Services Standards: Defining the Core Consumer Elements ... - ANEC

Services Standards
services. Ironically enough, the new Directive goes even further than its
predecessor 93 . Whilst Directive 2002/65/EC closes an important loophole, the
two Directives altogether do not fully cover the type of services under scrutiny
as package tour contracts and transport contracts are exempted from the scope
of application. The e-commerce Directive 2000/31/EC is applicable throughout
all sorts of services, independent of whether the parties to the contract are
consumers or suppliers.
Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair contract terms designed to protect consumers
covers all sorts of consumer services, for example credit, package tour and time
sharing contracts, as well as transport, network contracts and all other types of
service contracts which come under the scope of the Service Directive –
provided the party to the contract is a professional private supplier. There has
been discussion in legal doctrine on the degree to which the Directive
93/13/EEC on unfair terms, as it stands, covers public suppliers as well, that is
mainly suppliers of energy and railroad transport services 94 . The debate lost
impetus due to the privatisation policy of the European Community in particular
with regard to former natural monopolies. The following table categorises the
different sets of regulatory means according the way in which they are
communicated, via distant communication, via e-commerce and to the degree
to which contract terms concluded in the various areas, such as credit,
transport, financial services, network services, other services are subject to
control of their fairness. Yes/no indicates whether the horizontal legislation
applies or not to that particular service sector.
93 See Micklitz/Schirmbacher, Revue européenne de droit bancaire & financier, 2004, 457-
486.
94 Butters, Vertragsgerechtigkeit in der öffentlichen Versorgungswirtschaft, 2003; Whittaker,
Law Quarterly Review 116 (2000), 95.
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