ABSTRACT
Traditionally, European consumer law has primarily focused on consumer protection. Much attention was spent on strengthening consumer rights and later also on enhancing the enforcement of consumer rights. More recently, consumer law has also been given a role to play in stimulating sustainability and a circular economy, in particular by stimulating repair. This paper seeks to answer the question whether European (consumer) law lives up to its proclaimed aim of stimulating repair. In this paper, first the currently applicable legislation regarding consumer sales law, the law regarding service contracts, and rules facilitating continued use and repair by either the consumer or an independent repairer are discussed. On all three points, important shortcomings are identified. The author continues by discussing recent reform initiatives pertaining to eco-design legislation, to amendments to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive contributing to the green transition, and to the introduction of the right to repair and associated amendments to the Sale of Goods Directive. The author concludes that the legal environment has been improved to facilitate repair, but – from the point of view of sustainability – existing and new European (consumer) law nevertheless does not yet sufficiently live up to its aim of stimulating repair.
Loos, Marco, Repairing Consumer Sales Law (October 9, 2024), Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No 2024-38; Amsterdam Centre for Transformative Private Law Working Paper No 2024-03; Forthcoming in European Review of Private Law.
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