Journal of Comparative Law

Journal of Comparative Law

Unfair terms in commercial contracts: A comparative study of French law

Document Type : Scientific Paper

Author
Mohsen Shamsollahi
Ph.D. in Private Law, College of Law, University of Judicial Sciences & Administrative Services, Tehran, Iran.
10.22096/law.2021.122024.1639
Abstract
According to the theory of the autonomy of the will, human freedom and equality guarantees that the contract is fair and no one can refuse to execute the contract on the pretext that it is unfair or unjust.However, the proliferation of unequal contracts, such as labor and consumer contracts, has questioned the generality of this presumption and has led to protective regulations for protecting the weaker party of the contract.One of the important rules for the protection of consumers in the consumer acts of different countries is the possibility of removing unfair terms from the contract in order to re-establish a relative balance in the contractual relationship of the parties.However, the prohibition of unfair terms only in the consumer contracts is debatable, and It is a question that If there are such inequalities in the contracts between businesses, whether such terms should also be prohibited, or on the basis of the principle of contractual freedom and because of the commercial nature of these contracts, the contract should be binding on the parties, despite its unfair terms? In summary, it seems that prohibition of unfair terms should not be confined to consumer contracts, and if there are inequality in the bargaining power between the parties in commercial contracts, It seems necessary the prohibition of such unfair terms in these contracts too.
Keywords
Unfair Contract Terms
Abusive Clauses
Commercial Contracts
Businesses
Bibliography
A) Books and Articles
Argo Welded Products v. JT Ryerson Steel & Sons )1981(. Civ. A. Nos. 79-4710, 80-4107 (United States District Court, E. D. Pennsylvania, December 16).
Aurélie, Charrier ( 2010). L'extension du contrôle des clauses abusives aux relations entre professionnels. Publications Doc Du Juriste.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v JJ Richards & Sons Pty Ltd. )2017(. 971 (FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, October 13).
Briend, Cyril (2015). LE CONTRAT D’ADHÉSION ENTRE PROFESSIONNELS. Paris : Faculté de droit Paris Descartes.
Chaudouet, Sibylle (2018). Le déséquilibre significatif. Montpellier: Université Montpellier.
Chazal, Jean Pascal (2004). "Justice contractuelle." In Dictionnaire de la justice, by Loic Cadiet, 1-12. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France (PUF).
Cortissoz, Lorena (2015). Le déséquilibre significatif dans les relations commerciales. Paris: Paris Dauphine - Master 2 Droit.
Fabre, Sophie (2015). Les relations contractuelles entre professionnels à l’épreuve du déséquilibre significatif. université de versailles.
Finlay, Anne (1994). UNCONSCIONABLE CONDUCT IN COMMERCIAL DEALINGS. Sydney: University of New South Wales.
Fleury, Pauline (2019). L’article L. 442-6 du Code de commerce réformé en profondeur! 5 24. Accessed 8 3, 2019. https://www.actualitesdudroit.fr/ browse/affaires/droit-economique/21446/l-article-l-442-6-du-code-de-commerce-reforme-en-profondeur.
Furmston, M. P. (2017). Cheshire, Fifoot, and Furmston's Law of Contract. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gijsbers, Charles (2016). LA REFORME DU DROIT DES OBLIGATIONS :LA QUETE DE L’EQUILIBRE. Université Waseda.
Henry, Xavier (2018). "CLAUSES ABUSIVES DANS LES CONTRATS COMMERCIAUX: ÉTAT DES LIEUX DIX ANS APRÈS." AJ Contrat, PP. 370-377.
Hesselink, Martijn (2011). "UNFAIR TERMS IN CONTRACTS BETWEEN BUSINESSES." In Towards a European contract law, by Reiner Schulze and Jules Stuyck, 131-147. München: Sellier European Law Publishers.
Hesselink, Martijn W., and Marco B.M. Loos (2012). Unfair Contract terms in B2C Contracts. Amsterdam: Centre for the Study of European Contract Law, University of Amsterdam.
Hondius, Ewoud (2004). "The Protection of Weaker Party in a Harmonized European Contract Law: A Synthesis." Journal of Consumer Policy 27 (3): pp. 245-251.
Kant, Emmanuel (1853). Éléments métaphysiques de la doctrine du droit (Première partie de la métaphysique des moeurs). Paris: Durand .
Lamon, Bernard (2014). PROTECTION DES PROFESSIONNELS CONTRE LES CLAUSES ABUSIVES? FÉVRIER 21. Accessed 6 16, 2019. https://www.village-justice.com/articles/Protection-professionnels-contre,16266.html.
Licari, François-Xavier (2008). "Quelques réflexions et propositions au sujet des clauses "déraisonnables" ou "abusives" dans les contrats conclus entre professionnels, à la lueur du droit comparé et des sources savantes." In MÉLANGES EN L’HONNEUR DE PHILIPPE LE TOURNEAU, 655-703. Paris: Dalloz.
Lorenz, Stephan (2013). "La protection contre les déséquilibres contractuels– la perspective allemande." In Promotion et protection des petites est moyennes entreprises: les nouveaux instruments de droit privé, by Gerald Mäsch, pp. 107-113. Berlin: LIT Verlag Münster.
Lorieul, Vincent (2018). Déséquilibre significatif : précisions jurisprudentielles sur la notion de partenaire commercial. février 21 . Accessed 6 19, 2019. http://www.lexplicite.fr/desequilibre-significatif-precisions-jurisprudentielles-notion-partenaire-commercial/.
Mallor, Jane P. (1986). "Unconscionability in Contracts between Merchants." SMU Law Review 40 (4): pp. 1065-1090.
Martin-Lavigne, Yann. 2008. La loi LME précise la notion de clauses abusives entre professionnels. Novembre 14. Accessed 6 2019, 19. ‌https://www.journaldunet.com/management/expert/33484/la-loi-lme-precise-la-notion-de-clauses-abusives-entre-professionnels.shtml.
Nebbia, Paolisa (2007). Unfair terms in European Law. OXFORD: Hart Pub.
Pédamon, Catherine (2018). "The New French Contract Law and Its Impact on Commercial Law: Good Faith, Unfair Contract Terms and Hardship." In The Future of the Commercial Contract in Scholarship and Law Reform, edited by Maren Heidemann and Joseph Lee, pp. 99-127. Springer.
Racine, Jean-Baptiste (2013). "La protection contre les déséquilibres contractuels entre professionnels en droit français." In Promotion et protection des petites est moyennes entreprises: les nouveaux instruments de droit privé, by ‌Gerald Mäsch, Berlin. 113-135: LIT Verlag Münster.
Rickett, Charles (2005). "UNCONSCIONABILITY AND COMMERCIAL LAW." University of Queensland Law Journal 24 (1): pp.73-92.
ROPPO, VINCENZO (2009). "From Consumer Contracts to Asymmetric Contracts: a Trend in European Contract Law?" European Review of Contract Law 5 (3): pp. 304-350.
TABI TABI, Ghislain (2014). "AJUSTEMENT NÉCESSAIRE DU VOLONTARISME CONTRACTUEL : DU VOLONTARISME AU SOLIDARISME?" R.D.U.S. 44 (1): pp. 71-125.
Tabi Tabi, GHISLAIN (2011). LES NOUVEAUX INSTRUMENTS DE GESTION DU PROCESSUS CONTRACTUEL. QUÉBEC: UNIVERSITÉ LAVAL.
Terré, François, and Yves Lequette. 2008. "CLAUSES ABUSIVES. INTERDICTION. POUVOIR DU JUGE." Les grands arrêts de la jurisprudence civile. pp. 137-148.
Terré, François, Philippe Simler, and Yves Lequette. 2005. Droit civil Les obligations. Paris: DALLOZ.
Treasury, Australian Government (2018). Review of Unfair Contract Term Protections for Small Business: Discussion Paper. https://consult.treasury.gov.au/ market-and-competition-policy-division-internal/c2018-t342379/supporting_documents/Discussion_Paper__Review_of_UCTs%20%20Final.pdf.
Willett, Chris (2007). Fairness in Consumer Contracts: The Case of Unfair Terms . Ashgate Pub.
Amini, Mansur; Abedian, Hossein & Karami, Sakineh (2011). “How legal systems deal with unfair contractual terms and the silence of the Consumer Protection Law in Iran”, Journal of Legal Research, 59, pp. 171-212.
Pakbaz, Siamak (2014). Abuse of Dominant Economic Position in Competition Law. Tehran: Mizan.
Rashvand Bukani, Mehdi (2011). Competition law (in Imami jurisprudence, Iranian law and the European Union). Tehran: Imam Sadegh University.
Sardouei Nasab, Mohammad & Kazempour, Seyyed Jafar (2010). “Components of unfair contract”, Journal of Justice Law, 75, pp. 37-73.
Shamsalahi, Mohsen (2009) Unfair terms in consumer contracts (with a comparative study of EU law). Tehran: Master Thesis, Faculty of Law, University of Tehran.
Adel, Morteza & Shamsalahi, Mohsen (2017). “Unfair terms in consumer contracts”, Private Law Research, pp. 205-234.
Abdipour, Ibrahim, (2008). “Abuse of dominant economic status”, Islamic Law, 6(21), pp. 125-155.
Ghaffari Farsani, Behnam. (1389). Consumer and his fundamental rights (look at the law on consumer protection). Tehran: Institute of Business Studies and Research.
Katozian, Nasser (1388). General Rules of Contracts, Volume One. Tehran: Sahami Enteshar.
Calais-Auloy J., Temple H. (1393). Consumer rights. (M. Adib, translator) Tehran: Mizan.
Karimi, Abbas (1381). “Unfair Terms from the point of view of general rules of contracts”, Journal of Legal Research, 1 (1), pp. 75-82.
 
 
Send comment about this article
Enter Name.
Enter a valid email address.
Enter a vaid affiliation.
Enter comments (At leaset 10 words)
CAPTCHA Image
Enter Security Code Correctly.
Journal of Comparative Law
Volume 8, Issue 2 - Serial Number 16
Fall 2021 & Winter 2022-Issue 16
November 2021
Pages 209-236

XML
PDF 1.43 M
Supplementary File
16EN-4~3.PDF