The Modernisation of UK Consumer Law

1
The Modernisation of UK Consumer Law

• A Consumer Code?
• Possible approaches and models
• Professor Hugh Beale
• University of Warwick

2
Changing our legislation

• Reform
• Simplification of substantive rules
• Making the law more accessible
• Collection in one place
• French Code de consommation
• Hyperlinks
• Integration into single coherent text

3
Overall aim

• Make law readily comprehensible to
• Consumer advisers
• Business persons with some experience of contract

4
Simplification

• Horizontal approach
• Reduction in number of legislative instruments
• Sale and supply of goods
• Better integration
• Remedies in consumer sales (Law Com project)
• More accessible language and structure

5
Unfair Terms in Contracts

• Making any replacement legislation clearer and
  more accessible to the reader, so far as is
  possible without making the law significantly
  less certain, by using language which is
  non-technical with simple sentences, by setting
  out the law in a simple structure following a
  clear logic and by using presentation which is
  easy to follow.

6
Limits and techniques

• Complex legal concepts and terminology
• Techniques
• Hyperlinks
• Commentary
• Examples
• Explanatory Notes
• Structure of legislation
• Decompression
• Arrangement of parts

7
Unfair Contract Terms Bill

• PART 1 BUSINESS LIABILITY FOR NEGLIGENCE
• PART 2 CONSUMER CONTRACTS
• PART 3 NON-CONSUMER CONTRACTS
• Business contracts
• Small business contracts
• Employment contracts
• Private contracts
• PART 4 THE "FAIR AND REASONABLE" TEST

8
Constraints

• Commission v Kingdom of the Netherlands Case
  C-144/99

9
Legislation

• Primary legislation
• Consolidation
• Special procedure
• Limited changes
• Excludes secondary legislation
• Consumer Act
• Repeat general sections of SGA etc
• Parliamentary time
• Secondary legislation
• Easier to keep in line with EU Acquis
• Amend/update
• Can repeat provisions in primary legislation?

10
Common law rules

• Hard to find an authoritative account
• classic texts are too detailed
• Citizens Advice Guide
• Codification of basic rules?
• At e.g. level of PECL/DCFR
• With explanatory comments
• Legislation or official restatement?
• Vetted by BERR/Law Commissions/judges

11
An Optional Instrument

• Rome I Regulation Consumers (art 6)
• Law of Cs habitual residence if B directs such
  activities to that country or to several
  countries including that country
• Or choice, but
• choice may not have the result of depriving the
  consumer of the protection afforded to him by
  such provisions that cannot be derogated from by
  contract by virtue of the law which, in the
  absence of choice, would have been applicable on
  the basis of paragraph 1.

12
Cross-border contracts

• More an issue for B than for C
• B must learn law of state where targets Cs
• Internet?
• Rec 24 the mere fact that an Internet site is
  accessible is not sufficient for Article 15 to be
  applicable, although a factor will be that this
  Internet site solicits the conclusion of distance
  contracts and that a contract has actually been
  concluded at a distance, by whatever means. In
  this respect, the language or currency which a
  website uses does not constitute a relevant
  factor.

13
The Blue Button

• B should be required to
• Provide protection of law of Cs habitual
  residence or
• Supply on terms of optional instrument
• If C agrees by pressing the blue button

14
Optional Instrument

• Optional Instrument might resemble DCFR
• Simple statement of general law plus special
  consumer rules
• With commentary
• Should Consumer Code be in similar form?