Special issue of the Journal of European Consumer and Market Law (EuCML)

Issue 3/2026 of the EuCML, edited by Peter Rott and Karin Sein (University of Tartu), contains eight papers on consumer protection in the hire of movable property, which were presented at an international workshop in Oldenburg in September 2025: Country reports on Belgium (Reinhard Steennot, University of Ghent), Germany (Peter Rott), Estonia (Karin Sein), France (Mathieu Combet, University of Saint-Étienne), Austria (Kristin Nemeth, University of Innsbruck), Poland (Monika Namysłowska, University of Łódź) and Slovenia (Karmen Lutman/Jan Krajnik), as well as an essay on long-term hire (Josje de Vogel, University of Rotterdam).

Conference on people on ships

From 16 June to 18 June, as part of the project“New Maritime and Port Disputes – Les nouveaux contentieux maritimes et portuaires”, a workshop on “Persons on ships” organised by our department took place. In addition to presentations on topics such as the protection of seafarers and cruise passengers and the liability of captains and pilots, the programme also included a visit to the impressive Meyer shipyard in Papenburg.

Expert report on the legal and legal-policy review of modern debt collection practices

Peter Rott has prepared an expert report for the Federal Association of Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V.) on the legal and legal-policy review of modern debt collection practices and presented it to a select group of individuals on 23 April. In addition to numerous measures to protect consumers from unfair or even merely unnecessary and costly debt collection practices, and stricter sanctions for breaches, the report proposes separating debt collection law from the regulatory framework of the Legal Services Act and decoupling the remuneration for modern mass debt collection from lawyers’ fees under the Lawyers’ Fees Act. The aim is to establish a standalone framework that covers aspects of fee eligibility and remuneration, as well as transparency rules and detailed provisions on prohibited debt collection practices

Benjamin Klindt joins as a new research assistant

We are delighted to welcome lawyer Benjamin Klindt as a new research assistant to our department!

Workshop “Protecting Weaker Businesses in Contract Law” at the University of Groningen

On 18 March 2026, a workshop on the topicof “Protecting Weaker Businesses in Contract Law”, organised by Benedikt Schmitz (University of Groningen), took place in Groningen. The workshop was funded from the cooperation fund of the two universities as part of a proposal submitted by Benedikt Schmitz and Peter Rott.

New publication: Handbook of Consumer Law

The Handbook of Consumer Law, founded by Klaus Tonner and Marina Tamm in 2011, has been published by Nomos in its fourth edition with a new editorial team comprising Klaus Tonner, Tobias Brönneke, Felix Buchmann and Peter Rott.

New project on debt collection law

Peter Rott has been awarded a contract to prepare an expert report for the vbzv on the legal and legal-policy analysis of modern debt collection practices. The report will focus in particular on debt collection costs and so-called ‘group debt collection’.

New appointment to the Office

We are delighted to welcome Judith Jacobs as secretary to our practice group!

Conference on consumer protection in the hire of movable property

On 11–12 September, the research group organised a conference in Oldenburg on consumer protection in the rental of movable property. This would strengthen consumers’ trust in lessors of, for example, vehicles, e-scooters, tools and the like, but is currently virtually non-existent in the EU Member States. Selected conference papers are due to be published in 2026 in a special issue of the Journal of European Consumer and Market Law (EuCML).

German-Italian exchange at Villa Vigoni

From 5 to 9 May, twenty German and Italian academics gathered at the beautiful Villa Vigoni on Lake Como to discuss collective redress in consumer law. Peter Rott had secured the visit together with Veronica Montani (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan).

New legal opinion on practical aspects of the new action for redress

Peter Rott, Axel Halfmeier (Leuphana University of Lüneburg), Wannes Vandenbussche (University of Ghent), Laura Bugatti (University of Brescia) and Jagna Mucha (University of Warsaw) have produced a comparative law study for the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) on practical aspects of the new remedy action brought by consumer organisations. These include, in particular, the burden of proof, the financing of legal actions and the collective assertion of claims for non-pecuniary damages. The findings will be presented to stakeholders at a workshop on 26 March 2025.

Country report on litigation funding in Germany

The European Commission has published the study *Mapping Third Party Litigation Funding in the European Union*, to which Peter Rott contributed the German country report. The background to this was an initiative by the European Parliament, which suspected major problems in this area. However, this suspicion could not be confirmed in the case of Germany.

Doctoral thesis published

Madalena Lindenthal Schmidt’s doctoral thesis, entitled ‘Artificial Intelligence in Medicine’, has been published by Nomos Verlag as part of the VIEW series.

Successful doctoral defence

On 24 October 2024, Madalena Lindenthal-Schmidt successfully defended her doctoral thesis, entitled “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine – An Investigation of Contractual Medical Liability with a Focus on Medical Malpractice”, delivering an outstanding performance. The department extends its warmest congratulations!

Villa Vigoni

Peter Rott, together with Veronica Montani (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan) and Laura Bugatti (University of Brescia), has successfully submitted a proposal for a multi-day seminar at Villa Vigoni on Lake Como. The seminar is funded by the DFG. In May 2025, researchers from Italy and Germany will gather there to engage in in-depth discussions on possibilities for collective consumer protection.

Conference on consumer protection in debt collection in Tallinn

On 19 September, a conference on consumer protection in debt collection, funded by the Baltic-German University Office, took place in Tallinn. The conference examined the problems and the existing – or lacking – legal solutions in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany. Country reports on these four EU Member States will be published in the Journal of European Consumer and Market Law (EuCML).

New project on practical aspects of the new right of redress

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has commissioned Peter Rott, Axel Halfmeier (Leuphana University of Lüneburg), Wannes Vandenbussche (University of Ghent), Laura Bugatti (University of Brescia) and Jagna Mucha (University of Warsaw) to carry out a comparative law study on certain issues that may impair the effectiveness of the new remedy action available to consumer organisations. These include, in particular, the burden of proof, the financing of legal actions and the collective assertion of claims for non-pecuniary damages.

Dr Edgar Rose Retires

At the end of June, our long-standing colleague Dr Edgar Rose retired. He worked in the department for 27 years and, during this time, rendered outstanding service to students through his teaching and by supervising countless dissertations.
We would like to thank you warmly for this and for your excellent collegiality, and wish you all the best as you embark on this new chapter in your life.
Fortunately, the transition will be a smooth one, as Edgar Rose will remain with the department as a lecturer.

New project on consumer protection in debt collection

Peter Rott, together with Karin Sein (University of Tallinn), has secured funding from the Baltic University Office for a project on consumer protection in debt collection. In September 2024, academics and practitioners from the three Baltic states and Germany will initially come together – notably at a workshop in Tallinn – to exchange experiences and discuss a suitable legal framework and its practical implementation.

Special issue on the implementation of the Collective Redress Directive

In May, a special issue of the Revue européenne de droit de la consommation (REDC) was published, edited by Peter Rott and Jeroen de Ceuster (University of Ghent). It featured articles on the international workshop ‘Implementation of the Representative Actions Directive’, which the department had organised in June 2023 with the support of the publisher Larcier.

Successful PhD

In May, the doctoral research project by Jacob Schwartz, LL.M., on the topic of ‘Non-contractual liability for self-driving vehicles’ was successfully completed at the chair of Civil Law, Commercial and Economic Law, and Information Law.

Expert Report on Digital Fairness for Consumers

Together with his colleagues Hans Micklitz (EUI Florence), Natali Helberger, Laurens Naudts, Marijn Sax (University of Amsterdam), Betül Kas (University of Rotterdam), Monika Namyslowska (University of Łódź) and Michael Veale (University College London), Peter Rott has prepared an expert report on ‘Digital Fairness for Consumers’ for the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). In this report, Peter Rott focused in particular on issues relating to the burden of proof and the standard of proof. The expert report is available here .

Expert report on consumer protection in relation to legal tech services

Peter Rott has prepared an expert report on consumer protection in relation to legal tech services for the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. In it, he proposes a regulatory framework separate from the Legal Services Act, which covers not only legal tech debt collection but also the purchase of claims and brokerage services, whilst not limiting permissible activities to debt collection services alone. In addition, there is room for improvement in terms of consumer information and price controls; entirely new measures, such as communication obligations during the execution of a contract and after the service has been completed, should be introduced, with English law serving as a model.

The expert opinion can be found here.

Special issue on climate litigation

In December, a special issue of the European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance on climate litigation and related topics was published, edited by Peter Rott and Aurelia Colombi Ciacchi (University of Groningen). Among other things, it featured contributions from the International Workshop on Climate Litigation, which the department organised in March 2022 with funding from the co-operation project grant programme run by the University of Oldenburg in partnership with the University of Groningen.

Jacob Schwartz will join the judicial service in the Oldenburg Higher Regional Court district with effect from 1 November 2023

Dear Jacob, we offer our warmest congratulations, wish you every success in your new role and hope that you will return to us as a lecturer at some point.

International workshop on the implementation of the Collective Redress Directive in the Member States

On 15–16 June 2023, an international workshop on the implementation of the Collective Redress Directive in the Member States took place in the Senate Chamber at the University of Oldenburg, attended by participants from Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Poland, Estonia, Italy and Germany. The workshop was sponsored by the publisher Larcier; papers will be published in 2024 in its journal *Revue européenne de droit de la consommation / European Journal of Consumer Law* (REDC / EJCL). The conference programme can be found here.

Expert opinion on consumer protection by BaFin

Peter Rott has prepared an expert report for the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) on the topic of ‘BaFin – The Interplay between Civil Law and Regulatory Consumer Protection’. The report assumes that BaFin’s enforcement activities can fill gaps in the prosecution of legal infringements by banks and insurance companies, thereby providing a valuable complement to the work of consumer organisations. To strengthen BaFin, the report proposes, amongst other things, that both the conditions under which BaFin may take action and its powers be formulated more clearly in order to create legal certainty, that BaFin be granted the discretion to take action, to refer legal actions challenging BaFin decisions on civil consumer protection to the civil courts; and to improve cooperation between BaFin and consumer organisations, in particular the vzbv. The report can be found at https://www.vzbv.de/meldungen/vzbv-mehr-kompetenzen-fuer-die-bafin-beim-verbraucherschutz.

Brief study on restricting manipulative and consumption-boosting designs in online shopping

As part of the “CO:DINA – Transformation Roadmap for Digitalisation and Sustainability” project run by the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, Peter Rott has produced a short study on the issues and possible courses of action for restricting manipulative and consumption-boosting designs in online shopping. You can find this, along with parallel studies by Christoph Busch and Otmar Lell, here.

The department welcomes Soraya Hammou as a new research assistant.

ELI webinar on digital fairness

The European Law Institute is organising a webinar to discuss its position paper on the European Commission’s consultation on digital fairness. Peter Rott drafted this position paper together with Karin Sein (University of Tartu) and Marie Jull Sørensen (Aalborg University). Information on the webinar and how to register can be found here: https://europeanlawinstitute.eu/news-events/upcoming-events/events-sync/news/webinar-on-eli-response-to-the-european-commissions-public-consultation-on-digital-fairness-fitne/

International workshop on public participation in the energy transition

On 23–24 March 2023, an international workshop on the energy transition, focusing on citizen participation, took place in the Senate Chamber at the University of Oldenburg, with participants mainly from Oldenburg and the University of Groningen. The workshop, organised by Peter Rott in collaboration with Björn Hoops (Groningen), was funded by the Vice-President for Student Affairs, Teaching and International Relations and the University of Turin. The conference programme can be found here.

Statement by the European Law Institute on the consultation on digital fairness

Together with Karin Sein (University of Tartu) and Marie Jull Sørensen (Aalborg University), Peter Rott drafted the European Law Institute’s response to the European Commission’s consultation on Digital Fairness. The response can be found here.

Study on personalised pricing

Peter Rott, together with Joanna Strycharz (University of Amsterdam), has carried out a study for the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection on the topic of ‘personalised pricing’. The personalisation of prices raises concerns due to the potential for unfair treatment or even discrimination against consumers. The study identifies gaps in the legal framework at EU level and makes proposals for the regulation of personalised pricing.

Reorganisation of the Department

On 1 November, the former head of the research group, Prof. Dr Peter Rott, was appointed Professor of Civil Law, Commercial and Economic Law, and Information Law.

At the same time, Madalena Lindenthal-Schmidt, LL.M., took up her post as a research assistant.

Successful PhD

In July, the doctoral research project of Dr Thomas Janicki, LL.M., on the topic of ‘Data protection obligations regarding the establishment of an internal corporate data protection management system’ was successfully completed at the Chair of Civil Law, Commercial and Economic Law, and Legal Informatics.

The thesis can be purchased via the following link: shop.ruw.de/startseite/5086-datenschutzrechtliche-pflichten-zur-einrichtung-eines-unternehmensinternen-datenschutz-managementsystems-.html

International workshop on climate litigation

On 24–25 March 2022, an international workshop on climate litigation took place in the Senate Chamber at the University of Oldenburg, attended primarily by participants from Oldenburg and the University of Groningen. Funded by the Vice-President for Studies, Teaching and International Affairs, the workshop addressed not only current case law and ongoing legal proceedings in Germany and the Netherlands but also fundamental questions of climate governance and the role of the courts. The papers are to be published in the European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance. The conference programme can be found here.

Publication of the study “The Regulatory Gap: Consumer Protection in the Digital Economy”

In December 2021, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) published the study “The Regulatory Gap: Consumer Protection in the Digital Economy” by Hans Natali Helberger (University of Amsterdam), Hans Micklitz (European University Institute, Florence, and University of Helsinki) and Peter Rott. The study can be found here.

Publication of a study on creditworthiness checks for property loans

The German Federal Government has published the final report of the research project commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV), entitled “Evaluation of developments in the area of creditworthiness assessments for consumer property loan agreements”, carried out by the Institute for Financial Services (iff) e.V. The legal section of the study was authored by Prof. Dr Petra Buck-Heeb (Hanover), Prof. Dr Claire Feldhusen (Rostock) and Prof. Dr Peter Rott (Oldenburg). The study and the BMJV’s report can be found here.

Publication of the study “EU Consumer Protection 2.0”

In March 2021, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) published the study “EU Consumer Protection 2.0 – Structural Asymmetries in Digital Markets”. Peter Rott is co-author of Part II, “Personalised pricing and personalised commercial practices” (with Hans Micklitz and Orla Lynskey), and Part III, “Online platforms, special responsibilities and the universal service regime” (with Orla Lynskey).