The Yearbook of Consumer Law 2008

The Yearbook of Consumer Law provides a valuable outlet for high quality scholarly work which tracks developments in the consumer law field with a domestic, regional and international dimension.The volume presents a range of peer-reviewed scholarly articles, analytical in approach and focusing on specific areas of consumer law such as sales, credit and safety, as well as more general issues, such as consumer law theory. The book also includes a section dedicated to significant developments during the period covered, such as key legislative developments or important court decisions. There is also a review section providing comment on recent publications in this area.The book provides an essential resource for all those, academic and practitioner, working in the areas of consumer law and policy.Contents: Foreword; Part 1 Articles 2008: European consumer law: making sense, Jac G.J. Rinkes; The future of European contract law: some questions and some answers, Guido Alpa; The relationship between national and European consumer policy challenges and perspectives, Hans-W. Micklitz; General clauses on fairness and the promotion of values important in services of general interest, Chris Willett; The statutory frameworks and general rules on unfair commercial practices in the 25 EU member states on the eve of harmonization, Erika Budaite and Cees van Dam; Covert advertising the notion and regulation in the UK, Joanna Wrona; Grounded? Air passenger rights in the European Union, Eliza Varney and Mike Varney; European passenger law for sea and inland waterway transport, Jens Karsten; The future of consumer law: reflections on a regulatory framework for a small island state, Paul Edgar Micallef; The legal rights of the consumer in cases of lack of conformity of goods with the sale contract and his/her contractual rights according to guarantee statements, Paraskevi Paparseniou; The effect of information based consumer protection: lessons from a study of the Irish online market, Mary Donnelly and Fidelma White; Class actions for New Zealand consumers, Kate Tokeley; Expanding the use of credit reports and credit scores: the need for caution and empiricism, Karen Gross. Part 2 Hull Symposium: The Changing Face of Consumer Law: Trade descriptions after the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, Richard J. Bragg; (Mis)adventures of the consumer in the auction room, Brian W. Harvey; The 'oily rag' of enforcement, Dr Roland Rowell; UK and EU consumer law, Christian Twigg-Flesner. Part 3 Current Developments: General: doorstep selling, Richard Bragg; Restitution of so-called 'gift communities' in Germany, Andreacute; Janssen; Current developments Malta: the Electronic Commerce (General) Regulations, Paul Edgar Micallef; Consumer Credit: Protecting consumer telephone records from unauthorized disclosure, David Kraft; European coalition for responsible credit principles of responsible credit, Udo Reifner; Product Liability: Product safety regulation reform in Australia and Japan: harmonising towards European models?, Luke Nottage; Recent judgements of the European Court of Justice and the elusive goal of harmonization of product liability law in Europe, Magdalena Sengayen; Consumer protection law in Serbia: the current state and projections for the future, Tatjana Jovanic.About the Author: Christian Twigg-Flesner is Senior Lecturer in Private Law at the University of Hull, UK. His publications include Consumer Product Guarantees (Ashgate, 2003), and he has co-authored a number of reports for the Department of Trade and Industry. Deborah Parry is an independent consultant on consumer law matters, having previously been a Senior Lecturer at the University of Hull. She is the co-author of several standard works on consumer law and is consulted regularly by government departments, consumer law enforcement agencies and trade bodies. Geraint Howells is Professor of Law at Lancaster University, and barrister at Gough Square C