Abstract
The EU consumer acquis has undergone significant overhaul in the past decades mainly following the publication of the Green Paper. The reform culminated with the enactment of a fully harmonized consumer rights directive which brings along a range of consumer-protective measures. Of these changes, the directive embraces auctions within the ambit of the directive in response to the hitherto vague exclusion under the distance selling directive. While the consumer rights directive definitively puts auctions within its bounds, it contains rather vague and ambiguous rules in regulating the scope of rights of withdrawal vis-à-vis auction. It generally denies the right for consumer contracts concluded at public auction while making absurd distinction between public auction and what it calls auctions via online platforms. This thesis meticulously examines the scope of the withdrawal regime in light of the contemporary auctioning practice in place, namely traditional auctioneering, internet and television auctions. It also points out adverse economic and legal effects of ill-defined withdrawal regime from consumer protection perspective.
Key Words: Withdrawal rights, public auction, internet auction, television auction, consumer protection