The Consumer Rights Directive

Abstract

This contribution discusses the impact of the CRD on Dutch private law. How will the new directive influence consumer rights and how does this fit with existing law? Considering the background of the directive and its importance for European consumer law, however, we discuss these questions in the light of a broader perspective. We find it helpful to not only discuss the content of the new provisions introduced by the directive, but also to sketch the legislative (and political) background against which they came into being. Part 2 gives a brief overview of the directive’s background and the major points on which criticism was raised and concessions were made in the legislative process. Parts 3-7 discuss the directive’s content, starting with the scope of the directive before moving to the ‘consumer’ definition, information duties, the right of withdrawal, and a few other provisions that are new in comparison to previous legislation. We will indicate at which points discussions arose between the various legislative actors at EU and national level, and how these debates have played out in the final text of the directive. Since the directive has not yet been implemented and the new rules, therefore, have not been tested in practice, we will not be able to fully assess the impact that the directive will have on Dutch private law, in particular on case law. Where relevant, we will, however, point out significant changes that the directive makes to the existing rules. Also, comparisons will be made with the rules of the directives that will be replaced by the CRD, taking into account relevant case law that has appeared since the first edition of the volume in which this contribution appears.