The protection of the weak party against unfair contract terms between professionals: Study in French law and its judicial application
Dr. Yousef Mohammad Shandi
Associate Professor of Civil Law – Arab American University – Jenine – Palestine
Abstract:
This study deals with the protection of weak parties against unfair terms of contract between professionals in French law and its judicial application. The major importance of this study lies in the fact that it deals with a new topic not considered yet by Arab legislation in general, despite its interest on the one hand, for the protection of the market against restrictive business practices, and on the other hand, its role in protecting the weak party by competition law. This weakness can not only occur in the consumer-professional relationship, but also in the relationship between professionals, and especially between mass market retailers and their suppliers.
For a clause to be held abusive, it must create a significant imbalance between the rights and obligations of the parties. Therefore, the subject of this study has been divided into two chapters in which we’ll respectively treat: the conditions of application of the significant imbalance and the method of its estimation.
Keywords: harmful imbalance, business practices, competition law, distributor, supplier.