Volume 21, Issue 4

The common values implied in the principle of sustainable development are reshaping the economic model of a ‘competitive social market economy’ in the EU internal market, as well as the overall approach to EU law. In this context, both consumers and corporations represent a political force of a complex system made of interdependencies, where individual economic interests no longer have primacy, but at the same time the possibility to choose the less sustainable option is still an integral means of economic freedom. The idea underpinning the proposal lies on the rebalancing power of transparency in capital market. Indeed, the flow of (sustainability) information in the right direction is functional to empower stakeholders and to promote their active engagement in corporate decisions in a way that, by the means of a democratization of corporate governance, would make the whole market system more democratic.

The contribution focuses on the consumer’s right to withdraw from online contracts in the fast-fashion industry from the perspective of an ecological analysis of European consumer law, revealing a dark side of the environmental impact of returns of goods resulting from the exercise of the withdrawal. The essay investigates current EU ‘unilaterally’ mandatory rules concerning consumer withdrawal and the correlative contractual terms of the major fashion platforms, tackling the issue of the consumer’s unfair abuse of this right and the unsustainable environmental collateral effects. In conclusion, it suggests feasible revision proposals of the European legal framework concerning the consumer’s right of withdrawal from online contracts, under the logic of establishing a regulatory model of sustainable consumption.

The Court of Justice of the European Union’s judgement of 30 April 2025, on consumer protection in the context of private school contracts, centres on a triangular relationship between parents and private schools as contracting parties, and pupils as service recipients. The court classified parents as consumers while denying this status to pupils despite them being primary beneficiaries of the contract. Fundamental information asymmetries emerge as parents assume contractual obligations without comprehensive knowledge of daily educational delivery, while pupils remain legally invisible here despite being most affected by the service quality. The private schools’ informational advantage enables potential exploitation through fee inflation via unrequested services. This decision therefore highlights tensions between public law obligations and private consumer protection law.

This article provides an overview of the most relevant cases decided by the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning contract law. The present issue covers the period between the beginning of April 2025 and the end of June 2025. Out of a total of 112 judgments decided in this period, 40 had a contract law dimension.