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Part of
Advances in Interdisciplinary Language Policy
Edited by François Grin, László Marácz and Nike K. Pokorn
[Studies in World Language Problems 9] 2022
► pp. 451–472

Chapter 22
Multilingualism and consumer protection

| University of Geneva
| University of Brussels
This chapter investigates the various language requirements in EU consumer law. The research conducted in this European project revealed that there is no general rule in the matter to guide the EU legislature. Requirements as to the use of languages vary from one field to another. The case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union also reflects this main finding.
As linguistic competences remain largely in the hands of the Member States, multilingualism is often at the origin of conflicts in the dichotomy between EU economic integration and Member States’ sovereignty. National linguistic requirements may conflict with EU law (primary and/or secondary legislation), unless accepted on the basis of reasonable justifications according to EU law.
This chapter first proposes to classify the language requirements in EU consumer law on the basis of the objectives pursued by different legislations. This classification may allow Member States to adopt and adapt their national regulations in accordance with predetermined EU language criteria.
The second proposal made in this chapter is to promote multilingualism in EU consumer legislation. This may be achieved by developing an EU policy to increase awareness of the importance of multilingualism as an objective to be promoted in its own right within the EU (and not only as a tool accompanying the achievement of economic objectives). Developing such a policy may foster mobility and inclusion of EU consumers, including EU economic operators and citizens in general.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: Concepts and definitions
    • 1.1Multilingualism: A concept not defined in EU law
      • 1.1.1Primary and secondary EU law
      • 1.1.2Case law of the Court of the Justice of the European Union
      • 1.1.3European Commission documents and literature
      • 1.1.4Proposal for a definition of multilingualism in the framework of the MIME project
    • 1.2The consumer: A natural person at the heart of an economic relationship with a professional
      • 1.2.1The notion of ‘consumer’
      • 1.2.2The notion of ‘professional’
      • 1.2.3The notion of ‘economic relationship’
  • 2.Multilingualism and consumer protection as part of the MIME project
  • 3.Multilingualism and consumer protection as a potential obstacle to the achievement of the EU internal market
    • 3.1National language requirements in consumer law under the scrutiny of the Court of Justice of the European Union
      • 3.1.1Case ‘Piageme I’ (1991)
      • 3.1.2Case ‘Piageme II’ (1995)
      • 3.1.3Case « Goerres » (1998)
      • 3.1.4Case ‘Colim’ (1999)
      • 3.1.5Case ‘Geffroy’ (2000)
      • 3.1.6Case ‘New Valmar’ (2016)
    • 3.2National language requirements can be accepted if they are proportionate enough to allow effective achievement of the internal market
  • 4.Multilingualism and consumer protection as a bedrock for mobility and inclusion in the European Union
  • 5.Needs and interests for promoting multilingualism in EU consumer legislation
    • 5.1A need and interest for a linguistic policy guided by the goals pursued in EU consumer protection
    • 5.2A need and interest to mainstream multilingualism in EU policies
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 21 January 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/wlp.9.22kad
References (14)
References
This section only lists doctrinal references; legal and jurisprudential references are provided in footnotes
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