David Hertzell & Colin Moore examine the potential benefits & pitfalls of the Common European Sales Law
The European Commission published a proposed regulation for a Common European Sales Law (CESL) in October 2011. Its intention is to improve cross-border trade within the EU by removing legal barriers which increase the cost of doing business with other member states. As the title makes clear, the CESL is a proposed law for the sale of goods (and certain related services) across Europe. In essence it is two separate proposals: one for business-to-business transactions (considered in “The wrong vehicle”, 161 NLJ 7490, p 1589) and the other for business-to-consumer transactions.
The Law Commission and Scottish Law Commission were asked to advise the government about the potential advantages and problems of the CESL. This article focuses on business-to-consumer sales. The Commissions think that there is a case for an optional distance selling code, which could bring benefits to British businesses, but much more thought needs to be given to the details of the proposal.
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