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Consumer Protection and Social Models of Continental and Anglo-American Contract Law and the Transnational Outlook
- Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies
- Indiana University Press
- Volume 14, Issue 2, Summer 2007
- pp. 353-384
- 10.2979/gls.2007.14.2.353
- Article
- Additional Information
Debates over the content of recent EU directives and U.S. statutory amendments related to consumer protection highlight the importance of such regulation. Criticism calling for a return to freedom of contract in both regions reflects a tension between social ideals related to equality between private parties, and a deep distrust of state intervention and market regulation. With the rise of private sources for transnational commercial standards and practices, there is an opportunity for states to facilitate self-regulation in lieu of producing public substantive regulations. This approach seems to satisfy a well-established need for consumer protection without exacerbating government intervention in private contracts.