Recent developments in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union on unfair contract terms : the ins and outs of transparency

This contribution highlights some recent developments in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning unfair contract terms. More in particular the authors focus on recent developments regarding transparency of contract terms in the precontractual, contractual and procedural stage. This paper argues that the Court of Justice of the European Union increasingly emphasizes formal and substantive transparency in the (pre)contractual stage and procedural transparency during proceedings. Both functions of transparency must be clearly distinguished. Formal and substantive transparency are intertwined and introduce new quality standards imposed on sellers and suppliers for the benefit of consumers. Procedural transparency on the other hand must be seen as a new benchmark for national enforcement law