Browsing by study line "Offentlig europarätt"
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(2024)Abstract in English Faculty: Faculty of Law Degree programme: Master’s Programme Author: Heidi Kaarto Title: The Fight Against Dirty Money in the European Union: A Legal Analysis of the Impacts of the Establishment of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority Level: Master’s Thesis Month and year: April 2024 Number of pages: 77 Key words: European Union, Anti-money laundering, Countering terrorist financing, Supervision, Competence, Criminal law, European law, Governance Supervisors: Professor Sakari Melander, Professor Päivi Leino-Sandberg Abstract: The recent cross-border cases involving credit institutions have showed how vulnerable the economy and financial system are for money laundering and terrorist financing. As one of the counter measures European Commission in 2021 published its proposal for a regulation for the establishment of the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA). The object of this thesis is to analyse the Commission proposal and, in particular, to answer the following research question: Which legal impacts, if any, the establishment of the AMLA has from the point of view of separation of powers when it comes to the governance of anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing in the European Union? The thesis will analyse the research question from the point of view of the European union and its member state Finland. The research method used in the thesis involves a combination of a doctrinal method and half-structured interviews conducted for representatives of local Finnish public authorities involved in the local supervisory tasks related to anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing. The thesis will conclude that the establishment of the AMLA will have an impact on the separation of powers between the European union and the Member States of the European Union by transferring part of the supervisory competences in the field of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing at the level of the Union. The transfer of powers from the national level to the European Union is most significant in case of financial sector obliged entities. In particular, the establishment of the AMLA has been highly welcomed both among the European Union institutions and the local authorities of Finland since the establishment of an European Union-level agency is predicted to unify the current mixed supervisory system. However, the practical legal effects will be seen only after AMLA has started its operation. Consequently, future research could focus on how the AMLA has been able to answer to the challenges recognized to be present in the supervision of actions related to anti-money laundering and countering of terrorist financing.
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(2024)This thesis addresses dark patterns, unfair commercial practices falling under the scope of EU consumer law. Dark patterns are technical measures employed by traders in their online surfaces. Dark patterns are deemed particularly harmful due to their distinct manipulative features: They largely rely on the exploitation of consumers’ cognitive biases, through which they may deceive consumers into taking economic decisions they would otherwise not have taken. Due to their prevalence and significant harm, this master’s thesis scrutinizes and assesses the effectiveness of their current legal framework. Hence, this thesis assesses the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) which is applied to dark patterns. This thesis assesses the effectiveness from the perspective if the current level of protection provided through the average consumer benchmark of the Directive, in whose light the provisions of the Directive are applied, responds to the necessary level of protection that is appropriate in the light of the cognitive biases exploited by dark patterns. Hence, this thesis underlies the premise that effective protection must protect the scientifically evidenced behavior of an average consumer. The first research question of this thesis is, if the protection provided by the UCPD is effective. This question is addressed by delving into the cognitive biases exploited by dark patterns, which indicate the protection needed by consumers, and on the other hand, by evaluating the current framework and the jurisprudence concerning the average consumer benchmark. The second research question is, how the UCPD could provide effective protection against dark patterns if it presently does not do so. This research question is addressed by providing legislative proposals based on the protection needs of consumers shown in the thesis and especially considering the nature of the provisions of the UCPD. The thesis shows that the protection, which the UCPD provides to rational average consumers, does not provide effective protection against dark patterns, as they exploit consumers in a manner which does not render consumers to fit the standard of the rational average consumer, which the application of the Directive on commercial practices usually requires. Hence, the thesis provides two distinct proposals in order to improve the protection provided by the UCPD against dark patterns: First, it suggests the amendment of the so-called ‘Blacklist’ included in Annex 1 of the Directive, and second, the revision of the average consumer benchmark of the Directive to better respond to actual consumer behavior indicated by the biases discussed in this thesis. The thesis concludes in preferring the latter option due to its, predictably, more comprehensive and sustainable effects on the protection against dark patterns.
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