Amsterdam Law School Legal Studies Research Paper Series, 2013
Verbraucherrecht wird in der EU als Nebengebiet des Binnenmarktrechts und verschiedene nationale ... more Verbraucherrecht wird in der EU als Nebengebiet des Binnenmarktrechts und verschiedene nationale Verbraucherschutzregelungen als potentielle Hindernisse fur den freien Warenverkehr angesehen. Der durchschnittliche europaische Verbraucher wird als verantwortungsbewusst und umsichtig betrachtet und soll befahigt werden, informierte Produktentscheidungen zu treffen und so den Wettbewerb auf dem europaischen Binnenmarkt zu fordern. Daruber hinaus ist der Verbraucher mehr und mehr dazu angehalten, eigene Vorkehrungen zur Sozial- und Altersvorsorge zu treffen. Der Erwerb eines Eigenheims durch Verbraucherkredit ist ein prominentes Beispiel dieser privatautonomen – nicht staatlichen – Fursorge. Dieser wettbewerbspolitische Ansatzpunkt mit seinem Schwerpunkt auf Privatautonomie hat weitreichende Auswirkungen auf das Schutzniveau europaischer Verbrauchergesetzgebung. Das Paradigma der Informationsbeschaffung dominiert die meisten Bereiche des europaischen Verbraucherrechts, so auch das Verbr...
This article explores the different meanings of the right to housing in Europe in public and priv... more This article explores the different meanings of the right to housing in Europe in public and private relations with housing providers. In light of the fundamental right to housing's meaning in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union, we offer a new reading of the CJEU judgments that have hitherto been heralded as extending the social dimension of EU (private) law. We submit that the emphasis on economic and procedural rights risks further ‘economisation’ of housing relations in Europe. While the possibilities to grant direct horizontal effect to the right to housing in EU law currently offer limited potential to counter this trend, private law provides part of the framework for a further balancing of social and economic elements in housing cases. Accordingly, we call for a debate on the specific aspects of horizontal relationships in the complex system of housing justice.
The high numbers of over‐indebtedness and of evictions in Europe since the financial crisis have ... more The high numbers of over‐indebtedness and of evictions in Europe since the financial crisis have highlighted the need to re‐think the role that mortgage credit plays for societies. This contribution examines the social function of contract law, based on the observation that contract law is a means of allocating welfare in a political economy in which the welfare state is in retreat. The claim asserted in this article is that EU law in the field of mortgages does not fulfil its social function because it is based on a formalistic understanding of contract law. In order to close the protective gap brought about by a shift in the allocation of welfare from public provision to private markets without altering the understanding of contracts, the proposal is to follow the cooperative contract model of contracts as social cooperation. This approach allows for an assessment of fairness that acknowledges the long‐term character of mortgage contracts and the ensuing need to distribute market ...
This contribution deals with algorithmic profiling as an example of datafication and machine colo... more This contribution deals with algorithmic profiling as an example of datafication and machine colonization. It examines to what extent Teubner's theory of societal constitutionalism (SC) describes the emergence of an EU digital constitution, including its capacities to deal with datafication and machine colonization. This article advances an internal critique of SC, by questioning its assumptions concerning the capacity of societal actors and nonlegal media, such as public outrage and litigation, to exert the pressure needed for change from within. Using Habermas's colonization theory as well as the insights of the law and political economy literature helps to understand the structural power of companies as an inhibition to the buildup of external pressure and to justify the adoption of a counter-concept of structural digital vulnerability, which can be used to interpret existing rules in a stricter way.
The high numbers of over-indebtedness and of evictions in Europe since the financial crisis have ... more The high numbers of over-indebtedness and of evictions in Europe since the financial crisis have highlighted the need to rethink the role that mortgage credit plays for societies. This contribution examines the social function of contract law, based on the observation that contract law is a means of allocating welfare in a political economy in which the welfare state is in retreat. The claim asserted in this article is that EU law in the field of mortgages does not fulfil its social function because it is based on a formalistic understanding of contract law. In order to close the protective gap brought about by a shift in the allocation of welfare from public provision to private markets without altering the understanding of contracts, the proposal is to follow the cooperative contract model of contracts as social cooperation. This approach allows for an assessment of fairness that acknowledges the long-term character of mortgage contracts and the ensuing need to distribute market risks between both contracting parties.
Solidarity is an important idea behind European integration. The Lisbon Treaty advanced the under... more Solidarity is an important idea behind European integration. The Lisbon Treaty advanced the understanding of the concept by establishing three dimensions: solidarity between member states, member states and individuals, and between generations. However, the knowledge about solidarity is incomplete and its conceptualization in the EU legal order needs to be further developed. This article aims at deepening the knowledge about solidarity in the EU by eliciting its rationales and scope of application. It will be concluded that solidarity is developed to different extent in different fields of law. It is most advanced in socio-economic law, but underdeveloped in areas of law that are new to the EU legal order: solidarity in the event of environmental disasters and solidarity with future generations. Reasons for the different depths of solidarity will be elicited, as well as possible means to overcome inhibitors to transnational solidarity.
Amsterdam Law School Legal Studies Research Paper Series, 2013
Verbraucherrecht wird in der EU als Nebengebiet des Binnenmarktrechts und verschiedene nationale ... more Verbraucherrecht wird in der EU als Nebengebiet des Binnenmarktrechts und verschiedene nationale Verbraucherschutzregelungen als potentielle Hindernisse fur den freien Warenverkehr angesehen. Der durchschnittliche europaische Verbraucher wird als verantwortungsbewusst und umsichtig betrachtet und soll befahigt werden, informierte Produktentscheidungen zu treffen und so den Wettbewerb auf dem europaischen Binnenmarkt zu fordern. Daruber hinaus ist der Verbraucher mehr und mehr dazu angehalten, eigene Vorkehrungen zur Sozial- und Altersvorsorge zu treffen. Der Erwerb eines Eigenheims durch Verbraucherkredit ist ein prominentes Beispiel dieser privatautonomen – nicht staatlichen – Fursorge. Dieser wettbewerbspolitische Ansatzpunkt mit seinem Schwerpunkt auf Privatautonomie hat weitreichende Auswirkungen auf das Schutzniveau europaischer Verbrauchergesetzgebung. Das Paradigma der Informationsbeschaffung dominiert die meisten Bereiche des europaischen Verbraucherrechts, so auch das Verbr...
This article explores the different meanings of the right to housing in Europe in public and priv... more This article explores the different meanings of the right to housing in Europe in public and private relations with housing providers. In light of the fundamental right to housing's meaning in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union, we offer a new reading of the CJEU judgments that have hitherto been heralded as extending the social dimension of EU (private) law. We submit that the emphasis on economic and procedural rights risks further ‘economisation’ of housing relations in Europe. While the possibilities to grant direct horizontal effect to the right to housing in EU law currently offer limited potential to counter this trend, private law provides part of the framework for a further balancing of social and economic elements in housing cases. Accordingly, we call for a debate on the specific aspects of horizontal relationships in the complex system of housing justice.
The high numbers of over‐indebtedness and of evictions in Europe since the financial crisis have ... more The high numbers of over‐indebtedness and of evictions in Europe since the financial crisis have highlighted the need to re‐think the role that mortgage credit plays for societies. This contribution examines the social function of contract law, based on the observation that contract law is a means of allocating welfare in a political economy in which the welfare state is in retreat. The claim asserted in this article is that EU law in the field of mortgages does not fulfil its social function because it is based on a formalistic understanding of contract law. In order to close the protective gap brought about by a shift in the allocation of welfare from public provision to private markets without altering the understanding of contracts, the proposal is to follow the cooperative contract model of contracts as social cooperation. This approach allows for an assessment of fairness that acknowledges the long‐term character of mortgage contracts and the ensuing need to distribute market ...
This contribution deals with algorithmic profiling as an example of datafication and machine colo... more This contribution deals with algorithmic profiling as an example of datafication and machine colonization. It examines to what extent Teubner's theory of societal constitutionalism (SC) describes the emergence of an EU digital constitution, including its capacities to deal with datafication and machine colonization. This article advances an internal critique of SC, by questioning its assumptions concerning the capacity of societal actors and nonlegal media, such as public outrage and litigation, to exert the pressure needed for change from within. Using Habermas's colonization theory as well as the insights of the law and political economy literature helps to understand the structural power of companies as an inhibition to the buildup of external pressure and to justify the adoption of a counter-concept of structural digital vulnerability, which can be used to interpret existing rules in a stricter way.
The high numbers of over-indebtedness and of evictions in Europe since the financial crisis have ... more The high numbers of over-indebtedness and of evictions in Europe since the financial crisis have highlighted the need to rethink the role that mortgage credit plays for societies. This contribution examines the social function of contract law, based on the observation that contract law is a means of allocating welfare in a political economy in which the welfare state is in retreat. The claim asserted in this article is that EU law in the field of mortgages does not fulfil its social function because it is based on a formalistic understanding of contract law. In order to close the protective gap brought about by a shift in the allocation of welfare from public provision to private markets without altering the understanding of contracts, the proposal is to follow the cooperative contract model of contracts as social cooperation. This approach allows for an assessment of fairness that acknowledges the long-term character of mortgage contracts and the ensuing need to distribute market risks between both contracting parties.
Solidarity is an important idea behind European integration. The Lisbon Treaty advanced the under... more Solidarity is an important idea behind European integration. The Lisbon Treaty advanced the understanding of the concept by establishing three dimensions: solidarity between member states, member states and individuals, and between generations. However, the knowledge about solidarity is incomplete and its conceptualization in the EU legal order needs to be further developed. This article aims at deepening the knowledge about solidarity in the EU by eliciting its rationales and scope of application. It will be concluded that solidarity is developed to different extent in different fields of law. It is most advanced in socio-economic law, but underdeveloped in areas of law that are new to the EU legal order: solidarity in the event of environmental disasters and solidarity with future generations. Reasons for the different depths of solidarity will be elicited, as well as possible means to overcome inhibitors to transnational solidarity.
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