Table Of ContentINFORMATION RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS
Markets and the Law
Series Editor:
Geraint Howells
Lancaster University, UK
Markets and the Law is concerned with the way the law interacts with the market
through regulation, self-regulation and the impact of private law regimes. It looks at
the impact of regional and international organizations (e.g. EC and WTO) and many of
the works adopt a comparative approach and/or appeal to an international audience.
Examples of subjects covered include trade laws, intellectual property, sales law,
insurance, consumer law, banking, financial markets, labour law, environmental law
and social regulation affecting the market as well as competition law. The series
includes texts covering a broad area, monographs on focused issues, and collections
of essays dealing with particular themes.
Other titles in the series
Cyber Consumer Law and Unfair Trading Practices
Cristina Coteanu
ISBN 07546 2417 X
Consumer Protection Law
Geraint Howells and Stephen Weatherill
ISBN 07546 2338 6 (Pbk)
ISBN 07546 23319 (Hbk)
Information Rights and Obligations
A Challenge for Party Autonomy and Transactional Fairness
Edited by
GERAINT HOWELLS
Lancaster University, UK
ANDRE JANSSEN
University of Munster, Germany
REINER SCHULZE
University of Munster, Germany
Routledge
Taylor &. Francis Group
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2005 by Ashgate Publishing
Published 2016 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © Geraint Howells, Andre Janssen and Reiner Schulze 2005
Geraint Howells, Andre Janssen and Reiner Schulze have asserted their right under the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editors of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Howells, Geraint G.
Information rights and obligations: a challenge for party autonomy and transactional
fairness. - (Markets and the law)
1. Disclosure of information - Law and legislation - Europe - Congresses 2. Liberty of
contract - Europe - Congresses 3. Law - Europe - International unification - Congresses 4.
Obligations (Law) - Europe - Congresses I. Title II. Janssen, Andre III. Schulze, Reiner
346.4'022
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
nformation rights and obligations: a challenge for party autonomy and transactional
fairness / [edited] by Geraint Howells, Andre Janssen and Reiner Schulze.
p. cm. -- (Markets and the law)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7546-2432-3
1. Liberty of contract--European Union countries. 2. Contracts--European Union
countries. 3. Disclosure ofinformation--Law and legislation--European Union countries. I.
Howells, Geraint G. II. Janssen, Andre, 1972- III. Reiner, Schulze, 1948- IV. Series.
KJEI640. 154 2004
342.240662--dc22
2004018318
ISBN 13: 978-0-7546-2432-5 (hbk)
Contents
List of Contributors vii
Foreword ix
Introduction xi
Autonomy and Fairness: The Case of Public Statements
Chris Willett
2 The Strategy and the Harmonization Process within the
European Legal System: Party Autonomy and Information
Requirements
Paola Gozzo 17
3 Evolution of Party Autonomy in a Legal System under
Transformation - Recent Developments in Poland
under Special Consideration of the Package Travel
Directive
Katarzyna Michalowska 33
4 From Truth in Lending to Responsible Lending
lain Ramsay 47
5 EC Directives for Self-Employed Commercial Agents
and on Time-Sharing - Apples, Oranges and the Core
of the Information Overload Problem
Bettina Wendlandt 67
6 Information Requirements in the E-Commerce
Directive and the Proposed Directive on Unfair
Commercial Practices
Annette Nordhausen 93
7 Contractual Disclosure and Remedies under the Unfair
Contract Terms Directive
Edoardo Ferrante 115
vi Information Rights and Obligations
8 Information Disclosure about the Quality of Goods -
Duty or Encouragement?
Christian Twigg-Flesner 135
9 Information and Product Liability - A Game of Russian
Roulette?
Geraint Howells 155
10 Duties to Inform versus Party Autonomy: Reversing the
Paradigm (from Free Consent to Informed Consent)? -
A Comparative Account of French and English Law
Ruth Sefton-Green 171
11 The Information Requirements in the Principles of
European Private Law ‘Long-Term Commercial
Contracts: Commercial Agency, Distribution,
Franchise’ - A Model for a European Civil Code?
Andre Janssen 189
Annex: Principles of European Private Law Long-Term
Commercial Contracts: Commercial Agency, Distribution,
Franchise
Edited by Martijn W. Hesselink 205
Index 223
List of Contributors
Dr. Edoardo Ferrante
Lecturer in Law, Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche, University of Turin, Italy
Dr. Paola Gozzo
Assegnista di Ricerca, Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche, University of Turin,
Italy
Geraint Howells
Professor of Law, School of Law, Lancaster University, Barrister, Gough Square
Chambers
Dr. Andre Janssen
Assistant Professor, Chair for German and European Private Law, University of
Munster, Germany
Dr. Katarzyna Michalowska
Adiunkt, Chair for Comparative Civil Law, Law Faculty, Warsaw University,
Poland
Annette Nordhausen, LL.M. (Eur)
Lecturer in Law, Centre for European, Comparative and International Law,
University of Sheffield
Iain Ramsay
Professor of Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Canada
Dr. Reiner Schulze
Professor of Law, Chair for German and European Private Law, University of
Munster, Germany
Dr. Ruth Sefton-Green
Maitre de conferences, University Paris I (Pantheon-Sorbonne), France
Dr. Christian Twigg-Flesner
Lecturer in Law, Law School, The University of Hull
viii Information Rights and Obligations
Dr. Bettina Wendlandt, LL.M. (Chicago)
Assistant Professor, Chair for International Private Law and Civil Law, University
of Munster, Germany
Dr. Chris Willett
Professor of Consumer Law, School of Law, De Montfort University
Foreword
This publication collects the contributions of a conference, which were presented
in November 2003 hosted by the Centre for European Private Law (Minister) and
the Centre for European Comparative and International Law (Sheffield). The
conference concerned the topic ‘Information Rights and Obligations - The Impact
on Party Autonomy and Contractual Fairness’ and was held in Munster.
The decision was taken not to reproduce the relevant Directives since they
have been made available in various compendiums (cf. Oliver Radley-Gardner,
Hugh Beale, Reinhard Zimmermann, Reiner Schulze, Fundamental texts on
European Private Law, Hart Publishing, Oxford/Portland 2003; Ulrich Magnus,
Europaisches Schuldrecht, Verordnungen und Richtlinien, Sellier, Munich/Berlin
2002).
The results of the conference should also contribute to the development of a
common European legal terminology in the field of contract law.
We would like to thank the Marie Curie Training Site ‘Harmonization of
Business and Consumer Law in the EU’ and the TMR Research Network ‘Uniform
Terminology for European Private Law’ for financing the publication of this book.
The Research Network consists of the partner universities of Turin (co-ordination),
Barcelona, Lyon III, Munster, Nijmegen, Oxford und Warsaw and is supported by
the European Commission.
In addition, we would like to thank those who assisted in the editing of this
book, especially Martin Weitenberg.
Munster and Sheffield, June 2004
Geraint Howells Andre Janssen Reiner Schulze
