Although consumer protection has been an issue of concern for the European Community since its inception, it could not, in fairness, be described as a major area of interest during the early stage of its existence. Certainly there is nothing in the Treaty which can be taken to indicate a commitment to the establishment of a common consumer policy1. For reasons which are not the concern of this article2, a change in emphasis occurred in the mid-1970s and a policy of protecting the consumer from commercial and related forms of exploitation began to emerge. This policy is encapsulated in both the Preliminary Community Programme for Consumer Information and Protection and in a Second Programme adopted by the Council in 1975 and 1981 respectively3. These declare that:

The Commission has certainly indicated that it regards seriously the Community policy of consumer protection. Though only one is shortly to become effective, no fewer than six proposals—dealing with product liability, correspondence courses, doorstep sales, misleading advertisements, consumer credit, and unit pricing—have been submitted to the Council5. Recently, the Commission has identified another area, unfair terms in consumer contracts, which may be suitable for Community level action. Unfair Terms in Contracts Concluded with Consumers 6 is not a proposal, though the Commission does venture some tentative views as to how the problem may be solved. It is, rather, a discussion document designed to elicit a response prior to the formulation of policy at Community level. This article seeks to do two things: it will describe the Commission’s views and debate some of the premises upon which they are founded. Throughout, references to developments in substantive, municipal law are confined to the legal systems of the United Kingdom.