Christopher Hodges is Head of the CMS Research Programme on Civil Justice Systems at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford and Erasmus Professor of the Fundamentals of Private Law, Erasmus University.Iris Benöhr is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Research Programme on Civil Justice Systems at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford.Naomi Creutzfeldt-Banda is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Research Programme on Civil Justice Systems at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford.

• Introduction Alternative Redress Mechanisms for Consumers in the EU Alternative Redress Mechanisms in Member States: 1. France 2. Germany 3. Lithuania 4. the Netherlands 5. Poland 6. Slovenia 7. Spain 8. Sweden 9. the United Kingdom Cross-border ADR systemso WIPOo EuroLeaseo Direct Selling Associationo othersExamples of selected ADR schemesFindings and Discussion of the Models, including comparative statistics Conclusions and RecommendationsAppendices - Commission Recommendation 98/25/EC- Commission Recommendation 2001/310/EC- Voluntary European Code of Conduct for Mediators- OECD …- Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters- Proposal for a Framework Directive on ADR- Proposal for a Directive on ODR- Commission Communication on ADR, November 2011- UNCITRAL draft Rules

This is about the first systematic comparative study of the operational framework of the systems for resolving consumer disputes of the different national legislative options along with proposals for their improvement. Great advantage of the publication is the collection of statistical data on the cost and duration for conducting the extrajudicial procedures. Furthermore, publishers' contribution is important in the formation of the conclusions on the national recommendations, by dedicating two special chapters, which include the empirical and other research findings (chapter 14-15, pp. 367 ff). Lastly, the list of persons who gave answers to the specific questionnaire composed for the study creates positive impression (p. xxi ff).The extra judicial resolution of consumer dispute constitutes theoretically the appropriate answer to the somber and depressing landscape of civil justice, which discourages the citizens from pursuing a judicial resolution of their dispute. The recording and the information offered by the present volume provide the possibility of information concerning the developments in the EU landscape. We all hope that the theoretical process will bear fruits also in practice.