The Challenges of Transposing (and Not Transposing) The Sale of Goods Directive and the Digital Content and Services Directive into Common Law Jurisdictions: Ireland and Post-Brexit England and Wales

2022 was a significant year for European consumer lawyers with the provisions of the Sale of Goods Directive (EU) 2019/771, Digital Content and Digital Services Directive (EU) 2019/770 and the Omnibus Directive (EU) 2019/2161 all required to come into force. This paper examines the challenges of transposing these Directives into common law jurisdictions where, in relation to sale of goods law at least, consumer law is a mixture of well-established statutory material and case-law authority. It contrasts the implementation of the Directives in Ireland with their non-transposition in post-Brexit England and Wales, two common law systems with strong historical ties. Examining Irish law, we see the challenges of transposition, including how to fit EU law into established legal structures and to ensure that consumers are aware of their rights while changing engrained business practices. These challenges are likely to arise in all Member States. Transposition raises questions, therefore, of legal development, not least how to change legal (and business) cultures in EU Member States.