Willem H. Van Boom

Radboud University | RU · Business and Law Research Centre (OO&R)

Online businesses collect a wealth of data on customers, often without properly informing them. Sometimes these data are used for behavioral pricing: the secret utilization of behavioral customer information and profiling techniques in online B2C commerce to set a reservation price that optimally captures the price an individual customer is willing...

This paper discusses the concept of contractual equilibrium as a moral standard in economics. The author's reflections are inspired by Van Gerven's 1973 book 'Het beleid van de rechter' (policy of the judiciary) on the politics of justice, with a focus on the aims and principles of economic law. The author examines the interaction between contract...

Insureds depend on the behaviour of their insurance companies for a swift resolution of the claims they submit. If an insurer wrongfully delays, denies or handles a claim, the consequences may be of great impact for an insured. Not only is the latter denied a much-needed payment, but the insurer’s wrongful behaviour may also inflict additional dama...

Goederen- en zekerhedenrecht gaat over vier kernthema’s van het Nederlandse privaatrecht: vermogen, goederen, verhaal en zekerheid. Wat verstaat ons privaatrecht onder vermogen, welke objecten worden als goederen bestempeld, hoe kunnen de regels van vermogensrecht worden begrepen en welke beginselen liggen eraan ten grondslag? En concreet: hoe kan...

In deciding private law disputes, courts give reasons. Yet, their styles of reasoning differ: they apply different styles of narration, persuasion and argumentation. Some courts may shape their reasoning by applying a formalistic style, referring to code articles and precedents and applying logical deduction rhetoric. Others may apply a more venera...

Factors That Influence How People Think About the Fairness of Distribution of Wealth and Income: A Survey Study Among Dutch Citizens Ever since ancient Greece, people have philosophized and discussed about the fair distribution of resources. A body of empirical research on this topic has emerged in the second half of the 20st century. Oftentimes, r...

Online businesses collect a wealth of data on customers, often without properly informing them. Increasingly, these data are used for behavioral price discrimination. In this two-study article, we explore how consumers would respond if businesses were compelled to disclose their use of discriminatory behavioral pricing techniques. Using different d...

Enforcing Consumer and Capital Markets Law: The Diesel Emissions Scandal is an international and intradisciplinary work. On the example of one topical and global collective damage event with far reaching consequences for both consumers and investors, this work critically analyses the various approaches of public and private law enforcement and thei...

Today, liability insurance and legal expenses insurance are generally accepted as benefits to the society and the idea of insuring against litigation risks does not repel us. In the past, however, it was held that such litigation insurance was fuelling litigation at best or going against good morals at worst. What are the reasons behind this? And h...

In onze samenleving vindt veel van het maatschappelijk verkeer plaats op markten, waar uitwisseling van geld, goederen en diensten plaatsvindt. Op die markten gelden altijd spelregels. Het Nederlandse vermogensrecht is onderdeel van die spelregels. Maar er zijn ook nog heel veel andere regels buiten het privaatrecht die ook gelden. Welke zijn dat?...

In deze bijdrage besteed ik aandacht aan een aantal aspecten van algemene verzekeringsvoorwaarden bij de afwikkeling van letsel-en gezondheidsschade. Uitleg van verzekeringsvoorwaarden is een ‘balanceeract’ geworden. De inhoudstoetsing wordt intensiever. Dat stelt eisen aan de verzekeringsbranche in ons land, ook waar het gaat om de first-party ver...

This brief comparative primer gives an overview of the doctrines of impossibility, impracticability and unforeseen circumstances.

Deze bijdrage schetst de ontwikkeling van zelfregulering naar Europese regels op het vlak van handelspraktijken in de levensmiddelenbranche. Hoewel in ons land lange tijd werd vertrouwd op het zelfregulerende vermogen van supermarkten en leveranciers, lijkt het erop dat er binnenkort een Europese richtlijn komt die business-to-business handelsprakt...

Tort law currently debates the value of facilitating apology in order to enhance the restoration of victims’ non-material needs, and to promote dispute resolution. However, the extent to which apology can augment these outcomes beyond conventional, monetary reparations is not yet clear. The present research aimed to provide some first insights into...

Het privaatrecht werkt vaak met ‘gezichtspuntencatalogi’. Er wordt wel gezegd dat gezichtspunten te weinig sturing geven aan rechterlijke oordeelsvorming. Een oplossing, zo wordt wel beweerd, zou kunnen zijn om het aantal te gebruiken gezichtspunten te reduceren. Hoe minder gezichtspunten, hoe meer sturing, dat is de stelling. Maar is die juist? In...

In de rechtsgeleerde literatuur wordt wel beweerd dat geldend recht in een bepaald land moet worden begrepen tegen de achtergrond van de gedeelde opvattingen over rechtvaardigheid in dat land. Als die opvatting juist is, zou ook het geldende civiele recht in een bepaald land de weerspiegeling moeten zijn van de gedeelde opvattingen over ‘civielrech...

In het burgerlijk recht draait het vaak om het toedelen van verantwoordelijkheid en het verdelen van schade. De rechter heeft een centrale rol bij dat proces van toedelen en verdelen. Maar hoe denkt de burger er zelf over? Aan wie en in welke mate zou de burger verantwoordelijkheid voor schadelijke gebeurtenissen toedelen? En zou er invloed zijn va...

In the legal literature it is argued that applicable law in a given country should be understood against the background of the shared notions of justice in that country. If this view is correct, then the prevailing civil law in a given country should also reflect the shared notions of 'civil justice'. And if that is correct, citizens should reveal...

In the Netherlands, law as an academic discipline seems to be moving from the humanities towards the social sciences. This transition has an impact on how the quality of legal research is perceived and assessed. Legal scholars appear to have different epistemic and strategic agendas with regard to what counts as an academic or professional publicat...

published in Verbraucher und Recht 32(8), 290-297

Feiten van algemene bekendheid en ervaringsregels behoeven geen bewijs. De rechter mag ze ambtshalve aan zijn beslissing ten grondslag leggen. Het is echter de vraag of leken dergelijke feiten ook zo ‘algemeen bekend’ vinden en of zij ervaringsregels net zo evident vinden als de rechter. Eerder onderzoek onder rechtenstudenten toonde aan dat dit la...

published in Weekblad voor Privaatrecht, Notariaat en Registratie 7145, 291-299

This country report gives an overview of the Dutch legal regime concerning road traffic accidents.

Tort law currently debates the value of facilitating apology, particularly in the domain of personal injury litigation, where victims’ immaterial needs are claimed to be neglected by monetary remedies. However, insight on its remedial value is limited, as extant evidence does not yet illuminate 1) which immaterial needs victims experience in tort s...

In the area of financial services, lawmakers and regulators increasingly promote the use of plain language in business-to-consumer contracts. Although such efforts are undoubtedly welcomed by consumers, as they promote better comprehension, not much is known about the actual effects of improved readability on consumer attitudes and cognitive proces...

Op 22 mei 2015 sprak prof. Willem van Boom zijn oratie uit ter gelegenheid van de aanvaarding van de leerstoel Civiel Recht te Leiden. De titel ‘Door meten tot weten’ verwijst naar de lijfspreuk van natuurkundige Heike Kamerlingh Onnes. Diens borstbeeld met lijfspreuk staat voor het Kamerlingh Onnes gebouw, waar inmiddels de Leidse rechtenfaculteit...

Over de invloed van tekstniveau in algemene verzekeringsvoorwaarden op verwachtingen en gedrag van consumenten In deze bijdrage staat de vraag centraal of er een verband bestaat tussen tekstniveau in algemene voorwaar-den aan de ene kant en claimverwachting en conflictbereidheid bij de consument aan de andere kant. Vertaalt eenvoudiger tekstniveau...

This contribution summarizes the outcomes of a national survey among academics of Dutch law faculties with regard to quality and quality assessment of legal research. The study shows that although doctrinal legal research is still dominant, legal scholars experience a movement towards the social sciences. Next to doctrinal research, comparative leg...

In deze bijdrage recenseer het boek Algemeen Deel**** van J.B.M. Vranken (2014).

Onderzoek naar de praktische werking van privaatrecht kan bijdragen aan onze kennis over de rechtswerkelijkheid en is nuttig om veronderstellingen van beleidsmakers, rechters en academici op houdbaarheid te toetsen. Een van de manieren om de sociale werkelijkheid te bestuderen, is rechtspsychologisch experimenteel onderzoek. Kan dergelijk onderzoek...

This paper offers an introduction and analysis of the 2005 UCP Directive 2005/29/EC. First, an outline of the Directive is provided after which the key elements of the Directive are introduced. Then, the relationship between the UCP Directive and other European Directives as well as national laws on fair competition and consumer protection is discu...

Throughout the Great War, the Netherlands tried frantically to remain a neutral nation between the warring Central Powers and the Entente Forces. Notwithstanding its neutrality, the war left distinct marks on Dutch society and economy. This article argues that it also left marks, both temporary and lasting, on Dutch contract law. Never since the in...

One of the most important EU consumer protection directives of the past decade, the 2005 Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, or UCPD, is brought under examination in this stimulating volume. Bringing together leading experts in the comparative law and consumer law domain, the book discusses the impact of the Directive and whether the many possib...

In deze bijdrage wordt verkend welke verwachtingen er onder advocaten, rechters en verzekeraars leven over de werking van het Experiment resultaatgerelateerde beloning en of dat experiment aan zijn doel zal beantwoorden. Het experiment staat onder voorwaarden toe dat een letselschadeadvocaat een ‘no cure, no pay'-afspraak met de benadeelde maakt. H...

With many products of the legislative process, one can easily identify the political ideology underlying the substantive policies contained in those vehicles for societal change. The Dutch Civil Code is not one of these. In fact, the 1992 Civil Code was commonly considered to be a technical re-codification of private law rather than a vehicle for s...

W.H. van Boom, Hoe begrijpelijk is Van Maanen...? Significant minder dan de Hoge Raad!, in: R. de Groot e.a. (red), Kritiek op recht – Liber amicorum Gerrit van Maanen, Deventer: Kluwer 2014, p. 43-60

Many national legislative frameworks in Europe limit the scope of strict liability to the specific sources of danger listed by statute. This in itself causes disparate treatment of seemingly similar dangers, since legislatively mandated instances cover some inherently dangerous situations but not others. Hence, European scholars call for the introd...

In deze bijdrage staat de rol centraal die empirie kan leveren aan de wetenschappelijke bestudering van het privaatrecht. Van nature zijn privaatrechtsgeleerden geneigd om tekstinterpretatie en normatieve arbeid centraal te stellen in hun werk. Maar deze bijdrage laat aan de hand van veel voorbeelden en verschillende invalshoeken zien dat empirisch...

De vorige uitgave van dit boek verscheen in 2008 onder de titel Gedrag en privaatrecht. Deze nieuwe druk biedt wederom een unieke verzameling van multidisciplinaire inzichten in en perspectieven op privaatrecht. Ditmaal zijn er meer bijdragen en worden er dus meer rechtsgebieden bestreken. Maar bovendien is de opzet ruimer. Onderzocht wordt wat we...

In this issue of Erasmus Law Review, the focus is on a particularly interesting piece of EU legislation, the 2005 Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. The Directive has been implemented in the EU Member States and some years have passed since its entry into force. Therefore, an assessment of the experiences with the Directive is in order. It seem...

Introduction For the most part the EU Consumer Credit Directive had favoured the disclosure paradigm to remedy information asymmetry and to improve the quality of contractual choice. The basic assumption is that consumers are able to read and understand mandatorily disclosed information and that they are thus empowered to make better (rational and...

This contribution reflects on the relationship between courts and the legislature in tort law from a comparative European perspective. Though there is a substantial body of comparative literature on tort law as such, the relationship between the judiciary and the legislature in comparative tort law has received significantly less attention. Here, t...

This paper examines the role of third-party funding (TPF) in international investment arbitration. This can take many shapes and forms but basically, the TPF funder is an investor in a monetary claim lodged before a court or arbitral tribunal. By involving a TPF funder, a claimant may attract the necessary resources and expertise in litigating or a...

The French expression ‘bien étonnés de se trouver ensemble’ is used to denote a situation in which unlikely companions much to their own surprise find themselves having the same intentions, goals, or interests. Are competition law and the law of damages such unlikely companions? In this contribution, I sketch the framework of the law of damages and...

Price comparison is a basic element of competition. For comparison to work, at least prices need to be transparent. Moreover, price is usually a focal point in consumer thinking and deciding on transactions. Hence, obfuscating prices can be detrimental to consumers. Therefore, it is vital for policymakers to know how transparent pricing is in reali...

In this article, the authors analyse the Dutch Collective Settlement of Mass Damage Act (WCAM 2005) in light of the European developments concerning collective redress. Both the strong and weak points of the WCAM 2005 are discussed.

It seems that private law dislikes futilities, if the maxim “de minimis non curat praetor” is anything to go by: neither the courts nor the law should concern themselves with trifles. Indeed, the academic venture of drafting a Common Frame of Reference (CFR) upholds this principle by stating that “trivial damage is to be disregarded.” If the CFR st...

This article presents a comparative legal analysis of wrongful claims handling by insurance companies in indemnity and liability insurance. From the outset, it is clear that it may be difficult to draw the line between legitimate claims denial and refusal to pay, on the one hand, and malicious protraction, procrastination and rejection of valid cla...

In dit overzichtsartikel komen enkele recente ontwikkelingen in de particuliere rechtsbijstandsverzekering aan de orde. Daarbij wordt vooral aandacht geschonken aan de toepassing van de EG-Richtlijn Rechtsbijstandverzekering (hierna ook: Richtlijn) met betrekking tot de zogenoemde vrije advocaatkeuze en de bundeling van acties. Ook wordt stilgestaa...

In april 2010 nam de Tweede Kamer het initiatiefwetsvoorstel van de leden Gerkens (SP) en Van Vroonhoven-Kok (CDA) inzake doorverkoop toegangskaarten aan. Het voorstel beoogt ‘woekerwinsten’ uit te bannen en de professionele doorverkoop aan de leiband te leggen. Ik heb bezwaren tegen het wetsvoorstel: de centrale gedachte van het wetsvoorstel is na...

'Claims for compensation in private law are traditionally categorised and considered as individual rights but, as this set of essays demonstrates, increasingly in practice they develop into collective claims. The problems this poses, and the variety of solutions available to deal with them, are expertly analysed across different legal systems. A pu...

With the enactment of the 2005 Collective Settlement of Mass Damage Act (WCAM 2005) the Dutch legal system and indeed Dutch society has taken a significant step towards a more efficient resolution of mass damage claims. The WCAM 2005 seems especially promising for attaining relatively swift settlement of mass securities claims in the Dutch context....

Autonomy is generally regarded as the fundamental right of individuals to shape their own future through voluntary action. In private law, it is associated with freedom of contract and the concept of casum sentit dominus (the loss lies where it falls). As such, it is opposed to legal paternalism, briefl y defi ned as instances in which legislation...

This article looks into the role of injunctive relief in tort law. More specifically, it focuses on the role of injunction in cases concerning wrongful risk-taking behaviour (as opposed to intentional or deliberate wrongdoing). Although there seems to be little practical experience with injunctive relief in cases of wrongful risk-taking behaviour,...

‘Feiten van algemene bekendheid’ en zogenaamde ‘ervaringsregels’ kunnen belangrijke schakels zijn in rechterlijke beslissingen. Maar ze hoeven geen bewijs en rechters kunnen ze tamelijk vrijelijk gebruiken. De vraag is dus welke feiten en fenomenen wel en niet feiten van algemene bekendheid en ervaringsregels opleveren. Naar aangenomen mag worden,...

Any system of consumer credit regulation is based both on conceptions of the legitimate function of credit in society and on assumptions pertaining to how creditors and debtors think, decide and operate. For instance, information disclosure duties in consumer regulation are predominantly based on the assumption that consumers are able to read and u...

The 2008 proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights (hereinafter: the Draft) aims at reorganizing the acquis of four specific European directives on consumer protection into a more coherent codification of consumer rights. Specifically, it contains rules on precontractual information duties, on withdrawal rights for distance and off-premises contr...

One of the ways in which legal services are financed and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal s...

As far as collective mass claim settlement is concerned, it has been said that ‘the European landscape is a mixed bag of differing collective redress mechanisms’. One of the legal systems in this ‘mixed bag’ is the small jurisdiction of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. With the enactment of the 2005 Collective Settlement of Mass Damage Act (WCAM 200...

This paper is devoted to a complex set of issues relating to the functions of tort law in distinguishing acceptable and unacceptable risks. Often, such risks are brought about by deliberate organisational design choice. On many occasions, legislators and courts are called upon to assess which of these design choices are acceptable and which are not...

De borgtocht is een ‘gevaarlijke overeenkomst’. De borg staat als derde in voor de nakoming van een schuld van een ander en de borg moet goed oppassen dat hij niet verstrikt raakt in twee verschillende rechtsverhoudingen, te weten die tussen hem en de schuldeiser enerzijds en die tussen de hoofdschuldenaar en de schuldeiser anderzijds. Dat is met n...

Aanleiding, onderwerp en vraagstelling Als beleidsmakers op rijksoverheidsniveau moeten kiezen tussen instrumenten om beleidsdoelen te realiseren, is het van belang dat zij inzicht hebben in de voor- en nadelen van de verschillende instru-menten. Dat is dus ook het geval als het gaat om “maatschappelijke reguleringsinstrumenten”, dat wil zeggen de...

Nasleep legionellabesmetting West-Friese Flora (1999). De whirlpoolverkoper die verantwoordelijk was voor de uitbraak van legionella op de 66e West-Friese Flora, had een verzekeringsdekking bij Nationale Nederlanden van 1 miljoen gulden. De verzekeraar heeft de volledige verzekerde som in handen gegeven van een speciaal opgerichte Stichting Talpa,...

The theory of insurance law and economics holds that the insured will display less care as a consequence of the insurance coverage. It also holds that bad risks are more likely than good risks to display demand for coverage. These behavioral predictions, which are associated with moral hazard and adverse selection respectively, are firmly embedded...

This paper presents a review of the literature on comparative tort law and economics. It pays special attention to the economics arguments against and in favour of harmonization of tort law in Europe.

The existing modest body of European tort law is, by necessity, an organically grown set of various rules, entered into force as a result of piecemeal legislative effort, sometimes of a contradictory nature in practice, and always lacking the dogmatic depths and overarching aspirations that national systems of private law tend to have. Working with...

In this paper, we argue that there is a need for collective enforcement of consumer law in Europe. We evaluate a number of legal instruments that already have been developed to this end in European law and domestic legal systems. Furthermore, we make suggestions for further policy initiatives and for finding the right balance between private and pu...

There are no specific rules on liability or compensation of damage relating to GMO crops. Obviously, there have been some proposals originating from stakeholders that liability issues should indeed be dealt with and that some compensation scheme should be put in place.1 No political action has been taken until now. Therefore, the common rules of pr...