The role of private litigation in market regulation: beyond legal origins
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
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European Consumer Protection: Theory and Practice. ed. / James Devenney; Mel Kenny. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. p. 300 - 312.
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
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TY - CHAP
T1 - The role of private litigation in market regulation
T2 - beyond legal origins
AU - Halfmeier, Axel
PY - 2012/1/1
Y1 - 2012/1/1
N2 - The problem of how consumer law is to be enforced has taken a new turn as a result of the development of the ‘law and finance’ or ‘legal origins’ theory propounded by leading American economists. Although this theory mainly deals with corporate law, securities regulation and other financial matters, its basic findings can also be applied to consumer law in the broad sense. In this broad sense, a shareholder or an investor is also a consumer in the sense and ambit of European consumer law. Indeed, the ‘legal origins’ theory claims to be applicable not only to narrow areas of corporate or financial regulation, but to the ‘social control of economic life’ in general. Consumer law is certainly part of this wider concept of social regulation. In this chapter an overview of the main features and current state of the ‘legal origins’ theory will be given. It proceeds to argue and explain that the legal origins theory must be put in a more historic perspective regarding the relationship between private and public law regulation. From this perspective, it will become clear that the legal origins theory does make a significant contribution to our understanding of regulatory strategies, but does not provide a substitute for policy decisions which need to be made by legislators and society in general.
AB - The problem of how consumer law is to be enforced has taken a new turn as a result of the development of the ‘law and finance’ or ‘legal origins’ theory propounded by leading American economists. Although this theory mainly deals with corporate law, securities regulation and other financial matters, its basic findings can also be applied to consumer law in the broad sense. In this broad sense, a shareholder or an investor is also a consumer in the sense and ambit of European consumer law. Indeed, the ‘legal origins’ theory claims to be applicable not only to narrow areas of corporate or financial regulation, but to the ‘social control of economic life’ in general. Consumer law is certainly part of this wider concept of social regulation. In this chapter an overview of the main features and current state of the ‘legal origins’ theory will be given. It proceeds to argue and explain that the legal origins theory must be put in a more historic perspective regarding the relationship between private and public law regulation. From this perspective, it will become clear that the legal origins theory does make a significant contribution to our understanding of regulatory strategies, but does not provide a substitute for policy decisions which need to be made by legislators and society in general.
KW - Law
KW - Private litigation
KW - Market regulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84925610375&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/CBO9781139003452.019
DO - 10.1017/CBO9781139003452.019
M3 - Chapter
SN - 978-1-107-01301-8
SP - 300
EP - 312
BT - European Consumer Protection
A2 - Devenney, James
A2 - Kenny, Mel
PB - Cambridge University Press
CY - Cambridge
ER -