91423 - Consumers Law

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course unit, students: - know the fundamentals of EU and International Law in terms of consumers’ rights; - know the core concepts/processes, and the hermeneutic tools leading to the understanding of both theoretical and practical aspects of the subject; - are capable to tackle and solve typical potential conflicts between parties invoking opposite rights.

Course contents

The main purpose of the course is to provide students with a thorough knowledge of the core concepts of consumer law, with particular reference to the discipline of European legislation.

Course contents:

- definition of consumers

- definiton of seller or supplier

- unfair terms in contracts concluded between a seller or supplier and a consumer

- definition of individually negotiation and standard clauses

- on line transactions, distance and off-premises contracts

- definitions of packages, linked travel arrangements and package travel contracts and their regulation

- definition of "contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services" and their regulation

- liability for defective products

main regulatory references (without limitation): directives 93/13/EEC; 2011/83/EU; 2015/2302/EU; 2019/770/EU;2019/771/EU; 2019/2161/EU; 2024/2853; GDPR; DSA

Readings/Bibliography

Study material will be indicated by the teacher and it will be uploaded to "virtuale unibo" 

Teaching methods

Learning will be stimulated by a continuous reference to case law and by the viewing of one or more legal movies (provided that suitable equipment is available to the instructor).

In addition to lectures, one or more in-person workshops and case presentations by students may be organized.

Furthermore, multiple-choice quizzes or some open-ended questions could be organized to test the students' ongoing preparation, in order to ensure correct understanding of the topics covered by the teacher.

Assessment methods

The exam will be oral. The aim of the exam is to verify the knowledge of the main topics in consumer law, their ability to apply their theoretical knowledge, and their ability to make the necessary logical and deductive connections.

The in-class presentation on case law, the multiple-choice quizzes or open-ended questions eventually organized will count toward the final exam grade.

The final evaluation will be graded considering the following criteria:

- Basic preparation on most of the topics of the exam program, but with limited analytical skills, such as to require the explanatory intervention of the teacher; correct language, but without technicality: 18-20;
- preparation on the whole exam program, with autonomous analytical skills, even if not in depth, correct language, including the most important technicalities: 21-24;

- preparation on the whole exam program, with autonomous analytical skills, correct and sufficiently/good technical language: 25-29;
- preparation on the whole exam program, with independent and in-depth analytical skills, excellent mastery of language of technical language: 30-30L

With regard to assessment, the use of AI is prohibited. Any use constitutes a violation of academic integrity.

Teaching tools

Supporting materials (legal cases, legal texts) will be made available to students by the teacher.

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandra Spangaro