Consumers represent one of the three groups of individuals who, due to their status as a weaker party, are protected by the rules of private international law, specifically in the field of international jurisdiction, conflict of laws, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. The rules that are particularly favorable to consumers ensure their effective access to justice.
The rules governing consumer disputes constitute an exception to the general rules. In the field of jurisdiction, the EU legislator provides the consumer with the so-called forum actoris, i.e., the option to file a lawsuit in the courts for the place where the consumer is domiciled. Conflict of laws rules, meanwhile, determine the application of the law of the consumer's habitual residence. Consequently, protective provisions must be interpreted restrictively, and their interpretation must pursue the objectives of the Brussels I bis and Rome I Regulations, namely legal certainty and predictability. Due to the relatively open-ended concepts contained in these provisions, the CJEU has, through a series of judgments, provided national courts with criteria that must be taken into account in their interpretation.
The purpose of this master's thesis is to present consumer protection in the context of international jurisdiction rules and conflict of laws. Relevant provisions of the regulations and significant case law of the CJEU are presented. Since I believe that the current framework calls for certain modifications, some of the potential improvements in this field are suggested in the end.
|
