The continuing headlong increase in cross-border legal issues of all kinds raises a host of new issues for private law even as it reconfigures the old issues, both in theory and in practice. In an effort to identify trends and consolidate what weand#8217;ve learned in this important area, outstanding legal scholars from nine European countries (plus Australia) convened at the University of Helsinki in August 2006. This volume reproduces, in definitive English texts, twenty-two of the papers presented at that conference.

The issues addressed cluster around four basic...

This book will describe the development of European Community consumer law and seek to determine to what extent action by the European Community has promoted the interest of consumer protection. In doing so it will consider important areas relating to protection of the consumers economic interests and physical safety, as well as questions of access to justice. In addition to assessing the success of community consumer policy the authors will also put forward suggestions for ways in which consumer protection can be enhanced at the community level.

The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive is the most important directive in the field of trade practices to have emerged from the EC but it builds upon European activity which has sought to regulate trade practices on both a sectoral and horizontal level. It is an umbrella provision, which uses general clauses to protect consumers. How effective this approach is and how it relates the existing acquis are fundamental issues for debate. This work provides a critical appraisal of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive linking discussion of it to general debates about how fair trading should...