Black Lists in EU Contract Law

THE INVOLVEMENT OF EU LAW IN PRIVATE LAW RELATIONSHIPS, Daniela Caruso, Dorota Leczykiewicz and Stephen Weatheril, eds., Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2012

Boston University School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 11-52

Oxford Legal Studies Research Paper No. 36/2013

Posted: 25 Oct 2011

See all articles by Daniela Caruso

Daniela Caruso

Boston University School of Law

Date Written: October 25, 2011

Abstract

The policing of consumer contracts relies mostly on general clauses. EU legislators, however, have occasionally resorted also to ‘black lists’, which displace judicial discretion and identify as void a finite set of contractual terms. Black lists epitomize an unusually high degree of supranational interference with both private autonomy and states’ sovereignty, and are therefore a privileged stand-point for investigating the EU private law project. This essay explores the regulatory, distributive, and discursive ambiguity of black lists, and posits that their normative desirability cannot be assessed without a systemic appraisal of the socio-political dynamics of European integration.

Keywords: black lists, consumer contracts, private law, European Union, harmonization

JEL Classification: K12, K20, K33

Suggested Citation

Caruso, Daniela, Black Lists in EU Contract Law (October 25, 2011). THE INVOLVEMENT OF EU LAW IN PRIVATE LAW RELATIONSHIPS, Daniela Caruso, Dorota Leczykiewicz and Stephen Weatheril, eds., Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2012, Boston University School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 11-52, Oxford Legal Studies Research Paper No. 36/2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1949244

Daniela Caruso (Contact Author)

Boston University School of Law ( email )

765 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
United States
617-353-7024 (Phone)
617-353-3077 (Fax)

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