Access to Justice for Vulnerable and Energy-Poor Consumers

Just Energy?
Erscheinungsjahr 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5099-5049-2
Verlag: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Buch, Englisch, 384 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 473 g

How do ordinary people access justice? This book offers a novel socio-legal approach to access to justice, alternative dispute resolution, vulnerability and energy poverty. It poses an access to justice challenge and rethinks it through a lens that accommodates all affected people, especially those who are currently falling through the system. It raises broader questions about alternative dispute resolution, the need for reform to include more collective approaches, a stronger recognition of the needs of vulnerable people, and a stronger emphasis on delivering social justice. The authors use energy poverty as a site of vulnerability and examine the barriers to justice facing this excluded group.

The book assembles the findings of an interdisciplinary research project studying access to justice and its barriers in the UK, Italy, France, Bulgaria and Spain (Catalonia). In-depth interviews with regulators, ombuds, energy companies, third-sector organisations and vulnerable people provide a rich dataset through which to understand the phenomenon.

The book provides theoretical and empirical insights which shed new light on these issues and sets out new directions of inquiry for research, policy and practice. It will be of interest to researchers, students and policymakers working on access to justice, consumer vulnerability, energy poverty, and the complex intersection between these fields.

The book includes contributions by Cosmo Graham (UK), Sarah Supino and Benedetta Voltaggio (Italy), Marine Cornelis (France), Anais Varo and Enric Bartlett (Catalonia) and Teodora Peneva (Bulgaria).

Autoren/Hrsg.

Creutzfeldt, Naomi

Gill, Chris

Cornelis, Marine

McPherson, Rachel

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein Rechtssoziologie, Rechtspsychologie, Rechtslinguistik
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Rechtssoziologie
• Rechtswissenschaften Bürgerliches Recht Schuldrecht Verbraucherschutz, Verbraucherverträge, AGB
• Rechtswissenschaften Allgemeines Verfahrens-, Zivilprozess- und Insolvenzrecht Zivilprozessrecht Streitschlichtung, Mediation
• Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein Rechtsvergleichung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction

I. Introduction

II. An Orientation to Key Concepts

III. Contribution to Socio-Legal Scholarship

IV. Outline of the Book's Content and Argument

V. A Note on Case Study Selection and Methodology

VI. The Structure of this Book

PART I
ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR VULNERABLE AND ENERGY-POOR CONSUMERS
1. The Access to Justice Challenge

I. Introduction

II. The Scale and Nature of the Access to Justice Challenge

III. Understanding the Barriers to Access to Justice

IV. Particular Barriers Facing Energy Consumers

V. Consumer Vulnerability and Energy Poverty as Barriers to Accessing Justice

VI. Barriers Experienced by Vulnerable and Energy-Poor Consumers: Highlights from Our Data

VII. Conclusion

2. A Holistic Vision of Access to Justice

I. Introduction

II. Access to Justice Beyond Lawyers and Courts

III. Beyond Procedural Access to Justice

IV. Reforming Access to Justice

V. Conclusion

3. European Union Law and Policy on Access to Justice

I. Introduction

II. Recognition of Vulnerability and Energy Poverty in EU Law and Policy

III. The Development of ADR for Consumer Disputes in the Energy Sector

IV. Access to Justice, Collective Redress and Consumer Protection Measures

V. Ongoing Problems for Vulnerable and Energy-Poor Consumers in the European Energy Market

VI. Conclusion

4. ADR and Access to Justice

I. Introduction

II. Initial Observations Based on the Access to Justice Literature

III. The Critical Debate on Access to Justice and ADR

IV. Specific Issues in the Consumer-Disputing Context

V. Conclusions

5. ADR and Access to Justice: Empirical Insights

I. Introduction

II. Empirical Insights

III. Discussion

IV. Conclusion

6. Everyday Experiences and the Role of Local Actors

I. Introduction

II. Legal Alienation, Relational Distance and Access to Justice

III. Vulnerable and Energy-Poor Consumers, the Energy Market and Formal Institutions: Stories of Alienation
and Disconnection

IV. Local Actors: More than Intermediaries

V. Conclusion

7. Towards a More Holistic System of Access to Justice

I. Introduction

II. Recapping the Argument of the Book

III. Dispute System Design and the Delivery of Holistic Access to Justice

IV. From Added Value to Inclusive Design: Overview of Design Options

V. Limitations and Directions for Future Research

VI. Conclusion

PART II
ACCESS TO JUSTICE, ADR AND ENERGY POVERTY IN FIVE COUNTRIES
8. Introduction to Part II

I. Outline of Chapters

9. Energy Injustice in Bulgaria

Teodora Peneva
I. Introduction

II. Energy Poverty in Bulgaria

III. Consumer Protection Mechanism

IV. Key Areas of Energy Injustice

V. The Energy Injustice Labyrinth in Bulgaria

VI. Constraints for Energy Justice in Bulgaria

VII. Conclusions

10. Energy Poverty and Access to Justice in Catalonia

Anaïs Varo and Enric R Bartlett Castellà
I. Introduction

II. The Spanish Electrical System

III. Vulnerable Consumers and Access to Energy Justice in Catalonia
IV. Energy Poverty: What are the Gaps in the Current Measures?

V. Moving Towards a Just Energy Model:Policy Implications

VI. Conclusions

11. Access to Justice and Energy Poverty in France

Marine Cornelis
I. Introduction

II. Energy Poverty

III. A Complex ADR Landscape: Divided between the National Public Ombudsman, Company Mediators and Other Public Parties

IV. What are the Barriers to Access Justice for Energy Consumers?

V. What Role does ADR (Ombuds) Play in Accessing Justice for Energy-Poor and Vulnerable Consumers?

VI. How can Vulnerable Consumers Access Justice?

VII. What can be done to Improve the Situation?

VIII. Conclusion

12. Access to Justice for Vulnerable and Energy-Poor Consumers in Italy: Policy Measures and the Role of ADR

Sarah Supino and Benedetta Voltaggio
I. Italian Policies to Tackle Energy Poverty

II. Access to Justice for Vulnerable and Energy-Poor Consumers in Italy: The Role of ADR

III. Data on ADR Procedures in the Energy Sector

IV. Conclusions

13. Access to Justice in Energy: United Kingdom
Cosmo Graham
I. Introduction

II. The Legal Framework of Energy Regulation in Great Britain

III. The GB Energy Industry

IV. The Fuel Poverty Strategy

V. Complaints against Energy Companies

VI. Conclusion

Über Autor(innen)

McPherson, Rachel
Rachel McPherson is Lecturer in Criminal Law at the University of Glasgow.

Gill, Chris
Chris Gill is Lecturer in Public Law at the University of Glasgow.

Cornelis, Marine
Marine Cornelis is Executive Director and Founder of the policy consultancy Next Energy Consumer.

Creutzfeldt, Naomi
Naomi Creutzfeldt is Professor of Law and Society at the University of Kent, UK.

Naomi Creutzfeldt is Reader in Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Westminster, UK.
Chris Gill is Lecturer in Public Law at the University of Glasgow, UK.
Marine Cornelis is Executive Director and Founder of the policy consultancy Next Energy Consumer, Italy.

Rachel McPherson is Lecturer in Criminal Law at the University of Glasgow, UK.