Loan Sharks v. Short‐term Lenders: How Do the Law and Regulators Draw the Line?

With the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) having just published its ‘comprehensive review’ of some aspects of the business of short‐term lenders, this article examines the phenomenon of short‐term lenders. It draws on the legal and conceptual changes in the United Kingdom's consumer credit sector that have aided their proliferation. It argues that short‐term lenders in their current form are no different from loan sharks and that the current legal and regulatory framework has failed to provide the required protection for vulnerable credit consumers. It highlights how the United Kingdom's legal approach to consumer protection has been to the detriment of short‐term borrowers.     

消费信用法研究的回顾、反思与展望

金融危机背景下,回顾与展望我国消费信用法研究与相关立法具有重要的理论与现实意义。如今消费信用立法已经成为世界性立法现象。消费信用立法应将保障消费者权益作为基本原则,综合调整贷款信用和销售信用关系,加强对消费信用先合同义务与合并条款的规制。所以,深入研究国外立法,借鉴国外经验,结合我国消费信用发展现状和传统消费文化,制定《中华人民共和国消费信用法》是非常必要和迫切的。     

个人信用信息数据库在我国征信体系构建中的法律定位分析

个人信用信息数据库的法律定位分析系指对数据库保护的具体法律关系定位而言。在我国征信体系构建的过程中,个人信用信息数据库的权利主体是谁,具体权利及权利内容如何,需要在借鉴美国、欧盟、日本等征信国家信用立法、管理等经验的基础上,结合我国的实际情况进行路径选择并给出具体设计。     

建立我国消费长效机制的法律探讨

我国经济结构调整，急需通过拉动和扩大内需等途径来完成。建立扩大消费需求长效机制，是我国第十二五规划的重要内容之一。建立扩大消费需求长效机制，涉及众多法律因素，如消费市场法律环境状况、消费激励政策与调控机制、居民收入分配机制、居民信用诚信体系、居民社会保障制度等。我国消费市场诸多法律因素，影响和制约了消费长效机制的建立和完善，针对上述影响因素，进一步建立和完善与我国消费长效机制相关的法律制度，保障我国消费长效机制的有效持续运行。     

论消费信用卡透支风险的法律监管制度建设

消费信用卡给发卡行带来新的利润增长点的同时 ,也对其造成一定的风险。风险背后的深层原因是制度的缺陷。我国信用卡业务的制度缺陷主要体现在银行对持卡人拖欠透支款缺乏有效催款措施、健全的个人信用制度、信用卡担保保证制度以及完善、统一的消费信贷法规。要改变这一现状 ,促进信用卡的健康发展 ,我国应在上述几个方面加强建设步伐 ,逐步建立一个有法可依的消费信贷法律制度体系。     

债权让与通知的效力

关于债权让与通知的效力 ,我国合同法仅设三个条文进行规定 ,与法律实践中的复杂情况相比显得过于简略。应对债权通知方式、债权通知对债务人、债权人以及第三人的效力等问题作具体研究 ,完善我国《合同法》的相关规定。     

Fair credit reporting medical information regulations. Final rules

The OCC, Board, FDIC, OTS, and NCUA (Agencies) are publishing final rules to implement section 411 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act). The final rules create exceptions to the statute's general prohibition on creditors obtaining or using medical information pertaining to a consumer in connection with any determination of the consumer's eligibility, or continued eligibility, for credit for all creditors. The exceptions permit creditors to obtain or use medical information in connection with credit eligibility determinations where necessary and appropriate for legitimate purposes, consistent with the Congressional intent to restrict the use of medical information for inappropriate purposes. The final rules also create limited exceptions to permit affiliates to share medical information with each other without becoming consumer reporting agencies. The final rules are substantially similar to the rules adopted by the Agencies on an interim final basis in June 2005.     

Hospital and health services credit union; prohibited trade practices, and affirmative corrective actions--Federal Trade Commission. Consent Order

In settlement of alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair acts and practices and unfair methods of competition, this Consent Order requires an Ann Arbor, Michigan credit union, among other things, to cease failing to disclose, when rejecting a credit application or increasing the cost of credit, that the action is based partially or wholly on information contained in a consumer credit report; and provide the rejected applicant with the name and address of the reporting agency together with the specific principal reason(s) for the adverse action based on this information. The Order also requires the credit union to send to consumers who were denied credit between January 1, 1983, and the effective data of the Order, a letter containing required disclosures.     

The Potential and Limits of Consumer Empowerment by Information

Consumer policy increasingly places emphasis on the role of information in allowing consumers to protect themselves and promoting a competitive economy. Increasing the information available to consumers is undoubtedly beneficial, but this article cautions that the limitations of consumer protection though information also have to be recognized. In particular, emphasis is placed on the insights provided by behavioural economics which suggests that consumers may not always respond to information provided as rationally as traditional economic models sometimes assume. One implication of this is that the way information rules are framed needs to be revisited. Other consumer policy approaches (altering the default rules, using bans and regulations, and risk sharing) need to be considered alongside a strategy of information provision. To analyse which approach should be adopted or to find the appropriate balance between different approaches requires policy makers to engage more fully with the legal and consumer policy research community.     

诚信体系建设法治保障的探索与构想

诚信体系建设覆盖社会各领域,涉及诸多方面,是一个复杂艰巨的系统工程。构建诚信社会,需要把道德自律和制度他律有机结合起来。在我国社会转型时期,应将法治保障置于根本性地位。当前诚信法治保障建设中,既有观念性障碍,也有体制性问题;既有现行法律执行不到位的问题,也有基础性法律支撑不足的问题。对此,必须有针对性地展开研究,促进我国诚信体系建设的规范化、法治化。     

论信用行政评价的属性及其司法控制——一种后果取向的分析视角

信用行政评价是信用行政惩戒制度中的关键环节,其合法性对后续惩戒措施的合法性具有决定作用。关于其行为性质与可诉性,理论上存在行政处罚、行政确认、主动信息公开和行政事实行为四种认识。司法实践中,法院虽然通过严格的规范演绎推理否定了信用行政评价的行政处罚属性,但是未能就其行为性质与可诉性达成肯定而统一的认识。后果解释在信用评价案件中具有可适用性,通过澄清隐藏在司法判决中的后果考量,并以后果权衡的均衡性为标准,应当将信用评价定性为行政确认和政府主动的信息公开。在审查进路上,法院应进行独立审查和分类审查,根据不同的行为定性采取不同的审查强度,建构不同的审查标准。     

关联合同中产生于买卖合同的抗辩权对贷款合同的适用性问题——从一则案例看德国消费信贷法抗辩权延伸制度

随着我国商品房买卖纠纷案件的不断发生,司法实践面临着诸多难以解决的新问题,其中一个重要问题就是在信贷消费中产生于买卖合同的抗辩权是否可以适用于与其构成关联合同的贷款合同的问题.作为消费信贷法中的一项重要制度,德国消费信贷法的抗辩权延伸制度赋予消费者在买卖合同与贷款合同构成关联合同的情况下,以买卖合同所产生的对销售者的抗辩权来对抗贷款合同中的贷款人的权利.这一制度安排使消费者不至于因为关联合同中买卖合同与贷款合同的分离而承担比传统买卖合同更大的风险,致力于消费者保护.     

信用评级法律制度的国际化发展趋势

信用评级的国际化决定了信用评级法律制度的国际化趋势，而信用评级国际化中的信用评级霸权问题、信用评级霸权导致的关欧信用评级监管标准之争则直接推动了信用评级法律制度的国际化进程。金融危机前后许多国际组织和区域组织都先后立法，意图对国际信用评级机构进行规制。在信用评级的国际化和信用评级霸权的争夺中，我国并不能“独善其身”。须正确认识信用评级法律制度的国际化；培育国内信用评级机构和市场；完善国内信用评级法律制度；积极参与国际信用评级法律制度的制定。     

“FinTech”赋能:科技金融法律规制的范式转移

近年来,"FinTech"技术赋能于传统金融体系,科技金融迅速发展。以"区块链"为代表的"FinTech"技术赋能于以贸易金融为首的科技金融行业,形成了"去中心化"金融体系的结构转变。以"信息信用"替代"核心信用",改变了科技金融的制度内核。"数据信息"与人工智能结合给金融体系增添了科技的活力,但同时也泛化了行业风险,影响了科技金融的健康发展。科技金融法律规制应当以市场化的法制理念明确科技金融的核心制度利益;以信息化的思维模式建立科技金融领域下"数字信息"的透明与共享机制;以专业化的法制思路实现法律规范与行业规则的协调与互补,形成法制的范式转移。     

信用报告制度的完善及身份窃取行为的预防

随着信息手段的多样化、客户使用电子支付方式的规模化,客户身份被窃取的事件也屡屡不断地发生。在电子商务过程中获得客户身份的企业,如何正当使用身份信息,在我国急待立法加以调整。我们应借鉴美国信用报告制度,加强我国客户身份信息保护。     

信用的权利化及其民法保护

在我国，信用权利化的提出有着特定的立法背景。通过对信用法律调整历史沿革的考察可以发现，信用的内涵是不断发展变化的，从最初关注主体在伦理道德方面信守承诺的情况，扩展到主体的综合经济能力。现代民法对信用的调整以社会对主体的信用评价为核心，信用作为社会对主体综合经济能力的评价，已非主体性要素，且已从“内在化的伦理价值”外化为“客体化的人格要素”，成为一种具有典型性、独立性的人格要素。因此，有必要也能够将信用权利化为具体的人格权，以确保民事主体获得客观公正的信用评价。     

欧洲民法典草案消费者撤回权制度研究

基于保护消费者免于遭受侵略性商业行为、去除跨境、在线交易障碍,以及保护复杂合同下处于信息弱势之消费者之目的,欧洲民法典草案明确规定了消费者撤回权制度,并对消费者撤回权概念、适用范围、行使方式、期限、告知义务及效果等作了规定。民法典中规定消费者撤回权,体现了民法理念从形式正义到实质正义,民法主体从抽象人格到具体人格、从强而智到弱而愚者的转变。欧洲民法典草案撤回权制度对我国相关制度的完善具有重大借鉴意义。     

法治视角的社会信用之构建刍议

社会信用是个人信用、企业的信用和政府信用的有机结合.其中,个人信用是社会信用的基础,企业信用是社会信用的主体,政府信用是社会信用的关键.社会信用缺失不独为个人信用和企业信用的缺失,政府信用缺失及其示范效应更为强烈.尽管个中缘由复杂,但法制及其整合功能的缺失无疑是问题的关键所在.因此,在法治视角下我们应以强化政府信用为重点,以确认和保护个人和企业的信用权为基础,以法治的功能性整合来构建我国的社会信用体系,实现社会信用的良性增长.     

The Consumer as the Empirical Measure of Trade Mark Law

Although consumer responses to signs and symbols lie at the heart of trade mark law, courts blow hot and cold on the relevance of empirical evidence – such as surveys and experiments – to establish how consumers respond to alleged infringing marks. This ambivalence is related to deeper rifts between trade mark doctrine and the science around consumer decision‐making. This article engages with an approach in ‘Law and Science’ literature: looking at how cognitive psychology and related disciplines conceptualise consumer decision‐making, and how counterintuitive lawyers’ approaches appear from this perspective. It demonstrates how, especially when proving confusion, decision‐makers in trade mark demand the impossible of empiricists and are simultaneously blind to the weaknesses of other sources of proof. A principled divergence, without seeking to collapse the gaps between legal and scientific approaches, but taking certain small steps, could reduce current problems of proof and contribute to better‐informed, more empirically grounded decisions.     

论政府的信息形成权及当事人义务

在政府信息公开问题背后,隐藏着另外一个重要问题——政府信息的来源和收集。政府具有信息形成权,其合法性基础在于正确行政决策和信用社会建构以及政府保护私人权利和公共利益之管制权的有效运用的需要。政府具有自主形成信息的权力,也对公民、法人和其他组织享有强制性信息申报请求权、信息强制保留请求权、信息强制披露请求权、信息调查权、信息档案形成权和保持权、信息技术使用权、获得信息预算支持权以及对违法信息收集的制裁权。政府的信息形成权的运用也给相关当事人带来了负担和义务,因此在信息领域应妥当处理政府公共权力与私人权利的平衡关系及合理地运用平衡技术。