ABSTRACT
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 2009 volume presents a range of peer-reviewed scholarly articles, analytical in approach and focusing on specific areas of consumer law such as credit, consumer redress and the impact of the European Union on consumer law. The book also includes a section dedicated to significant developments during the period covered, such as key legislative developments and important court decisions. It is an essential resource for all academics and practitioners working in the areas of consumer law and policy.
Contents: Preface; Part 1 Articles 2009: Crisis or future of European consumer law?, Norbert Reich; The status of consumers in EC liberalisation directives, Paul Nihoul; The impact of the European Union on consumer policy in Malta: a mixed blessing?, Paul Edgar Micallef; The limits of competition: reasserting a role for consumer protection and fair trading regulation in competitive markets, Nicola Howell and Therese Wilson; The consumer protection code: regulatory innovation from the Irish financial regulator, Mary Donnelly; Re-regulating unsecured consumer credit in Japan: over-indebted borrowers, the supreme court, and new legislation, Souichirou Kozuka and Luke Nottage; Consumer collective redress in the European Union: the 'Italian case', Cristina Poncibò; The future of consumer law in the United States - hello arbitration, bye-bye courts, so-long consumer protection, Richard M. Alderman. Part 2 Current Developments: Unfair Commercial Practices: The unfair commercial practices directive - alternatives in UK law, Alan Barron; Recent amendments to Maltese consumer law - transposition of the unfair commercial practices directive and changes to the regulatory regime, Paul Edgar Micallef. Credit: Secret commissions and overseas purchases: the good news for customers in 2007, James Ross. General: A critical (re)view of the Spanish Act on improvement of consumers protection concerning long term contracts (Act 44/2006, of 29 December), Susana Navas Navarro; France: a new law for 'the development of competition for the benefit of consumers', Alexandre Regniault; EC passenger law running on track - the regulation on rail passengers' rights and obligations, Jens Karsten; Future prospects for 'class actions' in Europe, Andrew Laidlaw.
