Consumer Affairs Act (Cap. 378)
Consumer Affairs Act (Cap. 378), article 45
45. (1) An unfair term means any te rm in a consumer contract,
which on its own or in conjuncti on with one or more other terms -
(a) creates a significant imbalance between the rights and
obligations of the contractin g parties to the detriment
of the consumer; or
(b) causes the performance of the contract to be unduly
detrimental to the consumer; or
(c) causes the performance of the contract to be
significantly different from what the consumer could
reasonably expect; or
(d) is incompatible with the requirements of good faith.
(2) The unfairness of a term sh all be assessed, taking into
account the following:
(a) the nature of the goods or services for which the
contract was concluded;
(b) the time of conclusion of the contract; and
(c) all the circumstances attending the conclusion of the
c o n t r a c t a n d a l l t h e o t h e r terms of the contract or of
another contract on which it is dependent. Such
circumstances may also include:
(i) the bargaining power of the parties;
(ii) whether a consumer was subjected to undue
pressure; and
(iii) whether the lack of knowledge or skill of a
consumer was improperly taken advantage of.
Provided that, in so far as it is in plain intelligible languag e,
the assessment of fairness of a term shall not relate -
(a) to the definition of the main subject matter of the
contract, or
(b) to the adequacy of the price or remuneration, as
against the goods or servi ces supplied in exchange.
(3) The provisions of articles 44 to 47 shall be applicable to
contracts concluded or executed after the coming into force of these
articles.
Consequence of
inclusion of unfair
or prohibited term.
Added by:
XXVI. 2000.15.
Text read from the consolidated PDF published by Legislation Malta. Tables, figures and marginal notes may be incomplete or out of place: the official PDF is authoritative. General information, not legal, tax or accounting advice.