CYIL vol. 15 (2024)

CYIL 15 ȍ2024Ȏ NEW PROǧSUSTAINABILITY CONSUMER PROTECTION DIRECTIVE … Consequently, the modern consumer protection regime in EU law is founded upon these two classic Directives complemented by an additional three critically important Directives: 9 Directive 2005/29/EC concerning unfair business-to-consumer (B2C) commercial practices in the internal market, i.e., Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), 10 Directive 2006/114/EC concerning misleading and comparative advertising (Advertising Directive) 11 and Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights (Consumer Rights Directive). 12 In short, before the UCPD, no general and systemic harmonization of laws against unfair competition existed in the EU 13 and general consumer protection was underdeveloped. The UCPD was adopted to “contribute to the proper functioning of the internal single market and achieve a high level of consumer protection by approximating laws” (Art.1 UCPD) via a full harmonization (Art.4 UCPD). Consequently, the EU chose to cover only B2C practices and to impose “no more, no less” protection to consumers all over Europe against unfair commercial practices, especially misleading and aggressive ones (Art. 5 UCPD). 14 This choice to go via consumer protection law, and moving from traditional minimum harmonization to full harmonization, clashed with conceptual disparities in EU Member State laws. 15 Nevertheless, though two decades old, it is still here, amended and accompanied by other instruments, such as the Advertising Directive from 2006 and Consumer Rights Directive from 2011 and ready to be a part of a new stage of the consumer protection regime. Namely, the priorities of this regime became expanded in the aftermath of the EU endorsement of UN Resolution A/RES/71/1 Agenda for Sustainable development 2030 from 2015 (UN Agenda 2030) and the multi-stakeholder drive for sustainability became fully advanced in the internal single market. 16 The transition of the corporate social responsibility 9 MacGREGOR PELIKÁNOVÁ, R. Harmonization of the protection against misleading commercial practices: ongoing divergences in Central European countries. Oeconomia Copernicana , 2019, 10(2), 239–252. http:// dx.doi.org/10.24136/oc.2019.012. 10 Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market[online]. In EUR-Lex. Available from: https:// eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32005L0029&qid=1695126831241. 11 Directive 2006/114/EC of the European Parliament and o the Council of 12 December 2006 Concerning Misleading and Comparative Advertising[online]. In EUR-Lex. Available from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32006L0114. 12 Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights. [online]. In EUR-Lex. Available from: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A320 11L0083&qid=1695281718275. 13 MARGONI, T. The Protection of Sports Event in the EU: Property, Intellectual Property, Unfair Competition and Special Forms of Protection. International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law , 2016, 47(4), 386–417. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40319-016-0475-8. 14 MacGREGOR PELIKÁNOVÁ, R., BENEŠ, M. Does the Full Harmonization of the Consumers’ Protection Against Unfair Commercial Practices Via UCPD Fit in Europe 2020? Czech Yearbook of Public and Private International Law – CYIL , 2017, 8, 223–231. 15 OSUJI, O.K. Business-to-consumer Harassment, Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the UK- A Distorted Picture of Uniform Harmonisation? Journal of Consumer Policy, 2011, 34: 437. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10603 011-9175-4. 16 VAN TULDER, R., and KEEN, N. Capturing Collaborative Challenges: Designing Complexity-Sensitive Theories of Change for Cross-Sector Partnerships. Journal of Business Ethics [online]. 2018, 150(2), 315–332 [viewed 15 September 2023]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3857-7.

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