Busch/Lehmann: Unfair Terms in Banking and Financial Contracts. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2023, 664 p., 250 £.
For any banking lawyer, whether as an academic or as a practitioner, it is of vital interest to know whether clauses in general terms and conditions of banks are valid and enforceable. Under European law, the Unfair Terms Directive 93/13/EG (UTD) needs to be taken into account when scrutinising clauses used towards consumers. Any provisions in EU member state law as well as national general terms and conditions need to be in accordance with the UTD – and judgments of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
A new book by Busch and Lehmann now undertook to investigate under which circumstances European legal systems invalidate clauses in banking and financial contracts both under national law as well as under European law.
The book starts with an introduction into the goals of the UTD being the “backbone” of the book. It goes on to define the consumer to be protected by the UTD and deals with the test to be applied when checking whether clauses violate the UTD, together with mentioning some ECJ judgments of high relevance, as the OTP Bank case or the Kasler case. The main part of the book are the reports from the European Union member states as well as other states, in particular Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
This book is of great use to both academics and practitioners and it can only be hoped that it will be updated to a second edition.
Prof. Dr. Roman Jordans, LL.M. (NZ), Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für Bank- und Kapitalmarktrecht (of Counsel); CBH Rechtsanwälte, Köln sowie Professor für Wirtschaftsrecht an der IU Hochschule
Beitragsnummer: 22603