PhD student: Mrs Dr K. Cseres

Promotor: Prof E.H. Hondius

Duration: 1/11/1999

PhD defence: Utrecht, 29/9/2004

Abstract:

Both competition law and consumer protection lawyers seem to be satisfied with declaring that competition law benefits consumers and consumer protection benefits the process of competition. But how exactly this happens is not always made clear. This thesis is an attempt to fill in this gap in legal literature. It addresses both the complements and the tensions between the two legal areas. The main question it addresses is whether competition law is an effective tool to protect consumers. Actually the question is to what extent competition law can effectively take care of consumer interests and whether there are certain consumer problems that it cannot address. The other side of the question is to what extent is consumer protection as a separate and independent area of law justified and necessary on a market where effective competition rules operate. In a way this is a search for borderlines between the two disciplines, for gaps and unnecessary overlaps.