The 18th World Consumer Law Conference of the International Association of Consumer Law (IACL) will take place in Hamburg from 19.07. to 21.07.2023 at the Rudolf Steiner Haus and carry the title „Challenges and Unanswered Questions of Consumer Law„.
IACL conferences are held every two years and mostly hosted by universities. The hosting countries are deliberately chosen from the Global South as well as the Global North. The last conferences were held in the USA (2019), Brazil (2017), the Netherlands (2015), Australia (2013), UK (2011), India (2009), New Zealand (2007) and South Africa (2005).
The IACL promotes debates on consumer protection and consumer law. Conference attendees include university lecturers, judges, lawyers and representatives of regulatory authorities, banks, business groups and consumer organisations. The conferences are open to all interested parties, not only to members of academic and non-academic consumer research and educational institutions.
The aim of the IACL is to develop research networks and stimulate joint research projects in the area of consumer law, consumer policy and consumer relations. This includes supporting government institutions, universities, consumer organisations and experts.
The conference will be hosted by the IACL Executive Committee (chaired by Prof. Michelle Louw, Cape Town) in cooperation with a local executive committee led by Dr. Sally Peters and Prof. Udo Reifner.
In order to keep you all up-to-date with developments in the many jurisdictions represented in the IACL, we will assemble the next newsletter in April 2021. Can all members send the following items, to [email protected]
– short reports on consumer law reforms in your jurisdiction
– short reports on key cases in your jurisdiction
– events, seminars, conferences
– books, articles and other publications (preferably with abstracts)
All content in English or French please and up to 500 words.
A great initiative from fellow consumer academics, under the impulsion of Dr Christine Riefa, one of our board members, has led to the development of a new free database to help all of us involved in consumer law teaching. The database was created thanks to the hard work of Joasia Lusak and the commitment of a number of members of the Female Consumer Law Collective. So far the databased is focussed on UK/EU scholarship, but the team hopes that it will inspire other localised initiatives… If you want to diversify your reading lists and include high profile female scholarship, check ZOTERO and search for Female Consumer Law Collective.: https://www.zotero.org/groups/2539563/consumer_law_female_collective_-_database
The team welcomes suggestions for new scholarship to be added. The database is organised as a teaching course – with week by week reading. Any comments, or congratulations gratefully received by the organisers! Email: [email protected]
The full team is composed of: Christine Riefa, Joasia Lusak, Charlotte Pavillon, Vanessa Mak, Andrea Fejos and Kristin Nemeth.
Anat Rosenberg, Senior lecturer at the Radzyner Law School, the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Israel, “Cultural legal history of advertising in Britain c. 1840-1914”
Marie-Eve Arbour, Professor, University of Laval, “Canadian perspectives on product safety”
Luke Nottage, Professor, University of Sydney, “Improving the Effectiveness of the Consumer Safety System: Australian Reform in Asia-Pacific Context” (because of the time zone difference, Prof. Nottage will not be participating live. You can see his presentation at: https://japaneselaw.sydney.edu.au/2020/10/consumer-product-safety-system/. Please send any reactions to [email protected]).
The IACL is now on Twitter. Follow us on @iacl_net
Seminar 2 Autumn 2020 3 November 2020 13.00 (UK) – Zoom details sent nearer the time via email (register for our newsletter).
Jacolien Barnard, Associate professor at the University of Pretoria and attorney at law, South Africa and Emilia Miscenic, Associate Professor, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law, “Online consumer transactions and redress: A comparison with EU and SA consumer protection”.
Maria Lorena Flórez Rojas, Profesora Asistente, Universidad de los Andes, Columbia, “The spike of digital platforms in Colombia: a consumer-centric vision”.
Aneta Wiewiorowska Senior Researcher at the European Legal Studies Institute – Department for European Legal History and European Union Private Law at the Osnabrück University, “Have we missed the tipping point? On making the EU legal system”.
The IACL is now on Twitter and will post regularly news updates as well as information about events. Follow us and keep up to date with all our news! The twitter handle is @iacl_net
Peter Cartwright, Professor of Consumer Protection Law, University of Nottingham, “Taxonomy of Consumer Vulnerability after Covid-19”.
Shirish Deshpande, Chairman – MGP India, “Flight and Holiday Cancellations due to Pandemic”.
Patricia Suarez, Presidenta Asufin, “Spain and Covid”.
12.30-13.00 Break
Session 2: 13.00-14.30
Giorgi Amiranashvili, Visiting Lecturer at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University; Assistant Professor at Tbilisi Open University; Senior Research Scientist at European University, “Measures for Consumer Protection Implemented by the Government of Georgia During Covid-19”.
Kristen Purcell, Chief Research Officer Consumer Report, “Financial Impact of Covid”.
Judith Fox, Clinical Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School, “Consumer Housing Issues”.
Prof. Me. Afonso Carvalho de Oliva, Mestre em Direitos Humanos, Universidade Tiradentes, “The Brazilian emergency Income Aid bailout and post-COVID-19 consumers surveillance”.
Session 3: 14.30-15.00 Open Forum
Conference held on ZOOM – full connexion details sent via email – register to our newsletter to receive log-in information.
The dynamics of the consumer market are such that it transcends borders and realms. The products and services traded in this market are evolving and changing on a daily basis. They are increasingly sophisticated and complex.
We are now on the frontiers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which drives the search for a new regulatory landscape aligned with the challenges that this exciting epoch presents. If our aim is to protect consumers, especially vulnerable ones, we need to consciously consider, now more than ever, the type of approach we support. Is more intrusive and expansive regulation the answer? Should we completely rethink and innovate our approach to consumer protection and take it to new dimensions? Or do we need to consider a more balanced and proportional approach?
We invite you to join us in this exciting debate where we can freely share ideas in the interest of expanding knowledge and shaping policy in the area of consumer protection. At the 4th University of Pretoria International Consumer Protection Law Conference, we would like to explore the concept of a balanced approach between proportionality and consumer regulation and how it affects all the various aspects, policies, theories, areas and rights that is considered to be part of Consumer Protection. This would include for example General Consumer Protection, Financial Consumer Protection and Credit Law, E-Commerce and other related areas.
Send your abstract of no more than 500 words to Jani van Wyk at [email protected] by 30 June 2020.
Contact Jacolien Barnard at [email protected] or Jani van Wyk for more information
In addition … African realities and approaches to Consumer Protection
The UPICLC 2020 will include a concurrent stream of presentations for participants from other African jurisdictions (or any other jurisdiction) to disseminate the position relating to the conference theme and the position in Africa or a particular African country/countries.
We will also have a one-day workshop on 21 September 2020 facilitated by the Attorney General Alliance Africa (“AGA Africa”) on inter alia debt collection, credit reporting, privacy, e-commerce and secured transactions involving movable assets with a comparative perspective of the United States of America and how these transactions relate to the South African and African positions. Any other jurisdictions are welcome to attend!
Important information
Abstracts Abstracts must be submitted no later than 30 June 2020 and must not exceed 500 words. The abstract must contain the following information of the candidate: title, surname, affiliated institution, position held at institution and an e-mail address where the candidate can be reached. This information does not form part of the word count for the abstract.
All abstracts are peer-reviewed. Candidates are requested to proofread their abstracts to ensure that the language and style is of high quality.
All presentations at the conference will be in English and no provision is made for translators. As such, prospective participants need to be proficient in English or make provision for their own translators to accompany them. Feedback on submitted abstracts will be given within two weeks of date of submission of the abstracts
Venue The conference will take place from 21 to 23 September 2020 at the new Future Africa Campus of the University of Pretoria.
Accommodation is available at the venue and must be arranged directly with the venue. Visit the Future Africa website at www.futureafrica.science for more information.
Conference fee 3 500 ZAR which includes the AGA Africa-workshop, evening welcoming function, conference dinner, and refreshments and lunch on the days of the conference. Delegates are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses.
Masters and doctoral candidates, as well as post-graduate research fellows qualify for a reduced fee of 1 750 ZAR upon application to the conference committee. Delegates who only wish to attend one of the two conference days, together with the workshop, qualify for a reduced conference fee of 2 000 ZAR upon application to the conference committee.
Important dates
30 June 2020
Last day for submission of abstracts
14 August 2020
Last day for payment of conference fee
21 August 2020
Publication of draft program on conference website
21 September 2020
AGA Africa-workshopEvening: UPICLC Welcoming function
2019, the EU adopted two new Directives in the field of consumer contract law: The Directive on Contracts for the Supply of Digital Content and Services 2019/770 and the Consumer Sales Directive 2019/771. Both directives harmonise key consumer contract law rules regarding digital content, digital services, and smart goods across the EU.
At our Conference, international high-level experts from different European countries will deal with the scope and content of the new directives, their implications for industry and the question of how the new rules should be transposed in Member States. An additional panel will look at new technologies and business models (AI, blockchain, internet of bodies, Legal Tech) to see whether the new rules for consumer contracts are fit to deal with them.
Target Audience
The conference is suitable for all legal practitioners, academics, students, judges and government officials dealing with issues of digitalization and (consumer) contract law.
The conference forms part of the Project “PRG124 Protection of consumer rights in the Digital Single Market – contractual aspects”, funded by the Estonian Research Council. It is additionally supported by the Social Sciences Development Fund.
