Unfair terms in contracts involving consumers

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of unfair terms in contracts with the participation of consumers, a practical problem that often occurs alongside the discussion of measures to strengthen the protection of consumer rights in Ukraine. The modern stage of the development of contract law involves the borrowing of the generally recognized in their effectiveness of the legislation of the EU countries.
 The article analyzes the problem of unfair contract terms from the point of view of the legislation of EU countries and concludes that basing the strategy of economic growth on strengthening the protection of consumer rights is an effective legislative approach that is necessary for the future of Ukraine.
 In the author's opinion, approaches to inseparability or limited severability of the terms of a consumer contract should provide for the opportunity for the consumer to separate from the unfair term of the contract or to amend the contract with an unfair term, if the invalidity of such a contract can cause irreparable damage to the consumer.
 The author proposes to develop an agreed method of replacing unfair conditions based on the practice of alternative provisions and additional interpretations, which is widespread in the EU countries.
 The article analyzes interdisciplinary studies that practically confirm the effectiveness of EU legislation in satisfying consumer rights and the effect that this strengthening has on subsidizing new markets of the economy.
 As a result, it was established the need to raise the minimum level of consumer rights in Ukraine, since the gap that exists today between Ukraine and the EU in this matter will not allow our country to significantly strengthen its position in the internal European market.
 In order to eliminate the problem of unfair conditions in contracts with the participation of consumers, which exists in the civil law of Ukraine, the author proposes to supplement the domestic legislation with the provisions of the articles based on the samples of the civil codes of the EU member states, which were analyzed by him in the text of the article, to develop a certain interpretation or an additional provision that will take the text of Directive 93/13/EEC as a basis, as well as change the existing approach to consumer rights protection in Ukraine.