ABSTRACT
This contribution considers the fate of the EU’s contract law acquis communautaire (primarily the consumer contract law acquis) within English Contract Law, following the completion of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union in 2020 (‘Brexit’). Withdrawal did not result in the instant deletion of all traces of EU law from domestic law; rather, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 froze EU Law at the moment withdrawal took effect and created UK twins of much of EU Law. The legacy of the EU’s contract law acquis, built up over almost four decades, has remained part of domestic law, at least for now.
This paper first examines the integration of the EU Contract Law acquis during the UK’s membership of the EU, before turning to the withdrawal process, and finally the way in which the influence of the EU’s acquis might change in the future. Invariably, the latter point will be speculative as there are limited signs as to what might happen as yet. The focus of this paper is primarily on consumer contract law, although reference will be made to other EU contract law acquis measures as appropriate.
Twigg-Flesner, Christian, Who Knows What the Future Holds? The Fate of the EU’s Acquis in English Contract Law (March 24, 2022), Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Burgerlijk Recht (NTBR) – special issue on ‘Recent Influences of the European Acquis Communautaire on National Contract Law’ forthcoming.
First posted 2022-05-20 15:30:50
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