LAW WP Template 2012

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

LAW WP Template 2012 DEPARTMENT OF LAW EUI Working Papers LAW 2012/23 DEPARTMENT OF LAW DO CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES NEED A NEW ARCHITECTURE OF CONSUMER LAW? A THOUGHT-PROVOKING IMPULSE Hans-W. Micklitz EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE, FLORENCE DEPARTMENT OF LAW Do Consumers and Businesses Need a New Architecture of Consumer Law? A Thought-Provoking Impulse HANS-W. MICKLITZ EUI Working Paper LAW 2012/23 This text may be downloaded for personal research purposes only. Any additional reproduction for other purposes, whether in hard copy or electronically, requires the consent of the author(s), editor(s). If cited or quoted, reference should be made to the full name of the author(s), editor(s), the title, the working paper or other series, the year, and the publisher. ISSN 1725-6739 © 2012 Hans-W. Micklitz Printed in Italy European University Institute Badia Fiesolana I – 50014 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) Italy www.eui.eu cadmus.eui.eu Abstract The paper is a translation of the Gutachten prepared for the 69. Deutschen Juristentag to be held in September 2012. It pleads for a separate consumer law code outside private law codifications. The benchmarks are: rethinking the concept of the consumer (the vulnerable consumer and the consumer/customer), focussing beyond traditional consumer law on internet sales and on consumer services (telecommunications, energy, transport, financial services), integrating and developing a consistent approach to consumer law enforcement via individual and collective action, via ADR, courts and administrative bodies. The solution is seen in a movable system (bewegliches System) that allows for the connection of substantive rights and remedies to the different concepts of consumers, vulnerable, confident and responsible. Keywords Consumer protection, European consumer law, the notion of the consumer, internet sales, services, enforcement, remedies, ADR and ODR, collective remedies, role of regulatory agencies. Author Contact Details Hans-W. Micklitz, EUI Law Department, Via Boccaccio 121, 50133 Firenze Italy Email: [email protected] GLOSSARY AbzG (Abzahlungsgesetz) German Hire Purchase Act AGB (Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen) General Terms and Conditions of trade AGBG (Gesetz zur Regelung des Rechts der German Act on General Terms and Conditions of Allgemeinen Geschäftsbedingungen/AGB- Trade Gesetz) AMG (Arzneimittelgesetz) Medicinal Products Act AnsFuG (Anlegerschutz- und German Investor Protection and the Functionality Funktionsverbesserungsgesetzes) Improvement Act b2b Business to business b2c Business to consumer BAG (Bundesarbeitsgericht) German Federal Labour Court BaFin (Bundesanstalt für German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) BGB (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch) German Civil Code BGH (Bundesgerichtshof) German Federal Court of Justice BMELV (Bundesministerium für Ernährung, Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz) Consumer Protection BMWi (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technologie) Technology BNetzA (Bundesnetzagentur) German Federal Network Agency BVerfG (Bundesverfassungsgericht) German Federal Constitutional Court BVI (Bundesverband Investment und Asset German Federal Investment and Asset Management) Management Association BVL (Bundesamt für Verbraucherschutz und German Federal Office of Consumer Protection Lebensmittelsicherheit) and Food Safety CISG United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods CRD Consumer Rights Directive DCFR Draft Common Frame of Reference ECJ European Court of Justice EGBGB (Einführungsgesetz zum Bürgerlichen Introductory Act to the German Civil Code Gesetzbuch) CESL (Gemeinsames Europäisches Kaufrecht) Regulation on a Common European Sales Law EGZPO (Einführungsgesetz zur Introductory Act to the German Code of Civil Zivilprozeßordnung) Procedure EnWG (Gesetz über die Elektrizitäts- und Energy Industry Act Gasversorgung = Energiewirtschaftsgesetz) EuGVŰ (Europäische Gerichtsstands- und Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and the Vollstreckungsübereinkommen) Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters 1968 (“Brussels Convention”) EuGVVO (Verordnung über die gerichtliche Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 on the Zuständigkeit und die Anerkennung und Jurisdiction, Recognition and Enforcement of Vollstreckung von Entscheidungen in Zivil- und Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters Handelssachen) (“Brussels I” Regulation) FernAbsG (Fernabsatzgesetz) German Distance Selling Act FinDAG (Finanzdienstleistungsaufsichtsgesetz) German Act Establishing the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority GasGVV (Gasgrundversorgungsverordnung) Basic Gas Supply Ordinance GfK Growth from Knowledge GWB (Gesetz gegen German Act against Restraints on Competition Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen) HGB (Handelsgesetzbuch) German Commercial Code InvG (Investmentgesetz) German Investment Act HTWG (Haustürwiderrufsgesetz) German Doorstep Selling Act KapMuG ( Kapitalanleger- German Capital Markets Model Case Act Musterverfahrensgesetz) MiFID Markets in Financial Instruments Directive ProdHaftG (Produkthaftungsgesetz) German Product Liability Act RBerG (Rechtsberatungsgesetz) German Act on Legal Counselling RDG (Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz) German Legal Services Act Reisevertragsrecht German Travel Contract Law SchlichtVerfV German Mediation Services Procedural (Schlichtungsstellenverfahrensverordnung) Regulation SchuModG Act to Modernise the Law of Obligations (Schuldrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz) SGB (Sozialgesetzbuch) German Social Security Code SME Small and middle-sized enterprises StromGVV German Basic Electricity Supply Ordinance (Stromgrundversorgungsverordnung) TEU Treaty on European Union TFEU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union TKG (Telekommunikationsgesetz) German Telecommunications Act TzWrG (Teilzeit-Wohnrechtegesetz) German Part-Time Residential Rights Act UKlaG (Unterlassungsklagengesetz) German Injunctions Act UWG (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren German Unfair Competition Act Wettbewerb) VKreditG (Verbraucherkreditgesetz) German Consumer Credit Act VSchDG (EG- EC Consumer Protection Enforcement Act Verbraucherschutzdurchsetzungsgesetz) VZBV (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband) Federation of German Consumer Organisations WpDVerOV (Verordnung zur Konkretisierung Ordinance on Defining the Code of Conduct and der Verhaltensregeln und Organisational Requirements for Securities Organisationsanforderungen für Service Providers Wertpapierdienstleistungsunternehmen) WpHG (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz) German Securities Trading Act ZPO (Zivilprozeßordnung) German Code of Civil Procedure TABLE OF CONTENTS I. The Starting Point - Premises/Preconception/Basic Assumptions/Sets of Problems ................... 1 1. Appraisal of the Rules Concerning Consumer Law ...................................................................... 1 2. Dynamism of Consumer Law and Stability of the BGB ............................................................... 2 3. Consumer Protection Law and Consumer Law ............................................................................ 4 (a) The rise of consumer law ........................................................................................................... 4 (b) The fall of consumer protection law .......................................................................................... 6 4. Assets of Consumer Law ................................................................................................................ 6 (a) Contracts for services ................................................................................................................. 7 (b) Legal redress .............................................................................................................................. 7 5. Consequences of the Europeanization of Consumer Law ............................................................ 9 (a) Maximum harmonisation and loss of competences ................................................................... 9 (b) Reactive consumer law policy ................................................................................................. 10 6. Recasting Consumer Law as Special Law ................................................................................... 11 II. Consumer Law in the System of the BGB .................................................................................... 12 1. Consumer Law as ‘Social Oil’ ..................................................................................................... 12 2. Consumer Law as Foreign Matter in the BGB ........................................................................... 13 (a) Formal integration .................................................................................................................... 13 (b) Discrepancies and inconsistencies ........................................................................................... 14 3. Vibrancy of the Law Concerning Consumers in b2b .................................................................. 16 (a) AGB control of b2b ................................................................................................................. 16 (b) Sales law for b2b ..................................................................................................................... 17 III. Concept of the Consumer ............................................................................................................. 19 1. The ‘Dignity’ of
Recommended publications
  • Criminal Law of Afghanistan
    2ND EDITION AN INTRODUCTION TO THE C RIMINAL LAW OF AFGHANISTAN An Introduction to the Criminal Law of Afghanistan Second Edition Afghanistan Legal Education Project (ALEP) Stanford Law School http://alep.stanford.edu [email protected] Stanford Law School Crown Quadrangle 559 Nathan Abbott Way Stanford, CA 94305-8610 www.law.stanford.edu ALEP – STANFORD LAW SCHOOL Authors Eli Sugarman (Co-Founder, Student Co-Director, 2008-09) Anne Stephens Lloyd (Student Co-Director, 2008-09) Raaj Narayan (Student Co-Director, 2009-10) Max Rettig (Student Co-Director, 2009-10) Una Au Scott Schaeffer Editors Stephanie Ahmad (Rule of Law Fellow, 2011-12) Rose Leda Ehler (Student Co-Director, 2011-12) Daniel Lewis (Student Co-Director, 2011-12) Elizabeth Espinosa Jane Farrington Gabriel Ledeen Nicholas Reed Faculty Director Erik Jensen Rule of Law Program Executive Director Megan Karsh Program Advisor Rolando Garcia Miron AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF AFGHANISTAN Contributing Faculty Editors Nafay Choudhury Rohullah Azizi Naqib Ahmad Khpulwak Hamid Khan Chair of the Department of Law Taylor Strickling, 2012-13 Hadley Rose, 2013-14 Mehdi Hakimi, 2014- Translation Assistance Elite Legal Services, Ltd. Table of Contents PREFACE ....................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL LAW ................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Protecting Europe Against Large-Scale Cyber-Attacks
    HOUSE OF LORDS European Union Committee 5th Report of Session 2009–10 Protecting Europe against large-scale cyber-attacks Report with Evidence Ordered to be printed 9 March 2010 and published 18 March 2010 Published by the Authority of the House of Lords London : The Stationery Office Limited £price HL Paper 68 The European Union Committee The European Union Committee of the House of Lords considers EU documents and other matters relating to the EU in advance of decisions being taken on them in Brussels. It does this in order to influence the Government’s position in negotiations, and to hold them to account for their actions at EU level. The Government are required to deposit EU documents in Parliament, and to produce within two weeks an Explanatory Memorandum setting out the implications for the UK. The Committee examines these documents, and ‘holds under scrutiny’ any about which it has concerns, entering into correspondence with the relevant Minister until satisfied. Letters must be answered within two weeks. Under the ‘scrutiny reserve resolution’, the Government may not agree in the EU Council of Ministers to any proposal still held under scrutiny; reasons must be given for any breach. The Committee also conducts inquiries and makes reports. The Government are required to respond in writing to a report’s recommendations within two months of publication. If the report is for debate, then there is a debate in the House of Lords, which a Minister attends and responds to. The Committee has seven Sub-Committees which are: Economic and
    [Show full text]
  • UNITED KINGDOM 1. Consumer Policy Institutions
    UNITED KINGDOM 1. Consumer policy institutions ................................................... 2 1.1. MINISTRY RESPONSIBLE FOR CONSUMER POLICY ......................................................................... 2 1.2. PUBLIC AGENCIES......................................................................................................................... 3 1.3. NATIONAL CONSUMER ORGANISATIONS....................................................................................... 8 1.4. NATIONAL COUNCILS/ASSEMBLIES OF CONSUMER ORGANISATIONS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS 10 1.5. CONSUMER MEDIA ..................................................................................................................... 12 1.6. REDRESS BODIES: COURTS AND ADRS ....................................................................................... 12 1.7. EUROPEAN CONSUMER CENTRE.................................................................................................. 13 1.8. SELF OR CO-REGULATION........................................................................................................... 14 2. Consumer policies................................................................... 20 2.1. CONSUMER PROTECTION LEGISLATION ...................................................................................... 20 2.2. CONSUMER ORGANISATIONS ..................................................................................................... 25 2.3. ENFORCEMENT/REDRESS ..........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law
    LESSON ONE “United States Code of Law – Title 18, Chapter 13 Section 241 & 242” Need: All across the Corporate State of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and its many subordinate ENCLAVES (CORPORATE STATE OF MISSOURI, CITY OF FERGUSON, ETC.) there has been an increasing amount of “Deprivation of Human, International and Indigenous Rights” committed by “alleged” Public Officials/Officers who are operating under “COLOR OF LAW”. Through Our analysis of the Michael “Mike Mike” Brown Jr. Case/Situation and through Our study and application of the Supreme Law of the Land (U.S.C., Constitutional, and International) we will be able to over stand the lawful status and predicament of the so-called Black, Colored, Negro, and African- American communities and what must be done to Lawfully to correct the “Problem” of Our People. End Goal: To inform Natural Persons and Citizens, alike, of their Constitutional, Universal Human, and Indigenous Rights so that they may confidently Exercise and if needed Defend their Unalienable Rights with impunity. United States Code of Law – (U.S.C.) - The Code of Laws of the United States of America[1] (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, or U.S.C.) is the official compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal laws of the United States. It contains 51 titles,[2] along with a further four proposed titles.[3] The main edition is published every six years by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives, and cumulative supplements are published annually.[4][5] The official version of those laws not codified in the United States Code can be found in United States Statutes at Large.
    [Show full text]
  • Empowering and Protecting Consumers Consultation On
    Empowering and protecting consumers Consultation on institutional changes for provision of consumer information, advice, education, advocacy and enforcement Response from Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland September 2011 Myddelton House | 115-123 Pentonville Road | London | N1 9LZ | Tel: 020 7833 2181 | Fax: 020 7833 4371 | www.citizensadvice.org.uk: 7833 2181 2 1. Introduction 1.1 Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland welcome the Government’s consultation on reform of the consumer landscape. 1.2 We wish to ensure that the outcome provides consumers with access to the best possible information and high quality individual advice about their rights; that consumers have powerful advocates representing their views to the Government, industry and regulators; and that there are strong enforcement and consumer protection agencies ensuring fair and effective markets, basing this work wherever possible on evidence that our organisations obtain from providing services to consumers. 1.3 The Government has proposed some significant reforms to the consumer landscape so that in future the organisations which have the brief to look after and advocate for the consumer interest are those which are best known and trusted by consumers, are evidence based and have their feet firmly on the ground. 1.4 We agree that consumer advocates should have strong support from consumers, and citizens, if they are to have the right to speak on their behalf to influence businesses, regulators and governments. 1.5 To earn this support and trust, consumer advocates need to be totally rooted in and in touch with the consumer community; passionate about getting the best deal for consumers, whoever they are and whatever the issue, and competent and creative in arguing for and securing solutions.
    [Show full text]
  • History of the Rule of Law
    History of the Rule of Law 1 CONTEMPORARY FINE ART COLLECTION Since it opened in 1933, the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center has been home to numerous soaring and spectacular murals, and neoclassical, awe-inspiring architecture. Today, a new generation of art is also on display throughout the building. The Supreme Court of Ohio contemporary fine art collection is a unique display of pieces from renowned Ohio artists, portraying themes exploring the beauty of the law, the diversity of our land and the nobility of Ohio’s most precious resource: its people. HISTORY OF THE RULE OF LAW SERIES The Supreme Court of Ohio Rule of Law Gallery is home to the History of the Rule of Law, a series of six, 4x6’ oil paintings created by artist Ron Anderson that depict the evolution of law in Western civilization. The paintings, located on the 11th Floor of the Moyer Judicial Center, are on permanent loan from the Ohio State Bar Association. THE CODE OF HAMMURABI AND THE RULE OF RAMSES THE GREAT TheTh Code C d of f Hammurabi H bi and d the h Rule R l of f Ramses R the h Great G , 2005,2005 oil il on canvas. The first panel presents Hammurabi (1795-1750 B.C.), the Babylonian king to whom the first written Code of Law is attributed. He appears to be in the process of passing judgment on a situation before him, while a scribe records the proceedings in cuneiform. To the right of the Egyptian column in the center of the panel is a study of the “Land of Khem,” or Egypt.
    [Show full text]
  • Report for OFT on Markets with Bidding Processes
    Markets with bidding processes Economic discussion paper May 2007 Report prepared for the OFT by DotEcon Ltd OFT923 Markets Characterised by Bidding Processes © Crown copyright (2007) This publication (excluding the OFT logo) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium provided that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as crown copyright and the title of the publication specified. Report prepared for the OFT by DotEcon Ltd 2 FOREWORD This report was commissioned by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) from DotEcon Ltd. They were asked to prepare a report setting out the implications for the analysis of competition when a market is characterized by bidding process and provide a guide to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of such markets . Any views expressed in this report are those of DotEcon Ltd and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OFT nor the legal position under existing competition law which the OFT applies in exercise of its competition law enforcement functions. This report is part of the OFT's Economic Discussion Paper series, and is intended to inform current discussion within the competition policy community in the UK about cooperation between purchasers. If you would like to comment on the paper, please write to me, Amelia Fletcher, at the address below. The OFT welcomes suggestions for future research topics on all aspects of UK competition and consumer policy. Dr Amelia Fletcher Chief Economist Office of Fair Trading Fleetbank House 2-6
    [Show full text]
  • Discover Law Worldwide: Учеб
    ИИ..НН.. ААййннууттддиинноовваа DDIISSCCOOVVEERR LLAAWW WWOORRLLDDWWIIDDEE часть I И.Н. Айнутдинова DDIISSCCOOVVEERR LLAAWW WWOORRLLDDWWIIDDEE Под общей редакцией доктора филологических наук, профессора Г.А. Багаутдиновой Учебное пособие по английскому языку для студентов юридических факультетов вузов Часть I 1 Печатается по рекомендации Учебно-методической комиссии и Учёного совета Института языка КГУ Научный консультант: академик РАО, доктор педагогических наук, профессор Г.В. Мухаметзянова Рецензенты: доктор педагогических наук, профессор Т.М.Трегубова; доктор филологических наук, профессор А.Г.Садыкова Айнутдинова И.Н. DISCOVER LAW WORLDWIDE: учеб. пособие по английскому языку для студентов юридических факультетов вузов: в 5 ч. / И. Н. Айнутдинова; под общ. ред. Г. А. Багаутдиновой. - Казань, Издательство Казанского университета, 2010. – 210 с. ISBN 978-5-98180-770-1 Учебное пособие «DISCOVER LAW WORLDWIDE» (часть I) начинает серию учебных книг по практическому изучению английского языка для студентов юридических факультетов высшей профессиональной школы, состоящей из 5 частей. Пособие состоит из 7-ми законченных модулей (блоков), снабжено дополнительным учебным материалом в виде шаблонов таблиц для заполнения с целью структурирования, систематизации и закрепления знаний по теме изучения; тем и заданий для самостоятельного и группового творчества; глоссария, содержащего наиболее значимую лексику по темам изучения; блока по дополнительному самостоятельному чтению текстов и отдельных тематически значимых правовых актов. Пособие отражает
    [Show full text]
  • SCCCMA Law Enforcement Liability
    Law Enforcement Liability South Carolina City and County Management Association Todd Williams Law Enforcement Stakeholders Meeting • Increase law enforcement training • Support reliable funding for the Criminal Justice Academy to allow for more training opportunities for law enforcement officers. • Increase funding for body worn cameras 1 Civil Actions • Intentional Torts: An intentional tort would occur when an officer, without justification, intentionally commits an act which is recognized by the law as a tort. • For example, if an officer were to use his baton to intentionally strike someone who had done nothing wrong. In the law of torts this would be recognized as a battery. In order to prove a battery; the plaintiff must prove that the officer intentionally caused a harmful or offensive contact to the plaintiff’s body. Civil Actions • Negligence Actions: Another type of tort for which an officer may be sued is the tort of negligence. There are four basic elements of a negligence action. – A duty owed- All persons generally have a duty to act with reasonable care toward those they come into contact with. – A breach of the duty-A person breaches their duty when they fail to exercise reasonable care. – Causation- The breach of duty must be the cause in-fact and the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury. – Damages-The plaintiff must suffer some damages as a result of the breach of duty. 2 Violation of Civil Rights- 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983. – Provides citizens with a remedy for redressing violations of civil rights. – Mechanism for enforcing rights that are granted by the United States Constitution or by a federal statue.
    [Show full text]
  • The Shadow Criminal Law of Municipal Governance
    Florida State University College of Law Scholarship Repository Scholarly Publications 2001 The Shadow Criminal Law of Municipal Governance Wayne A. Logan Florida State University College of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.law.fsu.edu/articles Part of the Criminal Law Commons, and the State and Local Government Law Commons Recommended Citation Wayne A. Logan, The Shadow Criminal Law of Municipal Governance, 62 OHIO ST. L.J. 1409 (2001), Available at: https://ir.law.fsu.edu/articles/196 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Scholarly Publications by an authorized administrator of Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. +(,121/,1( Citation: 62 Ohio St. L.J. 1409 2001 Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline (http://heinonline.org) Wed Apr 29 13:00:47 2015 -- Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license agreement available at http://heinonline.org/HOL/License -- The search text of this PDF is generated from uncorrected OCR text. -- To obtain permission to use this article beyond the scope of your HeinOnline license, please use: https://www.copyright.com/ccc/basicSearch.do? &operation=go&searchType=0 &lastSearch=simple&all=on&titleOrStdNo=0048-1572 The Shadow Criminal Law of Municipal Governance WAYNE A. LOGAN* Although it often escapes attention, municipal governments possess significant authority to enact criminal laws consistent with their expansive home rule and police powers. In this article, Professor Logan explores the numerous ways in which this authority manifests, and reflects upon, several of the main concerns presented by the "shadow criminal law" thereby created.
    [Show full text]
  • Two Cultures of Punishment
    Stanford Law Review Volume 68 May 2016 ARTICLE Two Cultures of Punishment Joshua Kleinfeld* Abstract. As American criminal punishment has become more severe and European more mild, the two systems of punishment have come to represent different cultural possibilities for the modern West. Implicit in American and European punishment are two visions of wrongdoing and wrongdoers, of the terms of the social contract, and of the foundations of rights. American punishment pictures serious offenders as morally deformed people rather than ordinary people who have committed crimes. Their criminality is thus both immutable and devaluing, a feature of the actor rather than merely the act. The forms of punishment deployed in response do not just exact retribution or exert social control, they expressively deny offenders’ claims to membership in the community and to the moral humanity in virtue of which a human being is rights bearing. European criminal punishment expressively denies that any offense marks the offender as a morally deformed person. Criminality is always mutable and never devaluing, actors are kept at a distance from their acts, and the forms of punishment affirm even the worst offenders’ claims to social membership and rights. These conflicting moral visions are not only implicit or immanent in European and American punishment but likely played a role—albeit not an exclusive role—in causing European and American punishment to diverge. After an enormous mid-century crime wave, two very different groups took hold of America’s politics of crime: moralists who viewed criminals as evil and instrumentalists who viewed criminals as dangerous beings. Different as the two groups were, they agreed on policy: for both, the crime problem was a criminals problem, and the solution was to get rid of criminals.
    [Show full text]
  • INTERNATIONAL PROFILES of Health Care Systems, 2013
    INTERNATIONAL PROFILES OF HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS, 2013 AUSTRALIA, CANADA, DENMARK, ENGLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY, JAPAN, THE NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, NORWAY, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, AND THE UNITED STATES EDITED BY SARAH THOMSON, LONDON SchOOL OF ECONOMIcs AND POLITICAL SCIENCE, ROBIN OSBORN, THE COMMONWEALTH FUND, DAVID SQUIRES, THE COMMONWEALTH FUND, AND MIRAYA JUN, LONDON SchOOL OF ECONOMIcs AND POLITICAL SCIENCE NOVEMBER 2013 THE COMMONWEALTH FUND is a private foundation that promotes a high performance health care system providing better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency. The Fund’s work focuses particularly on society’s most vulnerable, including low- income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults. The Fund carries out this mandate by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy. An international program in health policy is designed to stimulate innovative policies and practices in the United States and other industrialized countries. INTERNATIONAL PROFILES OF HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS, 2013 AUSTRALIA, CANADA, DENMARK, ENGLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY, JAPAN, THE NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, NORWAY, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, AND THE UNITED STATES EDITED BY SARAH THOMSON, LONDON SchOOL OF ECONOMIcs AND POLITICAL SCIENCE, ROBIN OSBORN, THE COMMONWEALTH FUND, DAVID SQUIRES, THE COMMONWEALTH FUND, AND MIRAYA JUN, LONDON SchOOL OF ECONOMIcs AND POLITICAL SCIENCE NOVEMBER 2013 Abstract: This publication presents overviews of the health care systems of Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Each overview covers health insur- ance, public and private financing, health system organization and governance, health care quality and coordination, disparities, efficiency and integration, use of information technology and evidence-based practice, cost containment, and recent reforms and inno- vations.
    [Show full text]