Japanisches Verbraucherschutzrecht und Einflüsse des europäischen Rechts: Das Gesetz über Verbraucherverträge und der Gesetzentwurf über die Verbandsklage

Abstract

Recently, important legislative acts have been put into force in the field of Japanese consumer law. After summarizing the developments in consumer law during the past forty years, the paper gives a brief overview of this new legislation, particularly on the Consumer Contract Act that came into force in 2001. Furthermore, it explains the current state of the long-lasting and ongoing discussion surrounding the question of whether to introduce a new type of legal action to be instituted by a consumer association in the interest of consumers. According to the authors, the Consumer Contract Act was largely influenced by legislation in Europe and by Anglo-American legal doctrine. The current discussion on introducing a legal action for consumer associations will probably lead to a type of action similar to one that is common in Germany to prevent unfair terms in consumer standard contracts. This shows that even current developments in Japanese law are still very much influenced by legislation and legal doctrine in Europe and the U.S., as has been common since the second half of the 19^th century.

(The Editors)