Nudging in het financieel contractenrecht

This dissertation examines the legal implications of nudging in financial contract law by analysing three interconnected legal doctrines: the information paradigm, Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, and the financial duty of care. These legal frameworks are examined both independently and in their mutual interaction to determine how they regulate behavioural influence in financial decision-making. Particular attention is paid to the increasing use of behavioural insights, dark patterns, personalised digital choice architectures, and other forms of digital persuasion within financial services, and their implications for consumer protection.

The dissertation adopts a doctrinal legal methodology, complemented by insights from behavioural economics and psychology. It analyses the extent to which behavioural techniques used by financial service providers can be accommodated within existing legal frameworks and identifies the respective roles of the information paradigm, the prohibition of unfair commercial practices, and the financial duty of care in protecting consumers against undue influence.

The research demonstrates that these three legal doctrines pursue complementary objectives and together provide a coherent normative framework for assessing behavioural influence in financial markets. It further develops a legal framework for distinguishing legitimate behavioural guidance from unlawful manipulation, thereby clarifying the legal boundaries of nudging in financial contract law and contributing to the ongoing development of consumer protection in increasingly digital financial markets.