---

Consumption is one of the most influential, albeit dynamic, economic factors of the 21st century and, therefore, the legal rules and norms governing consumers are radically changing overtime. On European level, Directive 1999/44/EC has had a significant impact on the legal systems of member states, since its regulatory framework conflicts with well-established traditions rooted in the legal history of a country. This book will explore how and where the directive s norms clash with national law; Germany and England and Wales will serve as examples of two opposite approaches towards its implementation. Furthermore, the effects of the directive s incorporation into these domestic legal systems will be assessed in the light of the Smart Regulation s normative principles of simplicity and proportionality in order to determine whether it has improved the position of the consumer or legal certainty has been once again undermined.

---

Zlatka Koleva is born in 1992 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. After an excellent performance at Plovdiv English Language High School with majors in German, English, Bulgarian and Mathematics, she moved to Groningen, the Netherlands, to study a bachelor programme in International and European Law. Throughout her studies she participated in the Erasmus Mundus programme and studied a semester at the University of Sheffield, UK, where Zlatka developed a passion for company and commercial law. This has inspired her to conduct a research in consumer law, which resulted in a comprehensive comparative study between the English legal system and the German law of obligations. Currently, Zlatka is a Master student in Commercial law, specialization Commercial and Company law at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

---