Consumer Law Entangled: Comparative Approaches in European Private Law After Aziz and Addiko Bank

Abstract

This paper argues that an EU-focused viewpoint is not sufficient to adequately characterize developments in European private law. It proposes to take a critical look at the core activity of national courts. The paper begins with a comparison between two consumer law cases decided by the European Court of Justice (ECJ): Aziz and Addiko Bank, showing that the same problem already solved in Aziz still existed at the national level years later (Addiko Bank). By presenting two reasonings, one of the second referring court and one of the ECJ, it is shown how consumer law is nationally entangled. In the second part, the paper proposes a solution, namely that the disentanglement can be achieved by conducting a comparative study of national case law through four lenses: spotlighting, comparing, functionalizing and Europeanizing. It is argued that such a comparative approach in European private law could facilitate moving beyond entanglements not perceivable solely from an EU-focused viewpoint. It would allow for a broader view of the efficacity of European private law from a bottomup perspective. And this perspective, in turn, would help in tackling some of the systemic shortcomings of European private law (including consumer law) developed on the basis of the ECJ case law.