RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 An Overview of EU Case Law: Consumer Protection as the Guiding Principle in Financial Services JF Special Issues FD Institutional Investor Journals SP 37 OP 40 VO 2016 IS 1 A1 Hans van Meerten A1 Elmar Sven Schmidt YR 2016 UL https://pm-research.com/content/2016/1/37.abstract AB The protection of consumer rights in the case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is being given an increasingly important role. This concern for consumers has also helped drive European integration, as set out in the case law to be discussed in this article. The first case explains that national judges are required to apply European Union (EU) law of their own motion (in Froukje Faber, C-497/13)—for instance, to determine whether or not a litigant can be considered to possess the status of “consumer,” with corresponding rights. The next case focuses on the influence of unwritten principles of EU law on national law (Dansk Industri C-441/14). On the other hand, unwritten principles of national law can also be a legal basis to demand additional information from insurance providers in the interest of the consumer’s understanding of the proposed policy (NN/van Leeuwen, C-51/13). Finally, the obligation of transparency that is to be complied with in the extension of collective agreements is explained (UNIS, C-25/14).