The Consumers on the New Marketplace: Novelties in the Protection of Consumers in Consumer Contracts

Abstract

Regardless of the marketplace, being physical or online one, the position of the consumer remains the same - it is the weaker party to the contract due to their lesser bargaining powers and the lack of knowledge, as established by the case-law of the Curt of Justice of the European Union. The rules of the market should provide that the disproportionality of the information that the trader and consumer have is balanced by protection rules that provide the consumer adequate remedies in particular in the digital market shaped by the fast technological developments. In 2019 the consumer law of the European Union has been significantly changed by three new directives that set (new) rules on the protection of consumers in contracts for supply of goods and services including digital content and digital services. The article examines the scope of these directives and the legislative approach as well as the specific novelties they introduce with regard to the protection of consumers in consumer contracts.