Consumer sales law in the proposal for a Consumer Rights Directive

The proposal for a Consumer Rights Directive is to replace the existing minimum harmonization by full harmonization. Even though the proposal introduces some welcome additions to the current European legislation in the area of sales contracts in particular, the rules on transfer of risk - as a whole, the proposal is rather disappointing. If it would be enacted as it is currently drafted, the proposal would mean a significant shift in favour of sellers in most EU Member States, as further-reaching national consumer protection rules would have to be abrogated because of the full harmonization nature of the directive, whereas the level of protection offered by the directive is in some respects even lower than the existing minimum. Moreover, several provisions of the directive could in fact stand in the way of an increase in the number of cross-border contracts. The author critically evaluates the proposal with regard to sales contracts and calls for an intensive makeover of its provisions.