Weaker Party Protection

Abstract

This Chapter discusses the question of whether contract law can and should differentiate between different types of contracting parties according to their relational or social weakness. Should contract law protect certain weaker parties, through the implementation of measures ranging from general rules against unfair exploitation or abuse of circumstances to more specific sets of rules protecting certain categories of contracting parties, such as workers, tenants, and consumers? And if so, who should count as worthy of protection and what kinds of protection should they be granted? Given that consumer protection has been central to EU contract law, this question goes to the core of the justifiability of the European contract law acquis.