CREDIT AND DEBT · PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE CONSUMERS IN EUROPEAN PRIVATE LAW

Protection of vulnerable consumers in European private law

In the last three years, the Marie Curie European Reintegration Grants (ERG) research project CREDIT AND DEBT (ERG2007 233605) has organised three international conferences at the Universities of Durham, Leeds and Leceister dealing with the issues of credit, debt, consumer protection and the Europeanisation of private law. In the course of these events 89 speakers from 21 jurisdictions and 43 institutions presented papers to an international audience of academics, practitioners, policy-makers, consumer activists and civil servants. This has, in turn, produced a number of conference outputs as well as encouraging research more widely. Cambridge University Press has played the central role in disseminating the project's research results through the publication of the conference proceedings. Given the recent unprecedented turmoil in financial markets and the acute levels of consumer indebtedness in Europe, the project has addressed issues of critical importance to the European Union (EU) economy and society. Moreover, the deliberation of European consumer protection in the field of financial services necessarily involves deliberation of the 'Europeanisation' of private law and the need to improve consumer protection; phenomena promoted by the European Commission (EC) and the European Parliament in other initiatives (inter alia the draft common frame of reference (DCFR)). Through its events the project has offered a platform for discourse, reflection and research. The first conference focused on concepts of vulnerability and unconscionability in the context of financial transactions, and was held in Durham Castle 8 - 9 September 2008: http://www.dur.ac.uk/iccl/events/conceptualising/programme/ The first volume of conference proceedings was published in 2010: 'Unconscionability in European private financial transactions: protecting the vulnerable' (ISBN-13: 9780521190534): http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521190533 The second conference - European consumer protection: theory and practice - was held in Leeds on 16 - 17 December 2009. It attracted many distinguished delegates from throughout the EU and the keynote speech was given by Emeritus Professor Norbert Reich (University of Bremen and Braudel Fellow at the EUI). Representatives from the United Kingdom (UK) Department for Business, Skills and Innovation, and the Polish Ministry of Justice attended the event. The conference attracted interest from as far afield as Australia (Consumer Affairs Victoria). Further details are available at: http://www.law.leeds.ac.uk/research/events/consumer-protection-europe.php Selected papers from that conference will be published in two edited collections by Cambridge University Press in 2011/12 (European consumer protection: Theory and practice and credit, investment and consumer protection in Europe). The third conference - European private law: Theory and practice - was held in Leicester on 17-18 December 2010. This event attracted speakers from throughout the EU and beyond. The symposium was addressed by Prof. Stephen Waddams (Toronto) and Prof. Geraint Howells (Manchester) and attracted contributions from distinguished members of the EC's expert group on contract law (Prof. Hugh Beale (Warwick) and Prof. Irene Kull (Tartu, Estonia)). Other contributors included Prof. Immaculada Barral Viñals (Barcelona), Prof. Steve Hedley (Cork) and Prof. Stephan Vogenauer (Oxford). Further details are available at: http://www.le.ac.uk/la/celi/cdcp/documents/europeanisation-programme.pdf Two further collections of proceedings - 'The advent of Europeanised private law' - illuminating some key issues in the Europeanisation of private Law, and - 'The future of Europeanised private law' - focusing on prospective directions of Europeanisation are due for publication in 2012/13. In August 2010 the research group on credit, debt and consumer protection (CDCP) was successfully established at Leicester Law School under the management of the ERG researcher. The research group will promote the themes developed within the ERG into the future. Further details on the past and future of this project can be found at the research group's website at: http://www.le.ac.uk/law/celi/cdcp/index.html

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