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DISSERTATI0N
Consumer Sales and Guarantees in Europe
GUITT0N DAVID
University of Exeter - School of Law - LLM in
International Business Law Supervised by Professor A. Garde
ABSTRACT
In sales contracts, consumers are protected on a multilevel
basis. Indeed, European rules, in particular the Directive of 1999 on certain
aspect of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantee, stand alongside
the provisions of Member States themselves.
At the national level, the form and the content of consumer
protection vary greatly. In France, the system of latent defect and
«garantie des vices caches» appears to be complicated and is not
designed for consumers' use. Conversely, in the UK, consumers are granted with
a right to reject faulty goods on which they can efficiently rely. As a matter
of fact, these differences have not been lessened by the Directive of 1999
which provides for minimal harmonisation.
The Commission observes that this practice of minimal
harmonisation has led to the fragmentation of the regulatory framework in
Europe. This is contrary to its goals to strengthen the internal market by
increasing cross-border transactions and reinforcing consumer confidence. This
is why it has launched on 2008 a Proposal on consumer rights providing for a
full harmonisation Directive. However, both this method and the Proposal's
content itself appear to lead to a great decrease in consumer protection. In
addition, the Proposal fails in achieving the other objectives it has been
assigned.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
I. THE CURRENT REGIME IN FRANCE AND IN THE UK
A. The Directive of 1999 on certain aspect of the sale of goods
and associated guarantees
B. The current regime in France - A fragmented Regulatory
framework
C. The current regime in the UK - A unified and efficient
regime
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