On Tuesday 2 March 1993, after two and a half years of discussion, the Council adopted the Directive approximating the laws of the Member States relating to unfair terms in contracts concluded between sellers or suppliers and consumers. This measure is the end product of more than 16 years of work carried out on this subject at Community level. Mrs Christiane Scrivener, Member of the Commission with responsibility for consumer interests, taxation and customs matters, believes that this Directive will contribute greatly to increasing the confidence of consumers in the single market. Consumers should no longer have any qualms about making purchases in other countries, thereby experiencing the tangible benefits of a genuine frontier-free market. At present, the consumer who wishes to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the European market is inadequately protected, in view of the fact that contractual terms are governed by twelve different legal systems; moreover, these terms are often drawn up in a language other than that of the consumer, who may have difficulty understanding them and may be disadvantaged by them. The Directive now adopted aims to compensate for this shortcoming in two ways; firstly, by establishing the principle whereby consumers are not bound by unfair terms contained in contracts concluded by them and, secondly, by obliging the Member States to take adequate and effective measures to ensure that such terms are no longer used by sellers or suppliers. For example, these measures must allow recognised consumers' organisations to take action before the courts or administrative authorities competent to make a decision as to the unfair nature of certain terms drawn up for general use, so that they are excluded from contracts. According to the general assessment criteria laid down by the Directive, a term is considered unfair if, contrary to the requirements of good faith, it causes to the detriment of the consumer a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract. With a view to applying these criteria, the Directive contains an annexed list of typical examples of terms which are harmful to the consumer. These include terms limiting inappropriately the liability of the seller or supplier, allowing the seller or supplier to alter the terms of contract unilaterally without good reason where this is not specified in the contract, or excluding or hindering the consumer's right to take legal action or exercise any other legal remedy. This non-exhaustive list will help to ensure that the law is implemented more uniformly by the various national authorities and will also put both sellers or suppliers and consumers on a firmer legal footing. The Directive applies to contractual terms which have not been individually negotiated by the consumer. It is thus aimed particularly at contracts concluded on the basis of standardised general conditions. Moreover, Member States may, at their own discretion, make provision for a higher level of consumer protection than that laid down by the Directive. Member States must incorporate the Directive into national law by 31 December 1994. The provisions of the Directive will apply to all contracts concluded after that date. The Council has accepted a proposal by Mrs Scrivener that the Commission should report to the Council and Parliament on the implementation of the Directive by 31 December 1999. This report is to be accompanied, where necessary, by appropriate proposals aimed at enhancing consumer protection. * * *
