Over the last 25 years there has been a considerable increase in the awareness of quality related issues. In the world of business and commerce, this awareness has manifested itself in the development of what was the British Quality Standard BS 5750 into what is now the international standard BS EN ISO 9000. Alongside all of this, consumers in general have developed increasingly demanding expectations with regard to the quality of goods and services available in the market place. During a similar period there has also been an increase in legislation, together with an expansion of the common law, which has strengthened the protection already afforded to the consumer.
This book will provide quality practitioners, managers and those with a general interest in quality, with an insight into the legal issues involved. In addition, the book shows how the implementation of a Quality Assurance Management System - such as that required in order to be registered as a firm of assessed capability, in accordance with BS EN ISO 9000 - can act as an aid to businesses seeking to comply with their legal obligations.
In addition, for those following a formal course of study, the contents will prove to be particularly useful to students undertaking the Institute of Quality Assurance's Associate Membership examination: Principles and Techniques of Quality Assurance.

This text examines the role of the law in the protection of the consumer, in particular the ways in which the law is, and could be, used to protect consumers when purchasing financial services. A prominent panel of contributors first examines the role of the European Union and the ombudsmen schemes operating in the United Kingdom in improving consumer protection. Eight expert papers present a detailed analysis of aspects of the various legal mechanisms protecting consumers in the banking, financial services, investments and insurance industries. The final part of the book is concerned with the important and controversial area of consumer credit. Thi text should be of interest to those at the cutting edge of banking, financial services and consumer law, whether practicing lawyers or in-house counsel, and all those involved in advising consumers.

Consumer law and policy continues to be of great concern to both national and international regulatory bodies, and the second edition of the Handbook of Research on International Consumer Law provides an updated international and comparative analysis of the central legal and policy issues, in both developed and developing economies. Taking a thematic approach, and yet highlighting issues in different national contexts, the Handbook explores issues which are common to all countries, such as social policy and effective business regulation, and relates consumer law to contemporary trends in human rights law. Features of this edition: consideration of the potential for new regulatory complexity as a result of Brexit? reflections on the growth of middle class consumption in Asia and Latin America and the impact that this will have on business reforms? coverage of increasing divergence between the regulatory models of both the EU and the US? focus on the challenges and opportunities that the digital age presents for consumer market regulation? analysis of the significant changes in consumer credit law and policy since the financial crash of 2008. This Handbook will provide researchers, students and policymakers with an insight to the main policy debates in differing national and sectoral contexts, and provide models of legal regulation which contribute to the evaluation and development of consumer laws and policy. Contributors include: I. Benoehr, O. Dixon, C. Hawes, D.R. Hensler, G. Howells, D. Kingsford Smith, A. MacCulloch, H.-W. Micklitz, J.P. Nehf, J. Niemi, L. Nottage, D.G. Owen, P. Quirk, S. Rachagan, I. Ramsay, J.A. Rothchild, P. Rott, R. Schulze, C. Scott, K. Tokeley, C. Twigg-Flesner, J. Watson, T. Wilhelmsson, C. Willett

Consumer Credit and the American Economy examines the economics, behavioral science, sociology, history, institutions, law, and regulation of consumer credit in the United States.
After discussing the origins and various kinds of consumer credit available in today's marketplace, this book reviews at some length the long run growth of consumer credit to explore the widely held belief that somehow consumer credit has risen "too fast for too long." It then turns to demand and supply with chapters discussing neoclassical theories of demand, new behavioral economics, and evidence on production costs and why consumer credit might seem expensive compared to some other kinds of credit like government finance. This discussion includes review of the economics of risk management and funding sources, as well discussion of the economic theory of why some people might be limited in their credit search, the phenomenon of credit rationing. This examination includes review of issues of risk management through mathematical methods of borrower screening known as credit scoring and financial market sources of funding for offerings of consumer credit.
The book then discusses technological change in credit granting. It examines how modern automated information systems called credit reporting agencies, or more popularly "credit bureaus," reduce the costs of information acquisition and permit greater credit availability at less cost. This discussion is followed by examination of the logical offspring of technology, the ubiquitous credit card that permits consumers access to both payments and credit services worldwide virtually instantly.
After a chapter on institutions that have arisen to supply credit to individuals for whom mainstream credit is often unavailable, including "payday loans" and other small dollar sources of loans, discussion turns to legal structure and the regulation of consumer credit. There are separate chapters on the theories behind the two main thrusts of federal regulation to this point, fairness for all and financial disclosure. Following these chapters, there is another on state regulation that has long focused on marketplace access and pricing.
Before a final concluding chapter, another chapter focuses on two noncredit marketplace products that are closely related to credit. The first of them, debt protection including credit insurance and other forms of credit protection, is economically a complement. The second product, consumer leasing, is a substitute for credit use in many situations, especially involving acquisition of automobiles. This chapter is followed by a full review of consumer bankruptcy, what happens in the worst of cases when consumers find themselves unable to repay their loans.
Because of the importance of consumer credit in consumers' financial affairs, the intended audience includes anyone interested in these issues, not only specialists who spend much of their time focused on them. For this reason, the authors have carefully avoided academic jargon and the mathematics that is the modern language of economics. It also examines the psychological, sociological, historical, and especially legal traditions that go into fully understanding what has led to the demand for consumer credit and to what the markets and institutions that provide these products have become today.

Traditionally, consumer law has played an instrumental role in the EU as a tool for market integration. There are now signs in the new EU legal framework and jurisprudence that suggest this may be changing. These changes can be seen in recent court cases and, above all, the Lisbon Treaty and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Treaty contains provisions affecting consumer law and, at the same time, it grants binding legal force to the EU Charter, which adds a fundamental rights dimension to consumer protection. This evolution, however, is still at an early stage and may be thwarted by conflicting trends. Moreover, it may generate tensions between social objectives and economic goals.
This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of these developments and examines new avenues that may be opening for consumer law, focussing on three key areas: financial services, electronic communication, and access to justice. Through a systematic analysis of relevant cases the book traces the development of a human rights dimension in consumer law and details the potential ramifications that the post-Lisbon legal framework may have on consumer protection and on related policy issues. This book concludes by providing ideas for a new legal approach to consumer law which strikes a compromise between social and economic demands.

From the early forms of loans to farmers up to present day credit cards, consumer credit has always been part of human life; however, ever since the Bible, controversy has reigned as to its legitimacy. It is the history of this controversy that is presented here. Outlining significant developments in different aspects of consumer credit from the Hammurabi Code through to current questions such as household overindebtedness, the authors shed historical light on modern debates.

Consumers routinely enter into long-term contracts with providers of goods and services - from credit cards, mortgages, cell phones, insurance, TV, and internet services to household appliances, theatre and sports events, health clubs, magazine subscriptions, transportation, and more. Across these consumer markets certain design features of contracts are recurrent, and puzzling. Why do sellers design contracts to provide short-term benefits and impose long-term costs? Why are low introductory prices so common? Why are the contracts themselves so complex, with numerous fees and interest rates, tariffs and penalties? Seduction by Contract explains how consumer contracts emerge from the interaction between market forces and consumer psychology. Consumers are short-sighted and optimistic, so sellers compete to offer short-term benefits, while imposing long-term costs. Consumers are imperfectly rational, so sellers hide the true costs of products and services in complex contracts. Consumers are seduced by contracts that increase perceived benefits, without actually providing more benefits, and decrease perceived costs, without actually reducing the costs that consumers ultimately bear. Competition does not help this behavioural market failure. It may even exacerbate it. Sellers, operating in a competitive market, have no choice but to align contract design with the psychology of consumers. A high-road seller who offers what she knows to be the best contract will lose business to the low-road seller who offers what the consumer mistakenly believes to be the best contract. Put bluntly, competition forces sellers to exploit the biases and misperceptions of their customers. Seduction by Contract argues that better legal policy can help consumers and enhance market efficiency. Disclosure mandates provide a promising avenue for regulatory intervention. Simple, aggregate disclosures can help consumers make better choices. Comprehensive disclosures can facilitate the work of intermediaries, enabling them to better advise consumers. Effective disclosure would expose the seductive nature of consumer contracts and, as a result, reduce sellers' incentives to write inefficient contracts. Developing its explanation through a general framework and detailed case studies of three major consumer markets (credit cards, mortgages, and cell phones), Seduction by Contract is an accessible introduction to the law and economics of consumer contracts, and a powerful critique of current regulatory policy.

This book discusses the law and practice of the European Union's new chemical regulatory programmes known under the acronym ''REACH'. REACH is intended to ensure the safe management of risks associated with chemical substances throughout the supply chain. Its scope is very broad; subject to limited exceptions, REACH applies to all bulk chemicals used in industrial processes and to chemicals present in products such as cleaning products, paints, clothing, furniture, and electrical appliances. The newly established European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the Commission, and member state authorities are in charge of administering the various parts of the REACH Regulation, creating a complex patchwork of government powers, procedures, and oversight. The volume is written by experienced REACH practitioners. It addresses both the key legal regulatory issues associated with REACH and the key management and practical challenges. In addition to analysing the scope, the processes, and the obligations of the industry under REACH, the book covers the strategy and management of REACH compliance from the perspective of the regulated entities. The focus is on the strategic and practical decisions facing companies subject to REACH's various regimes. Significant attention is paid to REACH consortia, which are a key instrument in compliance management, and to the competition law issues arising in connection with REACH consortia. It also covers legal remedies, enforcement, intellectual property rights, and civil liability for damages arising from chemical substances as well as how companies can shape their REACH compliance programme to reduce their liability exposure.

This is the first text to address all the instruments that will govern choice-of-court agreements in Europe and to engage in a practical discussion of their mutual relationship. The existing common law, which has dominated discussion of this subject for so long, will become less significant as European and international instruments become more widely applicable. The consequences of this, both for practitioners and business persons engaging in international transactions, are explained by thematic chapters covering all major issues affected. The work opens with an introduction to the components of a choice-of-court agreement and to the origins, principles, and status of the various instruments, making the text accessible to a broad practitioner audience. The scope of the instruments - territorial application, international application and subject-matter application - as well as conflicts between them, are addressed in Part II, which is devoted to guidance on deciding which instrument applies. Validity (substantive and formal), effects, remedies, and procedure are discussed in Part III, while Part IV tackles a range of more specialist areas, including insurance, consumer contracts, employment contracts, companies, and intellectual property. Comprehensive appendices follow, including the Hague Convention 2005 in its entirety, alongside extracts from Brussels I and Lugano, making this a standalone support for any practitioner facing unfamiliar questions in the area.

The present book examines both theoretical and practical aspects of the law on indications of geographical origin (IGOs) within the framework of European Union (EU) law, pursuing four distinct yet mutually related aims. First, it discusses theoretical issues of the law on IGOs including its historical foundations, terminology, principles of regulation, legal subjectivity, protection models and loss of protection. Second, it covers the EU law on IGOs from a systematic point of view. Particularly, the systematic review of the EU law on IGOs includes an in-depth analysis of and commentary on the relevant andapplicable regulations. Third, it examines current legislative initiatives and further development options for the EU law on IGOs. Finally, it reveals the interrelation of the EU law on one hand and the national laws of EU Member States on the other with regard to IGOs, focusing on harmonized and non-harmonized areas of law."

This work looks at the consequences of the development of information technology and the information society for consumers and for consumer law. While the new technological environment has been greeted with enthusiasm by many, citing the improvement in consumer choice, convenience, and the accessibility of information, there have also been calls to focus on the needs of those consumers who cannot easily gain access to the benefits associated with the new technology. This collection of papers examines developments in consumer protection legislation around the world in response to the technological advances, and focuses on issues such as electronic marketing, electronic commerce, financial services, product liability, intellectual property and rights of access to information. Issues such as how and to what extent the new environment should be regulated, as well as the impact of changes in the globalized information market, are also discussed. This volume arose from the 7th International Consumer Law Conference, held in Helsinki in 1999 under the auspices of the International Association for Consumer Law.

This incisive book gives a comprehensive overview of the regulation of consumer credit in both the US and the UK. It covers policy, procedure and the dynamics of the consumer credit relationship to advocate for a balanced approach in achieving more effective consumer protection. Sarah Brown traces the development of the consumer credit relationship on both sides of the Atlantic, analysing the underlying rationale and policy themes that continue to inform the shaping of the regulatory agenda. The author compares the ways in which the consumer credit relationship is now managed, including supervisory frameworks and the roles of regulators, and provides new perspectives on current arguments in credit consumer protection. Important topical issues such as unfairness, over-indebtedness, predatory lending, vulnerability and questions of responsibility are addressed, before concluding with a recommendation for the best way forward based on a balance of interests. Researchers and students aiming to understand the processes and broader aspects of consumer credit regulation will find this book invaluable, particularly those with an interest in comparative analysis in this context. It will also prove useful to US and UK policy-makers considering future approaches and reform, as well as practitioners interested in frameworks of consumer credit protection.

The emergence of a pan-European contract law is one of the most significant legal developments in Europe today. The Emergence of EU Contract Law: Exploring Europeanization examines the origins of the discipline and its subsequent evolution. It brings the discussion up-to-date with full analysis of the debate on the Common Frame of Reference and the future that this ambiguous instrument may have in the contemporary European legal framework.
One of the central themes of the book is exploration of the multi-level, open architecture of the EU legal order, and the implications of that architecture for the EU's private law programme. The analysis demonstrates that the key to understanding European contract law in the 21st century lies in adopting a perspective and mechanisms suitable for a legal order populated by multiple sources of private law. Legal pluralism is offered as a theoretical construct with the capacity to shape the future of European private law, shifting the analytical spotlight beyond the traditional, centralized, legislative means of regulation. In so doing, softer mechanisms are introduced for the governance of contract law; mechanisms that enable coordination between the different sites at which contract law operates. This reorientation in thinking about European contract law, indeed about Europeanization itself, enables the inevitable diversity and pluralism that is a feature of multi-level Europe to be captured within a framework that maximizes the opportunities for mutual learning and exchange across private law sites.

The Study Group on a European Civil Code has taken upon itself the task of drafting common European principles for the most important aspects of the law of obligations and for certain parts of the law of property in movables which are especially relevant for the functioning of the common market.
Like the Commission on European Contract Law's "Principles of European Contract Law," the results of the research conducted by the Study Group on a European Civil Code seek to advance the process of Europeanization of private law. Among other topics the series tackles sales and service contracts, distribution contracts and security rights, renting contracts and loan agreements, negotiorum gestio, delicts and unjustified enrichment law, transfer of property, and trust law.
The principles furnish each of the national jurisdictions a grid of reference. They can be agreed upon by the parties within the framework of the rules of private international law. They may provide a stimulus to both the national and European legislator for molding private law. Beyond this, they aim to further discussion about the creation of a European Civil Code, or a Common Frame of Reference in the area of patrimonial law, by submitting a concrete model.
The "Principles of European Law" are published in co-operation with Bruylant (Belgium), Oxford University Press (United Kingdom) and Staempfli Publishers Ltd. (Switzerland).

The public sector ombudsman has become one of the most important administrative justice institutions in many countries around the world. This international and interdisciplinary Research Handbook brings together leading scholars and practitioners to discuss the state-of-the-art research on this increasingly prominent institution. Traditionally, research on the ombudsman has been conducted from a purely prescriptive or (legal) descriptive perspective, mainly focusing on the ombudsman 'in the books'. By contrast, this book illustrates how empirical research may contribute to a better understanding of the ombudsman 'in action'. It uses new empirical studies and competing theoretical explanations to critically examine important aspects of the ombudsman's work. The Research Handbook is organized in to four parts: fundamentals of the ombudsman; the evolution of the ombudsman; evaluation of the ombudsman; and the ombudsman office and profession. Featuring case studies from Europe, Canada, Asia, Africa, Latin America and Australia, chapters provide a comprehensive global perspective on the issues at hand. This unique Research Handbook will be of great value to researchers in the fields of public law, socio-legal studies and alternative dispute resolution who have an interest in the ombudsman. It will also be a valuable resource for policymakers and practitioners, particularly those working within ombudsman offices. Contributors include: V. Ayeni, C.A. Barco, A. Bedner, R. Behrens, V. Bondy, B. Bradford, A. Brenninkmeijer, S. Carl, J. Chan, N. Creutzfeldt, J. Dahlvik, M. de Langen, M. Doyle, L. Diez, C. Gill, E. Govers, M. Groves, C. Harlow, M. Hertogh, C. Hodges, B. Hubeau, R. Kirkham, M. Lezertua, J. McMillan, N. O'Brien, A. Pohn-Weidinger, L.C. Reif, M. Remac, A. Stumckhe, P. Tyndall, B. Tai, Y. van der Vlugt, E. van Gelder, R. van Zutphen, V. Wong

'Saidov has produced a detailed and highly readable text that considers in turn the methods of limiting damages, the determination of loss and the calculation of damages. It will doubtless become a first point of reference for academics and practitioners alike.' Martin J Doris, Edinburgh Law Review The second edition of this internationally acclaimed book explores damages for breach of an international sales contract, one of the most important and frequently invoked remedies. The focus is on the international contract law instruments such as the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts and the Principles of European Contract Law. The book draws on the experience of some major legal systems and engages with legal scholarship on the international instruments and on contract damages, providing the most comprehensive, in-depth and thorough examination of damages under the instruments to date. The second edition is updated, reflecting the latest developments in legal thinking on contract damages. It incorporates around 60 new cases and now covers more than 370 cases decided by courts and arbitration tribunals from around the world. The new edition is substantially revised, including new commentary on damages for a documentary breach. Truly international in spirit, this book is analytically rigorous and practically oriented, offering distinctive analyses of, and solutions to, some of the most challenging problems surrounding contract damages.

The book highlights the link between consumers and travellers, identifying the meaning of vulnerability in Brazil and the EU. It also covers different types of contracts for tourism and travel services, including online booking processes. Only after 2015, as a result of the directive on package travel and linked travel arrangements, did the EU begin viewing travellers as consumers in the sense of Union Consumer Law; conversely, in Brazil, the traveller has no legal status whatsoever and is considered solely a consumer. As the traveller is implicitly a consumer he/she is subject to vulnerability. However, the definition of vulnerability differs considerably between Brazil and the EU: while in Brazil it is a principle stemming from the Consumer Defence Code, covering all consumers, in the EU vulnerability is not an established principle. In the EU, although the average consumer is assumed to be reasonably well informed, observant and circumspect, they are also recognised as the weaker party in the contract. That recognition does not fit with the notion of "confident consumer". Vulnerable consumers in the EU are those whose individual characteristics, such as their age, physical or mental infirmity, or credulity, make them particularly susceptible to unfair commercial practices. Conversely, in Brazil these consumers are seen as being hyper-vulnerable, rather than solely vulnerable. In this context, travellers are in a weaker position than regular consumers buying goods or services, because they are outside of their domicile or jurisdiction for a brief or extended period of time. This book examines two types of traveller vulnerability that make travellers, particularly international ones, a special type of consumers: 1. External and 2. Legal (jurisdiction). Travellers' vulnerability mainly stems from consumers travelling to different markets and different cultures. As such, they are subject to different laws that require special global attention. While both the EU and Brazilian system have their respective advantages and disadvantages, the goal of both must be to further increase protection for travellers, including business travellers. In consumer societies, the traveller is indeed a consumer by logical causation and hence a "special consumer".

Consumer law and policy has emerged in the last half-century as a major policy concern for all nations. This Handbook of original contributions provides an international and comparative analysis of central issues in consumer law and policy in developed and developing economies.The Handbook encompasses questions of both social policy and effective business regulation. Many of the issues are common to all countries and are becoming increasingly globalised due to the growth in international trade and technological developments such as the Internet. The authors provide a broad coverage of both substantive topics and institutional questions concerning optimal approaches to enforcement and the role of class actions in consumer policy. It also includes comparative insights into the influential EU and US models of consumer law and relates consumer law to contemporary trends in human rights law. Written by a carefully selected group of international experts, this text represents an authoritative resource for understanding contemporary and future developments in consumer law. This Handbook will provide students, researchers and policymakers with an insight to the main policy debates in each context and provide models of legal regulation to assist in the evaluation of laws and the development of consumer law and policy.

Consulting Editor: Shalom Lerner. This volume contains the text of the papers and principal commentaries delivered at the 8th Biennial Conference of the IACCL held at Bar Ilan University in August 1996. The papers include original and practical papers on banking law, secured financing, securities regulation, the international sale of goods, competition law, electronic fund transfers, transnational commercial law, commercial law in Central and Eastern Europe, international demand guarantees, the UNIDROIT principles of international commercial law, company charges, consumer bankruptcies, European consumer rights, products liability, and international commercial arbitration. Contributors: James E. Byrne, R.C.C. Cuming, S.K. Date-Bah, Louis F. del Duca and Patrick del Duca, Anthony J. Duggan, Raul Etcheverry, Benjamin Geva, Roy Goode, Laureano F. Gutierrez-Falla, Attila Harmathy, Rafael Illescas-Ortiz, Donald B. King, Shalom Lerner, Ricardo Sandoval Lopez, Patrick Osode, Uriel Procaccia, Arcelia Quintana-Adriano, Jerzy Rajski, Arie Reich, Norbert Reich, Harry C. Sigman, Catherine Walsh, Jacob S. Ziegel.

This collection includes essays by eleven leading public health experts, economists, physicians, political scientists, and lawyers, whose activities encompass Congressional testimonies, Surgeon General's reports on youth smoking, and clinical trials for drugs for smoking cessation. They analyze specific strategies that have been used to influence tobacco use, including taxation, regulation of advertising and promotion, regulation of indoor smoking, control of youth access to cigarettes and other tobacco products, litigation, and subsidies of smoking cessation, and set them against the latest scientific findings about tobacco and the changing cultural and political setting against which policy decisions are being made.

This book is a guide to the purposes, strengths, and weaknesses of disclosures as consumer protections in financial transactions such as loans, deposits, and consumer leases. It focuses on the federal Truth in Lending Act but also covers a variety of other federal disclosure statutes designed to protect consumers in their financial relationships. It comes at a time when federal financial consumer protection policy in the financial area is again a matter of intense public scrutiny and debate. Because of the importance of public policy issues surrounding use of disclosures as consumer protections, the intended audience includes anyone interested in these issues, not simply specialists who spend their time focused on them. For this reason, the work avoids academic jargon and the mathematics that is the modern language of economics. It also examines the psychological, sociological, historical, and especially legal traditions that go into fully understanding what has led to the demand for better disclosures for consumers and to what they have become today. Despite a need to outline and review prior difficulties with disclosure laws, the book remains optimistic that disclosures will continue to be an important means of consumer protection and that future reforms can improve their effectiveness and lower their regulatory costs and burden.

This edited volume covers the challenges currently faced by consumer law in Europe and the United States, ranging from fundamental theoretical questions, such as what goals consumer law should pursue, to practical questions raised by disclosure requirements, the General Data Protection Regulation and technology advancements. With governments around the world enacting powerful new regulations concerning consumers, consumer law has become an important topic in the economic analysis of law. Intended to protect consumers, these regulations typically seek to do so by giving them tools to make better decisions, or by limiting the consequences of their bad decisions. Legal scholars are divided, however, regarding the efficacy and effects of these regulations; some call for certain policies to be abolished, while others support a regulatory expansion.

This thorough and detailed Research Handbook explores the complexity of the governance of sales contracts in the modern world. It considers what is, and what ought to be, the role of traditional sales law in light of the growing diversity of commercial, trade and transactional contexts in which such contracts are made and performed. Offering an international and comparative perspective, leading experts in the field examine many topical aspects of sales law and practice. These include digital technologies, long-term contracts, global supply chains and trade in commodities. Chapters also investigate the diversity of sources that govern sales contracts today, particularly those sources that emanate from the industry and commercial players, such as standard form contracts, rules of trade associations, trade usages and trade terms. Through this critical and highly analytical examination, this Research Handbook ultimately demonstrates that the sources of governance found within the industrial sector are as important as traditional sales law, if not more so, in terms of their role in governing sales contracts in contemporary society. This timely and engaging Research Handbook will prove an essential read for students, scholars and legal practitioners with an interest in international commercial sales and contract law. Practitioners working in international trade across industry and the commercial sector will also benefit from its practical approach. Contributors include: R. Aikens, M. Bridge, F. Cafaggi, J. Coetzee, C.P. Gillette, M. Goldby, S. Green, M. Hammerson, C. Hare, E. Richardson, D. Saidov, M. Schillig, U.G. Schroeter, L. Spagnolo, A. Tettenborn, P. Wallace