Conference: 50 Years of Consumer Law in the European Union: Past, Present, and Future

On Friday, November 21, a conference "50 Years of Consumer Law in the European Union: Past, Present, and Future" takes place at the University of Luxembourg. With the conference speakers including prominent European consumer law scholars, judges and AG of the Court of Justice of the EU, as well as representatives of the European Commission, this event promises to deliver engaging and informative discussions on the trends of consumer protection. The registration is free of charge (on this website) and you may also participate in the event online.

CfP: Collective Redress and Digital Fairness, deadline 1 June 2025

Dear readers, 

a quick note to highlight a great conference opportunity at the University of Amsterdam. 

The organisers of the conference "Collective Redress and Digital Fairness", which will be held at the University of Amsterdam on 10 and 11 December 2025,  have issued a call for papers open to scholars and practitioners who are interested in engaging with the conference's broad theme, namely "the intersection of collective redress and digital fairness, understood as the equitable treatment of individuals and society in the digital space" and who will bring an own insight with emphasis on (but not limited to) a number of central questions:

• 

  CfP flyer

  What are the theoretical and normative foundations of collective redress?
• How effective is collective redress in the digital legal sphere at international, European, and national levels?
• How do digital rights intersect with other branches of law (e.g., consumer and competition law), and what does this mean for collective actions?
• What impact does litigation have on the compliance and governance of digital corporations?
• How do private and public enforcement interact, and what role do collective actions play within this regulatory framework?
• What is the role of private law and private law remedies in shaping digital fairness, and how does it constrain or contribute to collective redress mechanisms?

Contributions may focus on procedural and substantive law aspects, as well as theoretical, doctrinal, and empirical studies from national, European, and transnational perspectives. 

Thanks to sponsoring by the Dutch foundation for Collective Actions research, selected speakers will be provided one night of accommodation in Amsterdam and a reasonable travel budget. How to apply? You find the submission requirements on ACT's website and in the flyer! Deadline for application is 1 June 20225.

New IACL conference announcement - February in Montpellier

If you have missed this week's first European conference of the International Association of Consumer Law, do not worry, you will have a chance to share your research and exchange ideas with colleagues in the field soon again. On 27 and 28 February 2025 at the University of Montpellier (France) we will reconvene at the European Congress of Consumer Law. This congress will be bilingual, with some sessions held in English and some in French language (which means that you do not need to speak French to join and participate). The conference will celebrate the work of Professor Jean Calais Auloy and have two themed sessions (devoted respectively to consumer information and to new consumption habits and unfair practices), as well as one session on all other issues of consumer protection. The call for papers is below. Send in your abstracts by October 25.

7th Annual Consumer Law Scholars Conference - call for papers

The next CLSC conference will be held in Boston, March 6-7, 2025. Anyone interested in participating in the East Coast edition of this conference should keep busy this summer and send their abstract in by September 6. See for further details the conference website (click here).

1st European Conference of the International Association of Consumer Law (IACL)

Good news for European consumer law enthusiasts: The First European Conference of the International Association of Consumer Law (IACL) will take place this September (17-18) in Cambridge, UK, on the topic of "Global challenges for consumer law and policy in contemporary Europe". The event will also honour the work of Prof. Iain Ramsay. There will be 3 streams devoted to 'Digital environments', 'Financial services' and 'Sustainable consumption'. Looking forward to meeting many colleagues in Cambridge this fall! 

Details of the call for papers may be found at this website.

'Teaching Consumer Law in a Changing Environment' conference - call for papers

The Teaching Consumer Law conference returns to Santa Fe this year on 17-18 May. You may reply to the call for papers for another week, with the deadline set on February 15.

Further details of the call for papers may be found here and of the conference - here. 

Consumer Law Scholars Conference 2024 - call for abstracts

The Sixth Annual Consumer Law Scholars Conference will take place at Berkeley Law from February 29 to March 1, 2024. This is a small but prestigious event in the field of consumer law, with participants supporting in-progress scholarship and building valuable networks. To achieve this aim, workshop sessions are organised during which commentators rather than authors present the papers. All participants are expected to read papers and participate in the discussion. Some authors may choose to present their sessions in plenary 'lightning round' with brief author presentations encouraged. If you have an unpublished paper, which you plan to finalise by January 26, to send in an abstract by September 8! (all details may be found here)

Consumer law webinars in May

On May 9 ELI Austrian Hub and the University of Innsbruck hold an online evening lecture by prof. Christiane Wendehorst on the topic of a potential direct claim against the producer ("Do we need a direct claim against producers?"). To register your attendance visit this website.

On May 18-19 in Olomouc (Czech Republic) the 16th Year of the International Scientific Conference Juridical Days take place with one session dedicated to challenges of consumer protection, delivered in English and in a hybrid manner, too. To register for the session "Consumer Protection in Times of Global Challenges" visit this website. Zoom link will be sent after registration.

Second Annual Digital Consumer Law Event

On the 21st of November 2022, the European Commission organised its second Annual Digital Consumer Event to reflect with the general public, academics, consumer and business associations, as well as authorities, on the problems consumers currently face in the digital transition.

The expert panels focused on the following topics: 

• Online consumer vulnerabilities: shedding light on dark patterns, personalisation, and structural asymmetries
• Online consumer purchases: challenges raised by digital subscriptions, virtual items, and the addictive use of digital products
• Online consumer contracts: mapping unfair contract terms and the lack of transparency, our Professor Luzak was one of the participants of this panel.

Our readers may be interested to know that the recording of the event is available to watch (see the link here).

Enforcing EU Consumer and Market Law - 10 Years of the Journal of European Consumer and Market Law - conference

On 15-16 December 2022 the editors of the Journal of European Consumer and Market Law (EuCML) warmly invite all blog readers to join the online conference celebrating 10 years of the journal! The conference will take place on Google Meet (log-in, no password needed):

meet.google.com/xyq-vtfj-drj (Thursday 15 December)

meet.google.com/etx-ddhi-aco (Friday 16 December)

About the conference:

"EU Consumer and Market Law is an essential engine of European Integration. It is therefore one of the key tools for facing two of the crucial challenges of the current and next decades: Digital Revolution and Environmental Sustainability.

The last few decades have seen consumer law elevated to being a central pillar of European Union policy making, with the EU setting a high level of protection for consumers in all industries and markets. This has led to the adoption of many legislative instruments all requiring complex technical knowledge. In addition, the Fourth industrial revolution and recent digital developments have again opened the floodgate for new regulatory initiatives tackling critical issues such as sustainability, global electronic commerce and the liability of digital market actors.

Meanwhile, the common European rules regulating different areas of consumer law, such as the unfair commercial practices, unfair contract terms, consumer sales or dispute resolution continue to evolve and remain of utmost importance for both online and offline transactions and market interactions. The harmonisation of consumer laws has in principle raised the level of protection of consumers in the internal market as businesses offers goods, services and digital content across borders within and outside of the European Union. However, the application of consumer law is as difficult as it has always been, prompting the need for yet further reforms.

The Journal of European Consumer and Market Law (EuCML) offers an up-to-date and critical analysis of all new developments and revisits old ones to pre-empt market needs and suggest viable solutions. In particular, EuCML offers a fresh perspective on consumer law that goes beyond the traditional understanding of consumer law as consumer protection law. It understands consumer protection from a market perspective, taking into account the requirements and realities of doing business in B2B and B2C markets. 

The EuCML welcomes analysis that encompasses work aimed at protecting consumer stricto sensu but also as users of services, passengers, insurance policy holders etc. 

EuCML also offers a forum to discuss the black letter law implications of the latest Member States’ Courts and CJEU interpretation but also sustainability concerns, the effects of the pandemic of Covid-19, data commercialisation, issues of power in markets or even social aspects. 

EuCML is available in paper as well as online on HeinOnline, Kluwerlawonline and Beck-online.

The EuCML is focused on bringing scholarship and the sharpest thinking on the issues that matter to the consumer and the market of the 21st century."

The conference programme is as follows:

THURSDAY 15 DECEMBER 2022, 09:00 - 17:30 (CET)

9:00 I. OVERARCHING CHALLENGES IN EU CONSUMER AND MARKET LAW

Introduction: Alberto De Franceschi (University of Ferrara)

Chair: Christoph Busch (University of Osnabrück)

Wish or reality: reconciling consumers’ needs and traders’ goals

Verica Trstenjak (former Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union)

Protection of weaker parties in smart contracts 

Andrea Stazi (European University of Rome and National University of Singapore)

Market Citizenship: Fostering the Green Transition through European Private Law

Francesca Bertelli  (University of Brescia)

10:00 Discussion

10:20 Coffee Break

10:35 II. THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE INFORMATION MODEL: PRECONTRACTUAL INFORMATION DUTIES AND DISCLOSURES

Chair: Joasia Luzak (University of Exeter)

The Disclosure Dream – Towards a New Transparency Concept in EU Consumer Law

Rolf H. Weber (University of Zurich)

Adequacy and Effectiveness of Precontractual Information Duties in Car Flexible Finance Agreements

Michele Ciancimino (LUMSA University of Palermo)

Ex officio enforcement of the Consumer Rights Directive: The Dutch Perspective

Charlotte Pavillon (University of Groningen) and Leonieke Tigelaar (University of Groningen)

11:35 Discussion

11:55 Coffee Break

12:10 III. UNFAIR TERMS IN CONSUMER CONTRACTS

Chair: Kristin Nemeth (University of Innsbruck)

Effective consumer protection in times of global challenges and the role of corrective remedies: from punitive nullity to contract renegotiation

Paola Iamiceli (University of Trento) 

The Court of Justice on Unfair Terms and Supplementation of the Contract: How Far Is Too Far?

Riccardo Serafin (University of Turin)

12:50 Discussion

13:10 Lunch Break

14:00 IV. UNFAIR TERMS IN CONSUMER CONTRACTS

Chair: Vanessa Mak (University of Leiden)

Unfair contractual terms and consequences for B2C agreements 

Chiara Sartoris (University of Florence)

Unfair terms of consumer contracts in the enforcement proceedings from the Greek perspective

Evangelia (Elina) Asimakopoulou (Neapolis University Pafos Cyprus and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

14:40 Discussion

15:00 Coffee Break

15:15 V. VOLKSWAGEN CASE AND THE EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN CONSUMER AND MARKET PROTECTION

Chair: Alberto De Franceschi (University of Ferrara)

Manipulated software as a minor lack of conformity? The CJEU Case Law

Rita Simon (Czech Academy of Sciences)

Volkswagen Case and Termination of Contract: The Spanish experience

Carlos Villacorta Salís (Madrid Law Firm)

15:55 Discussion

16:15 Coffee Break

16:30 VI. PRODUCT LIABILITY AND CONSUMER LAW

Chair: Geraint Howells (National University of Ireland, Galway) 

The Last Decade of Product Liability Case Law: How the CJEU Shaped the Proposal for a New Directive

Edoardo Ruzzi (University of Roma Tre)

A tale of two cities? Fennia v Philips and Article 7 of the Product Liability Directive Update

Francesca Gennari (University of Bologna)

17:10 Discussion

17:30 Interim Conclusions

FRIDAY 16 DECEMBER 2022, 08:30 - 17:30 (CET)

08:30 VII. CONSUMER AND MARKET PROTECTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Chair: Mateja Durovic (King’s College London)

Profiling Consumer by Big Data: The Interplay Between the GDPR and the UCPD 

Maja Nisevic (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)

European Regulation of Dark Patterns before and after the DSA 

Alexander Egberts (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn)

Consumer Protection Between Persuasion and Manipulation

Ludovica Sposini (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa)

Reputational systems between market needs and consumer protection 

Annarita Ricci (University G. d’Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara)

09:50 Discussion

10:10 Coffee Break

10:25 VIII. CONSUMER AND MARKET PROTECTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Chair: Mateusz Grochowski (Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law)

Locating Online Platforms in the Right Place: Between the Digital Services Act and the Liability Law 

Cemre Polat (Ankara Medipol University) and Ş. Barış Özçelik (Bilkent University)

Coty v Amazon: Could Lessons be Taken for the Liability of Platforms for Defective Products?

Gökçe Kurtulan Güner (Istanbul Bilgi University)

11:05 Discussion

11:25 Coffee Break

11:40 IX. NATIONAL REPORTS

Chair: Jorge Morais Carvalho (NOVA University, Lisbon)

The jurisprudential conflict on the application of consumer law in Slovenia: consumer law as a sword or a shield?

Petra Weingerl (University of Maribor)

Ten Years of Enforcement of Croatian Consumer Law 

Emilia Mišćenić (University of Rijeka)

12:20 Discussion

12:40 Lunch Break

14:00 X. COMPETITION LAW IN CONSUMER MATTERS AND THE CHALLENGE OF ENERGY MARKETS 

Chair: Rupprecht Podszun (University of Düsseldorf)

Big Data and the Interplay between Competition Law, Data Protection and Consumer Law: Perspectives from the Italian Experience

Cristina Poncibò (University of Turin)

The Protection of Market and Consumers Damaged by Infringements of Competition Law in a Recent Italian Supreme Court Judgment: a Problem of Effectiveness 

Silvia Romanò (University of Rome Tor Vergata) 

Price Adjustment Clauses in Electricity Supply Consumer Agreements: Breaching the Thermopylae “Hotgates” of Transparency or just a legitimate “Trojan Horse” for the recovery of the production cost? 

Evangelos Margaritis (University of the Aegean)

15:00 Discussion

15:20 Coffee Break

15:35 XI. PUBLIC ENFORCEMENT AND PROCEDURAL ISSUES IN CONSUMER PROTECTION

Chair: Evelyne Terryn (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)

Administrative enforcement of consumer law rules: the role of the Italian Consumer and Market Authority on digital platforms 

Federica Casarosa (European University Institute, Florence)

Collective consumer redress through debt collection services in Germany – A critical analysis of a rare case of ‘coding’ in civil law countries 

David Markworth (University of Cologne, Germany)

Influencing the EU Consumer and Market Law? The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in Poland and Influencer Marketing

Monika Namysłowska (University of Lodz) and Karolina Sztobryn (University of Lodz)

16:35 Discussion

16:55 Coffee Break

17:10 XII. PUBLIC ENFORCEMENT AND PROCEDURAL ISSUES IN CONSUMER PROTECTION

Chair: Alberto De Franceschi (University of Ferrara) 

The importance of Redemption in EU Civil Procedural Consumer Law

Ioannis Revolidis (University of Malta) 

The enforcement of consumer financial protection rules 

Catalin-Gabriel Stanescu (University of Copenhagen)

17:50 Discussion

18:10 Conclusions

18th International Association of Consumer Law Conference (IACL)

IACL conference is back in 2023! After the pandemic, the International Association of Consumer Law is picking back up its activity and organising its 18th event - in Hamburg on July 19-21. The call for papers is open until December 16th, and you may find more details on it on the attached photos as well as here.

2nd Annual Digital Consumer Event of the European Commission

The European Commission organises the 2nd Annual Digital Consumer Event on November 21st. The event will be held in English and streamed online thus it will be relatively easy for our readers to participate in it. You may register here: Commission website.

Three panels will be devoted to various concerns related to the digital environment: online consumer vulnerabilities; virtual traps and possible addiction triggers of online purchases; unfair terms and lack of transparency in online contracting.

Conference 'User protection against discrimination on sharing economy platforms'

Please find details of the conference on 'User protection against discrimination on sharing economy platforms' that takes place on June 20th at UCLouvain (Belgium). However, if you were interested in participating in it, you could also join online. The registration/conference details are here. Programme - below.

'Vulnerability across disciplines' conference - call for papers

Defining vulnerability has been a foundational element of understanding consumer law. The SLS funded online conference ‘Vulnerability across disciplines’ brings together a variety (e.g. law, economics, health) of academics/professionals to identify how other disciplines understand vulnerability and whether there is any possibility of a broader approach to vulnerability. The conference is due to take place on the 7^th and 8^th of October this year and the call for papers is open until the 1^st September 2021. Click on the photo below to find out more about the conference and how to submit your papers.

 

'Consumer Protection in Transition: Digital Transformation and Better Enforcement' - conference announcement

We should block our calendars for another interesting conference on consumer protection. University of Rijeka (Croatia), and more specifically Emilia Mišćenić, organises The 7th Petar Šarčević conference 'Consumer Protection in Transition: Digital Transformation and Better Enforcement' on 23-25 September. As the title suggests the speakers will discuss various issues arising from the need to adjust consumer protection to the challenges of the digital transformation and new technologies. Keynote speakers include Geraint Howells, Hans-W. Micklitz, Jürgen Basedow, Christian Twigg-Flesner, Pascal Pichonnaz, Vesna Tomljenović.

The conference will be organised in a hybrid model and participation (whether onsite or online) is free of charge. The detailed programme and registration details may be found here.