Better Regulation in EU Contract Law: The Fitness Check and the New Deal for Consumers (Studies of the Oxford Institute of European and Comparative Law)

This book is the first to provide a critical investigation of EU better regulation from the perspective of EU contract law. The Commission’s ‘New Deal for EU Consumers’ is one of the first EU contract law initiatives to implement both the newly revised Better Regulation Guidelines and the newly introduced combined evaluation of multiple Directives in the form of a ‘fitness check’. This offers an opportunity to explore difficulties and best practices at a national level, as demonstrated by experience with the EU’s Unfair Terms Directive. Both the fitness check and the impact assessment accompanying the New Deal should facilitate critical reflection on the design of EU contract law. This book addresses key questions. Do impact assessments favour business interests at the expense of a high level of consumer protection? Is the evaluation of EU contract law and the analysis in impact assessments in line with scientific standards? Has the fitness check revealed difficulties and success stories with EU measures at national level, and thereby facilitated an in-depth scrutiny of the design of EU contract law? Ultimately, is the potential of better regulation being realised? Volume 29: Studies of the Oxford Institute of European and Comparative Law Contents Table of Cases Table of Legislation 1. Impact Assessments in EU Contract Law I. Introduction II. The Fitness Check of EU Consumer Law III. The Suitability of Fitness Checks IV. Policy Options V. The Potential of Better Regulation for EU Contract Law 2. The REFIT Process in the Area of Consumer Protection: Odds Stacked Against Consumers I. Introduction II. Consumer Protection is Only a By-product of the Better Regulation Agenda and the REFIT Process III. Better Regulation and REFIT Favour Businesses IV. REFIT Ex-ante and Ex-post Evaluation Methodology is Ill Equipped to Consider Consumer' Interests V. Distorted Data Quality, Consumer Representation and Framed Narrative – Case Study on the Right of Withdrawal in the New Deal Proposal VI. Conclusion 3. REFIT or Rethink – The Politics of EU Research – A Grand Misunderstanding? I. The Hypothesis II. Consumer Law III. Audiovisual Media Services Law IV. Conclusions 4. EU Financial Regulation, Contract Law and Sustainable Consumer Finance I. Introduction II. The Gap between Financial Regulation and Contract Law III. Bridging the Gap between Financial Regulation and Contract Law IV. Concluding Remarks 5. The Fitness Check of EU Consumer Law and the Impact Assessment for the New Deal for EU Consumers I. Introduction II. The Fitness Check: Publication, Conclusions and Follow-Up III. The Fitness Check: Framework and Limitations IV. The Impact Assessment Accompanying the New Deal V. Fitness Checks and Impact Assessments in EU Contract Law 6. The Court as a Jack-in-the-box – An Old Story in a New Context I. Introduction II. The Jack-in-the-box III. Consumer Law – The Legislative Acquis IV. Fitness Check V. The Need to take the Court Seriously VI. Conclusion 7. ‘Better’ Enforcement of EU Consumer Law: Exploring Responsive Enforcement I. Introduction II. 'Better' Enforcement in the Commission's New Deal III. Responsive Enforcement IV. Recommendations for Responsive Enforcement V. An Integrated Approach 8. European Standardisation and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive I. Introduction II. A Short Introduction to European Standardisation III. European Standardisation in EU Law IV. European Standards and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive V. European Standardisation and the Fitness Check VI. Conclusion 9. Good Governance and the Fitness Check of EU Consumer Law I. Introduction II. Governance III. Good Governance IV. The Fitness Check: Good or Bad Governance? V. Conclusion Index "This book is the first to provide a critical investigation of EU better regulation from the perspective of EU contract law. The Commission's 'New Deal for EU Consumers' is one of the first EU contract law initiatives to implement both the newly revised Better Regulation Guidelines and the newly introduced combined evaluation of multiple Directives in the form of a 'fitness check'. This offers an opportunity to explore difficulties and best practices at national level, as demonstrated by experience with the EU's Unfair Terms Directive. Both the fitness check and the impact assessment accompanying the New Deal should facilitate critical reflection on the design of EU contract law. This book addresses key questions such as: do impact assessments favour business interests, at the expense of a high level of consumer protection? Is the evaluation of EU contract law and the analysis in impact assessments in line with scientific standards? Has the fitness check revealed difficulties and success stories with EU measures at national level, and thereby facilitated an in-depth scrutiny of the design of EU contract law? Ultimately: is the potential of better regulation realised?"-- Provided by publisher Evidence-based policy (EBP) is a term often applied in multiple fields of public policy to refer to situations whereby policy decisions are informed by rigorously established objective evidence. Underlying many of the calls for 'evidence based policy' is often a (stated or unstated) concern with fidelity to scientific good practice, reflecting the belief that social goals are best served when scientific evidence is used rigorously and comprehensively to inform decisions, rather than in a piecemeal, manipulated, or cherry-picked manner