| CODE | ECL5042 | |||||||||
| TITLE | EU and Comparative Consumer Law | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | Not Applicable | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 12 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | European and Comparative Law | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit examines the basic issues underlying the European Union’s Consumer Policy particularly its legal basis pre and post Maastricht and Amsterdam and its integration into other European Union policies and then focuses on particular aspects of consumer protection such as product liability, product safety, unfair commercial practices, unfair contract terms, consumer redress etc as they are dealt with at European Union level and in the individual Member States. Much of the discussion is based on European Union case law, COM Documents, Green Papers and Discussion Papers, adopted and proposed legislation and Member State legislation implementing the consumer acquis, as well as studies and reports by DG Sanco and European consumer associations such as BEUC, with particular emphasis on the way the policy is likely to develop in future. Learning Outcomes: The study-unit is designed to enable the student: (i) to gain, with the aid of academic commentaries and interpretative case law, a comprehensive understanding of the main consumer protection harmonisation measures adopted by the European Union; (ii) to analyse the extent to which these measures serve to adequately achieve consumer protection and ways through which these weaknesses or ‘gaps’ may be addressed; (iii) to explore whether a genuine consumer policy exists at European Union level or else whether these measures are driven primarily by the objective of market integration; and (iv) to assess the impact that the recent trend away from minimum harmonisation in this field and the current review of the consumer acquis might have on national consumer policies. Reading Material: Main Textbooks - S. Weatherill, (2005) EU Consumer Law and Policy, Edward Elgar - Howells & Wilhelmsson, (1997) EC Consumer Law, Dartmouth/Ashgate - I. Ramsey, (2007) Consumer Law and Policy: Text and Materials on Regulating Consumer Markets, 2nd edn., Hart Publishing - Micklitz, Reich & Rott, (2009) Understanding EU Consumer Law, Hart Publishing - Howells & Weatherill, (2005) Consumer Protection Law, 2nd edn., Ashgate NB: There will be detailed reading lists given out and indicated for each seminar. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Lorna Mifsud Cachia |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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