Remedies for Inequality in Exchange. Comparative Perspectives for the Evolution of the Law in the 21st Century

Abstract

Equality in exchange has long been a popular topic for comparative legal studies. The following article examines the legal remedies provided by Private Law for the instances of contractual imbalance in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Until recently, most studies on this topic were limited to the French, German and English legal systems. The present article looks instead at the so-called ‘derived legal systems’: specifically, those of Switzerland, Poland, Italy and the Netherlands. Each of these systems marks a new stage in legal evolution, distinguished by a constant striving for greater flexibility and certainty within the field of contractual relations.

European Union Cost Caps: One Step Forward Two Steps Sideways to Substantive Harmonisation of Consumer Credit Law

“…110 Over the centuries the principle evolved providing various measures for a just price, 111 to modern rules now referring to 'unfair advantage' in the parties rights and duties, also extending the scope of the principle to a broader range of contracts and to protecting both parties from paying too much. 112 In regulating unfair advantage, some countries have fixed limits. In Austria, laesio enormis allows a contracting party to rescind the contract who received less than half of the fair value; 113 fair value being determined by reference to the average market price; 114 unless circumstances exist that void the rule such as when the party knew the true value or accepted the disproportionate performance out of special preference.…”