an authoritative resource for understanding contemporary and future developments in consumer law. This Handbook will provide students, researchers and policymakers with an insight to the main policy debates in each context and provide models of legal regulation to assist in the evaluation of laws and the development of consumer law and policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857938909
Publisher:	Edward Elgar Publishing
Publication date:	10/31/2011
Series:	Research Handbooks in International Law series
Pages:	608
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Edited by Geraint Howells, The University of Manchester, Iain Ramsay, Professor of Law, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK and Thomas Wilhelmsson, Professor Emeritus of Civil and Commercial Law and Chancellor Emeritus, University of Helsinki, Finland with David Kraft, formerly of Manchester University, UK

Table of Contents

Contents:

Preface

1. Consumer Law in its International Dimension
Geraint Howells, Iain Ramsay and Thomas Wilhelmsson

2. Consumer Protection and Human Rights
Iris Benöhr and Hans-W. Micklitz

3. Development and Consumer Law
Sothi Rachagan

4. The Consumer and Competition Law
Angus MacCulloch

5. Misleading and Unfair Advertising
James P. Nehf

6. Protecting Rational Choice: Information and the Right of Withdrawal
Christian Twigg-Flesner and Reiner Schulze

7. Unfair Terms and Standard Form Contracts
Thomas Wilhelmsson and Chris Willett

8. Sales and Guarantees
Cynthia Hawes and Christian Twigg-Flesner

9. Products Liability Law in America and Europe
Geraint Howells and David G. Owen

10. Product Safety Regulation
Luke Nottage

11. Consumers and Services of General Interest
Peter Rott and Chris Willett

12. Consumer Protection and the Internet
Patrick Quirk and John A. Rothchild

13. Regulation of Consumer Credit
Iain Ramsay

14. Personal Insolvency
Johanna Niemi

15. Financial Services Regulation and the Investor as Consumer
Dimity Kingsford Smith

16. Individual Consumer Redress
Peter Spiller and Kate Tokeley

17. Using Class Actions to Enforce Consumer Protection Law
Deborah R. Hensler

18. Enforcing Consumer Protection Laws
Colin Scott

Index

Editorial Reviews

‘This is a richly interesting collection of essays, written by leading names in the field. It offers a thoroughly reliable survey of key tensions and challenges in modern consumer law and brilliantly combines thematic overview with detailed analysis. It will stimulate comparative thinking, it will provide a source of information and it will be welcomed by consumer law scholars all over the world.’

Stephen Weatherill

‘The Handbook of Research on International Consumer Law is one of an extensive series of “Handbooks of Research” published by Edward Elgar. This volume is a very welcome addition to the series, and offers consumer and commercial law scholars much useful material and comment. One of its many attractions is the wide range of topics covered in its 18 chapters. . . the Handbook of Research on International Consumer Law is an excellent addition to any library. It is particularly useful as a teaching resource, as well as a first port of call for the latest academic research in the field.’

Gillian Black

‘This is a truly international effort, and one with a strong commitment to human rights by the highly reputable authors coming from different jurisdictions! The many facets of today’s consumer law are presented to the reader, including developing countries - a fascinating effort in a dynamically emerging field of law! We are comprehensively informed about such “bread and butter areas” as advertising, unfair terms, consumer guarantees, product safety and liability, consumer credit, and redress. But traditional consumer law concepts and remedies are facing challenges in more complex areas, like “services of general internet” where consumers and private users should enjoy equal access to “universal services”, with the “internet” where speed must not be a pretext to eliminate standards of fair dealing, with risky investment services under the problematic paradigm shift from “investor protection” to “investor confidence”. A book to read, to think about, to work with for everybody interested in the future of consumer markets and law in a time of economic crisis!’

Norbert Reich