Cyberspace, the Final Frontier? Concluding and Performing Agreements. Unfair Terms in B2B Adhesion Contracts // Cyberspace, ultima frontieră? Încheierea şi executarea contractelor. Clauze abuzive în contractele de adeziune B2B

Abstract

If a few years ago the virtual space was a „place” considered exotic for concluding contracts, now it is a common practice. The vast majority of contracts can be concluded online and most of them are adhesion contracts. Adhesion contracts (take-it-or-leave-it) are a consequence of trade modernization and are absolutely necessary. Nevertheless, they carry their own special risks, no matter the adherent’s quality, that of a consumer or a professional. One of the risks is that of acceptance by the adherent of unfair terms imposed by the other contractual party. We will not discuss the unfair terms in consumer contracts, but those embedded in B2B contracts. Starting from the relatively recent legislative changes in European law and the laws of certain member states (Germany and France in particular) we will show that the current trend is to sanction abusive clauses/unfair terms in adhesion contracts, irrespective of the contract type, B2C or B2B.

Keywords

• adhesion contracts
• b2b contracts
• unfair terms