Intervention or empowerment - Choosing the consumer law weapon!

Consumer law has not attracted the same level of analysis as competition law. Given the increasing recognition and importance of consumer law, and its separation from what once was called commercial or mercantile law, it is appropriate that analysis continue on the framework for consumer research, its connection to competition law and the values that underlie legislative reform proposals. It will be shown that the transdisciplinary nature of consumer law presents particular difficulties in developing an appropriate model. At an embryonic stage, a proposal is outlined which seeks to bring together the disparate strands and ensure that future reform work can be judged against objective criteria. It is hoped that this will lead to future development with an increasing number of variables placed into the research equation. The conclusion will be made that ultimately the decision is about whether to intervene (perhaps described as hard paternalism) or simply to empower the consumer (soft paternalism).