JJUA55184U EU and US Consumer Protection Law - NOTE: THE COURSE IS CANCELLED IN THE SPRING SEMESTER 2018

Volume 2017/2018
Content

The course aims to provide a comparative overview of the subject. After a brief historical introduction on the evolution of consumer law in Europe and the United States, it analyzes the most relevant areas of legislative intervention, such as electronic commerce and distance selling, credit and investment market, sale of consumer goods and related guarantees, product liability, standard contract forms and unfair terms, unfair business practices and regulation of advertisings.

Special attention and focus will be given to financial services and enforcement of claims against consumers, private debt collection, self-help mechanisms and fair debt collection practices. Then, it turns to the analysis of a number of jurisdictional, ADR and choice of law problems, in light of their impact on the effectiveness of consumer protection in cross border , internet transactions or abusive debt collection practices.


 

Learning Outcome

Knowledge

The course seeks to familiarize students not only with the understanding of black letter law but also to discuss the rationale behind this particular field of law. Thus, it is focused both on theoretical and practical issues, as well as possible solutions, as they appear from legislation and relevant case law.

In terms of knowledge, students will be able to:

  • describe and explain concepts as defined by law and developed by case law (i.e: concept of consumer, average consumer, faulty product, unfair contract terms, abusive debt collection practices)
  • explain various policy considerations (i.e.: need for consumer protection, need for sector specific regulation, need for ADR mechanisms, need for introducing adequate means of protection against creditor abuse)
  • gain knowledge of ethical and moral issues concerning various topics (i.e. refraining from engaging in abusive practices, using trickery in resort to self-help mechanisms of recovery, duties imposed on lawyers)

 

Skills

As a result students will develop the ability to:

  • understand general rules and principles of consumer protection law and to apply them in national and cross-border scenarios
  • identify and understand the different levels of consumer protection in Europe and the United States, and the effect of such discrepancies on national and transnational commerce
  • analyze the policy rationales underlying the different regulatory choices and to argue on their strengths and weaknesses

 

Competences

At the end of the course, students will have acquired a number of competences which will enable them to:

  • identify abusive practices in debt collection and possible remedies for aggrieved consumer-debtors in real life scenarios
  • identify abusive contract terms and possible remedies for aggrieved consumers in real life scenarios
  • individually and/or jointly plan, work and handle complex cases, carry out jurisprudential analysis and prepare competent legal advice on practical issues or hypotethicals
  • critically reflect on current and future developments in the field in both a Danish and international context.
The course does not require students to have completed other MA courses. However, it may be advantageous for those who studied or are about to study EU law, contract law, e-commerce and distribution law.
The course takes the format of lectures and active class participation. Hence, whenever possible, the participation of the students is expected, encouraged and appreciated. Students are therefore required to prepare themselves by:
- reading the assignments for each class in advance,
- deliver presentations and provide feedback to their peers,
- working on assignments (either individually or in groups, as the case may be),
- working out solutions for the cases and hypoteticals distributed,
- engaging in the exchange of ideas throughout the classes and other activities required by the professor.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Preparation
  • 356,5
  • Seminar
  • 56
  • Total
  • 412,5
Written
Individual
Collective
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Feedback by final exam (In addition to the grade)
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)

The course aims to make use of multiple types of feedback in order to ensure, on the one hand, the constant communication between teacher and students, and, on the other hand, that students understand what is expected of them and learn the outcome of their work througout the course.

Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written examination, 4 timer under invigilation
Written exam, 4 hours with invigilation
Censorship form
No external censorship
Exam period

May 23, 2018

Re-exam

August 16, 2018