Some Aspects of Implementation of the Principle of Integrity in Consumer Lending: in Search for the Balance of Interests

Threats to consumer and social security in the conditions of imbalance of interests of parties under consumer loan contracts result in the necessity to adjust the current legislation. The significant increase in litigation between borrowers and lenders confirms the need to find new approaches to the regulation of the area in question. The aim of the research is to analyze the most common forms of unfair behavior of credit and microfinance organizations in the light of the implementation of fundamental principles of civil law. The main attention is paid to the determination of essential criteria of the principle of integrity. The paper provides for the comparison between different approaches to understanding its content in fundamental jurisprudence, the possibility of their implementation in law enforcement.

The paper uses methods of legal model analysis, formal-legal and system-structural methods. Comparative analysis of the norms of current Russian and foreign legislation, as well as the method of law enforcement monitoring. It allows us to offer tools to restore the balance between the interests in execution of consumer loan contracts.

According to the results of the study, the author compiles a list of characteristics of the principle of integrity with due regard to such factors as lack of information about a difficult financial situation of the borrower or other circumstances preventing the conclusion of a contract, the prohibition of the inclusion of asymmetric and arbitrary terms of the contract, mandatory consideration of public interest, etc. The listed elements of the criteria will contribute to the balance of interests of the parties in the antinomy of the principles of integrity and freedom of contract. The author makes the conclusion that it is expedient to include algorithms of implementation of fundamental principles of regulation in special laws, which will contribute to harmonization of interests of participants of civil legal relations in the field of consumer lending.

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