Séminaire PROSEco – Dr. Borko Mihajlović

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Séminaire PROSEco: Dr. Borko Mihajlović

Consumer protection on sharing economy platforms: the case of contracts with a non-trader

Contracts between consumers and non-traders concluded through sharing economy platforms: do we need to change the paradigm?

Sharing economy platforms have become a significant market participant in the global economy. Consequently, а level of attention of legal scholars and national legislators to contracting through these platforms, especially regarding consumer protection, increases. The subject of previous research in this field has been different aspects of triangular relationship between platform operators, sellers (traders or prosumers), and consumers, which are the main actors in sharing economy. It was specifically made clear that there are myriad examples where platform operators exceed the role of mere intermediators between a seller and consumer, in which situations stricter rules as regards their liability towards consumers are needed. However, such rules have not been sufficiently developed yet, which makes consumers’ position on sharing economy platforms unsettled and shaky, particularly when they contract with sellers who may not be considered as  traders. In that case, consumers can rely neither on the body of rules that regulates platforms’ liability (since it does not exist or is not sufficiently developed) nor on the specific consumer law rules (because the main assumption for application of these rules – contract between a trader and consumer – does not exist).

This paper deals with the position of consumers who conclude contracts with non-traders through sharing economy platforms. The principal objective of the paper is to explore different possibilities for the enhancement of their position. The author will investigate two main research questions: 1) which consumer rights would improve consumers’ position in the sharing economy platform (special attention will be paid to the possibility of application of withdrawal right), 2) when is application of certain consumers’ rights justified, despite non-existence of relationship between trader and consumer. These questions will be investigated from international and European perspectives, while certain insights, where appropriate, will be given from the perspective of Western Balkans countries as well.

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