3 results
Introduction
- Edited by Beate Gsell, Thomas M. J. Möllers
-
- Book:
- Enforcing Consumer and Capital Markets Law
- Published by:
- Intersentia
- Published online:
- 22 December 2020
- Print publication:
- 31 August 2020, pp 3-10
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
THE DIESEL EMISSIONS SCANDAL AT VOLKSWAGEN AG: THE FACTS
If one wishes to analyse the enforcement of consumer protection law and capital markets law worldwide, the diesel scandal appears to present a perfect opportunity. The car manufacturer Volkswagen – and perhaps also other car manufacturers – allegedly manipulated their diesel engines in order to comply with emission requirements. As the largest car manufacturer in the world, Volkswagen sold its cars in almost every country. Volkswagen and its subsidiaries, such as Audi, had installed a ‘defeat device’ in their diesel engines in order to make emissions appear lower during emissions testing than they actually are in everyday use of the vehicles. Even if the permissible emission limits in the individual countries differ to some extent, the facts of the cases – namely the manipulated diesel engines – remain the same.
THE BOOK INSPIRED BY THE JEAN-MONNET CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE INSPIRE: PEOPLE
The Jean-Monnet Centre of Excellence INspiRE (European Integration – Rule of Law and Enforcement) at the University of Augsburg aims to bring together several legal spheres and to collaborate across the various areas of the law, as similar questions arise in multiple Member States of the European Union. Its mission is to conduct research on European law from the perspective of legal enforcement (‘law in action’). The people behind INspiRE are Thomas MJ Möllers, Ferdinand Wollenschläger, Wolfgang Wurmnest (all Augsburg), Tong Zhan (Beijing), Frédérique Ferrand (Lyon), Beate Gsell (Munich) and Enrico Camilleri (Palermo). It is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
INSPIRE's LEGAL METHODOLOGY: THE INTRADISCIPLINARY AND INTERNATIONAL APPROACH
LEGAL METHOLOLOGY: THE THREE PILLARS
INspiRE is based on three pillars. The first ‘intra-disciplinary-pillar’ is particularly characteristic of the project – through this approach general topics are examined from the perspective of different fields of law. This allows for an in-depth depiction of the underlying difficulties within the framework of legal enforcement, and it enriches research with synergistic effects vis-à-vis innovative solutions existing at the macro level. Thus, the first INspiRE conference in November 2018 discussed the issue of private enforcement of EU competition and state aid law; the second conference in May 2019 – the results of which are published in this book – dealt with issues surrounding the enforcement of consumer and capital markets law.
The Diesel Emissions Scandal – Perspectives of Consumer Law and Capital Markets Law Enforcement: An Intradisciplinary Analysis
- Edited by Beate Gsell, Thomas M. J. Möllers
-
- Book:
- Enforcing Consumer and Capital Markets Law
- Published by:
- Intersentia
- Published online:
- 22 December 2020
- Print publication:
- 31 August 2020, pp 465-498
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
THE ENFORCEMENT OF CONSUMER LAW AND CAPITAL MARKETS LAW IN THE DIESEL EMISSIONS SCANDAL
A HETEROGENEOUS PICTURE OF ENFORCEMENT
Looking at the ways of law enforcement in the diesel emissions scandal, but also at its intensity and speed, huge differences between the various countries examined in this book become apparent: In the US ‘VW was hit from every angle’: In a ‘concert of government and consumer claims’ violations of all possible regulations such as consumer and commercial law, environmental standards as well as rules governing misleading advertisement etc. were prosecuted. Within a few months a settlement was negotiated between private claimants from all over the US and VW. Even criminal law aspects were addressed. Questions of capital markets law regarding the Volkswagen bonds have also been settled with the SEC. But not only private claimants but above all state authorities reacted astonishingly quickly at federal and state level.
Wheels turn slower in Europe. Also, within Europe a variety of different instruments of law enforcement are actually used, such as individual and collective civil actions, including forms of hybrid enforcement whereby public authorities bring consumer claims before civil courts, as well as regulatory and administrative sanctions along with criminal prosecution. In Germany the diesel emissions scandal even gave rise to the introduction of a new collective redress instrument, that is the model declaratory action (Musterfeststellungsklage). Yet, the picture within Europe is very heterogenous and an overall assessment shows that so far individual and collective redress claims within Europe faced significant difficulties both with regard to substantive and procedural law and that the intensity and severity of the measures taken, and sanctions imposed is significantly lower than in the US. It is particularly striking in comparison with the US, but also with other countries such as Australia and Brazil, that there is still no collective redress instrument on the European Union level that would enable aggrieved consumers let alone capital investors to assert their claims for damages in a bundled manner through one single claimant as representative.
Sources of Law in European Securities Regulation – Effective Regulation, Soft Law and Legal Taxonomy from Lamfalussy to de Larosière
- Thomas M.J. Möllers
-
- Journal:
- European Business Organization Law Review (EBOR) / Volume 11 / Issue 3 / September 2010
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 09 November 2010, pp. 379-407
- Print publication:
- September 2010
-
- Article
- Export citation
-
The four Framework Directives of the Lamfalussy Process constituted a further step towards guaranteeing an efficient and dynamic functioning of the EU's securities market. Since then, a number of implementing directives and regulations have been passed and further changes have already been suggested.
Regarding the existing system from a German point of view, this article focuses on the role of the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) and the legal nature of its guidelines and recommendations. It establishes the claim that the CESR's statements have a binding effect despite their character set out in the Framework Directives and argues that the traditional dichotomy of legal sources needs to be substituted by a trichotomy of hard law, soft law and a third kind of secondary law. This so-called third kind of secondary law has three consequences: first of all, it needs to be recognised; secondly, it needs to be complied with; and thirdly, in case of non-compliance, extensive reasons must be given. This puts the third kind of secondary law in a position similar to that of persuasive authorities. Regulation (EC) No. 1060/2009, which was adopted following the financial crisis, confirms this notion by requiring that the national financial supervisors consider the CESR's advice but that they can deviate if they give full reasons for their decision.
Lastly, the creation of a European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), which has already been proposed, is discussed and compared with the existing system. The ESMA's expanded supervisory powers over national authorities are a step in the right direction. It remains to be seen, however, whether the Proposal for a Regulation creating the ESMA will achieve the goal of establishing a common supervisory culture for European financial markets.