Double Dutch On the role of the transparency requirement with regard to the language in which standard contract terms for B2C-contracts must be drafted

European legislation currently does not clearly determine in what language standard contract terms must be drafted in order to be validly incorporated into consumer contracts so they can be relied upon by a trader. This may be particularly problematic in the case of a cross-border contract as parties may not speak the same language. In this paper, I indicate to what extent the transparency requirement may play a role in determining the language in
which the standard contract terms are to be drafted. Finally, on the basis of experiments I conducted with colleagues, I conclude that traders should be required to provide the standard contract terms in the contracting language, but that there is no need to require them to provide the standard contract terms in the consumer’s mother tongue.