Rethinking EU Consumer Law

Geraint Howells is Chair Professor of Commercial Law and Dean of the Law School at City University Hong Kong. His expertise covers consumer law and product liability, consumer safety and tobacco regulation, and he has written, co-authored and edited many books and journal articles.Christian Twigg-Flesner is Professor of International Commercial Law at the University of Warwick. He has expertise in Consumer Law, the Europeanisation of Contract Law, the digital revolution and contract law, and the harmonisation of commercial and contract law. He published widely on EU Consumer and Contract Law.Thomas Wilhelmsson is Professor of Civil and Commercial Law at the University of Helsinki. He was Counsellor of Legislation at the Ministry of Justice 1979-1981, Head of Department of Private Law 1989-1998, Vice Rector of the University of Helsinki 1998- 2008 and is currently Rector of the University of Helsinki. He is an expert in consumer law and private law.

'Rethinking EU Consumer Law offers a fresh and authoritative critical perspective on this important (and very active) area of law by leading academics in this field. It is recommended to anyone interested in the key issues of EU consumer law and policy, its practical application and its theoretical underpinnings.'Paula Giliker, University of Bristol, UK'Howells, Twigg-Flesner and Wilhelmsson show why EU consumer law should focus less on maximum harmonisation, why a high level of consumer protection enhances EU businesses’ international competitiveness, and why the ‘average consumer’ benchmark should take the lessons of behavioural economics to heart. A must-read for consumer and business lawyers alike!'Marco B.M. Loos, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands'A must-read that provides a clear presentation of EU consumer law – understanding full harmonisation becomes intuitive when reading the chapter on unfair commercial practices, and explains why it often has not met consumers and businesses’ expectations and how it could. A book every consumer law scholar would have liked to write.'Elise Poillot, Consumer Law Clinic, University of Luxembourg

• PrefaceChapter 1: The Rich Canvas on EU Consumer Law – An IntroductionChapter 2: Regulation of Unfair Commercial PracticesChapter 3: Pre-Contractual Information Duties and the Right of WithdrawalChapter 4: Unfair Contract TermsChapter 5: Consumer SalesChapter 6: Consumer and Mortgage CreditChapter 7: Product Liability and SafetyChapter 8: EU Consumer Access to Justice and EnforcementChapter 9: To Boldly Go Where EU Consumer Law has not gone before: ConclusionsIndex