Research Wouter Verheyen

Abstract

This research aims to address critical challenges in the emerging field of Freight Mobility as a Service (FMaaS) by focusing on regulatory measures, risk distribution, and the intricate issue of platform power concentration. The objectives are outlined as follows: **4.1 Regulation:** To meet the growing demand for FMaaS acceptance, a comprehensive toolbox of legislative measures and contractual templates will be developed. These tools will serve as a guide for industry stakeholders, policymakers, and advocacy groups, ensuring adherence to current policy targets, especially in the realms of competition law, labor law, and data protection law. The regulatory framework will consider the underlying rationale for such measures, fostering a supportive environment for FMaaS growth. **4.2 Risk Distribution:** Understanding the impact of FMaaS on contractual risks is crucial for all stakeholders involved, including cargo interested parties, operational service providers, and software service providers. This objective seeks to raise awareness and equip stakeholders with tools to develop effective risk management strategies. By transforming contract law frameworks into catalysts for innovation, this research aims to turn potential obstacles into opportunities for all FMaaS participants. **Transversal Objective 4.1 & 4.2: Power Concentration:** FMaaS faces the challenge of platform power concentration, where the success of network technologies relies heavily on market penetration. This creates a cycle where a larger market share enhances platform power, providing better functionalities to users. However, this also puts users in a dependent position, as the platform acts as a gatekeeper, private legislator, and elusive actor. Existing regulations struggle to manage excessive platform power, with interventions either failing or overly restrictive. This research aims to explore strategies that balance the positive impact of platform power for the ecosystem while mitigating negative overspill effects. In conclusion, this research seeks to contribute valuable insights and practical tools to facilitate the acceptance of FMaaS. By addressing regulatory challenges, promoting effective risk management, and navigating the complexities of platform power, the aim is to foster a sustainable and innovative FMaaS ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders involved.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The Antwerp Law Lab aims to become a beacon for regulatory and operational innovation. It will serve as a one-stop shop for companies, authorities and civic organisations who need research-driven legal input to support every aspect of their project. The Antwerp Law Lab adds exceptional value for societal stakeholders by combining the pragmatic insights of legal practicians with the conceptual mindset of academics. The Antwerp Law Lab offering is academic and therefore complements that of legal service providers such as attorneys, consultants and notaries. It also differs from fundamental academic research by providing answers that are practice-oriented and ready to apply. Cross-faculty collaboration and sharing of different legal perspectives are essential to our problem-solving. We break down the barriers of a siloed approach to formulate resilient answers that have been considered from every angle.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter
• Fellow: Portugaels Nick

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Urban mobility has fundamentally changed over the last decades. Sharing steps, bikes and cars as well as carpooling and on demand mobility platforms have become an important part of the mobility matrix. Established by private companies, these platform-based mobility initiatives are now at the heart of local and EU mobility policy as a means to achieve a more sustainable and accessible mobility matrix. The standstill in the design of a coherent passenger rights framework for these platform-based mobility solutions as a key component of the mobility mix is in sheer contrast with the operational evolutions in this domain. While the EU aims at providing a high level uniform passenger rights protection, the current legal framework consists of a patchwork of EU Regulations and international Conventions, all with a limited scope. Such a fragmented approach makes the legal framework vulnerable to major societal changes, such as the current evolution towards platform-based mobility solutions, resulting in legal uncertainty and gaps in the protection for passengers. The proposed research will bring an important contribution to the international state-of-the-art by providing a framework for integrated passenger rights protection, aimed at providing legal certainty and effective protection for actors involved in today's mobility solutions, while at the same time making the framework adaptive, providing a solid and resilient framework for future mobility solutions.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter
• Co-promoter: van Zimmeren Esther

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Online platforms have enhanced the efficiency of contract chains by reducing transaction costs and lowering entry barriers. In this way, the platform economy could have positive welfare effects for all contract chain actors. The platform's strength lies in its triple role as (i) gatekeeper to the platform, (ii) legislator of the relationships within the ecosystem and (iii) contractual actor with rights and responsibilities within the ecosystem. However, there is also evidence of possible negative welfare effects amongst retailers, service providers (especially gig workers) and customers. These problems mainly seem to be caused by the fact that the platforms' strengths result in an excess power within the ecosystem. This research aims to come to a power balancing mechanism that allows for the management of excess powers, without eliminating platform strengths and the platforms' potential welfare benefits. Current solutions ignore the shift from bilateral contracts to multistakeholderecosystem contracts, and from absolute market power to relative ecosystem-power. Literature and recently developed legal instruments especially ignore the ecosystem legislator role of platforms and how it interacts with the other roles. This project instead integrates the three aspects of platform power in one ecosystem-based legal model and aims to tackle excess power through a highly innovative holistic approach combining contract law and competition law solutions.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter
• Co-promoter: Blockx Jan
• Co-promoter: Straetmans Gert

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Europe's waterways are a vital resource that we have underused for most of the last century. Now, with the possibility for mass autonomous shipping, these canals and rivers offer a network of opportunities for sustainable logistics. A number of operational and technological research projects aiming at setting up such system are currently taking place. Apart from operational and technologic innovations being required for such market introduction, also important legal innovations stand in the way of a succesful commercial market introduction. These legal challenges exist both at the level of Regulation as at the level of contract law. The project aims to eliminate obstacles in both fields. A large number of provisions in existing regulation oppose against unmanned inland navigation. The problem underlying this, is that a legal framework acknowledging unmanned shipping, going beyond (ad hoc) experiment legislation is absent. This task will analyse regulatory obstacles standing in the way of unmanned shipping and will evaluate the policy arguments behind such obstacles. Based on this, the task will provide a toolbox allowing developers to conduct a compliance check of their designs. Further, it will analyse how such policy arguments were overcome in other industries, such as the airline industry. Based on this input this task aims to make a proposal for a regulatory innovation allowing for a market-introduction of unmanned inland shipping. Also a dedicated contract law framework, taking into account the changed actors, information availability and risks resulting from the evolution to autonomous inland shipping is absent. This absence leads to legal uncertainty, can endanger the insurability of risks and increase transaction costs. With this, the private law framework can constitute an important obstacle towards the commercial use of autonomous inland shipping. This is even more relevant taking into account the mandatory nature of transport law, thus limiting the room for contractual risk management. This task will first of all analyse bottlenecks in the contract law framework, standing in the way of legal certainty, predictability and a fair balance of interests for stakeholders involved in the operation of autonomous inland shipping. Based on this analysis and building on best practises from other fields of law and sector consultation, the task aims to make a proposal for contract drafting and an amended legal framework, ascertaining these interests.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter
• Co-promoter: Sys Christa

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of mobility package I for the implementation of the policy targets underlying Regulation 1071/2009 and 1072/2009. The project will combine literature review and empirical research (stakeholders interviews and drivers surveys) to this end. In addition the project will provide policy recommendations.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project explores whether and how consumer law can better adapt to technological advances that lead to disruptive innovations, arguing that adaptability would ensure better protection of consumers in the European Union. More specifically, technological developments continue to emerge and challenge the existing legal framework of consumer protection in view of the legal gaps they create. An example is the platform economy, which introduced new market actors and contractual relationships and therefore blurred the lines between professionals and consumers. The European Commission aims to minimize the impact of such disruptions in the digital market, by addressing the needs of consumers through soft law instruments and legislative processes. However, processes like these can be timely and lead to gray areas where consumers are still under-protected. Thus, this project suggests that consumer laws that can better adapt to such disruptions would minimize the negative impact of innovation on consumers. To determine the qualities that consumer law should demonstrate in order to be adaptable to innovation, this research studies the existing consumer protection rules that were able to adapt to disruptive innovations and also explores the theory of adaptable legislation in general. Four elements are identified through this process: technological neutrality, flexibility, legal certainty, and a balance of interests. The project concludes that consumer protection provisions in the EU should reflect these elements to become more adaptable to disruptions and thus to better safeguard consumer rights in a continuously changing digital environment.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter
• Fellow: Unz Fiona

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Europe's waterways are a vital resource that we have underused for most of the last century. Now, with the possibility for mass autonomous shipping, these canals and rivers offer a network of opportunities for sustainable logistics. A number of operational and technological research projects aiming at setting up such system are currently taking place. Apart from operational and technologic innovations being required for such market introduction, important legal innovations also stand in the way of a successful commercial market introduction. These legal challenges exist both at the level of Regulation and at the level of contract law. The project aims to eliminate obstacles in both fields. A large number of provisions in existing regulation oppose against unmanned inland navigation. The underlying problem with this, is that a legal framework acknowledging unmanned shipping, going beyond (ad hoc) experiment legislation is absent. This project aims to map the state of the art of legal aspects of autonomous transportation, bring together stakeholders and draft international project proposals.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter
• Co-promoter: Sys Christa

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The sustainability of the logistics sector remains a great societal challenge. Freight transport's effects on air quality and congestion are very clear in a city like Antwerp. Apart from investing in a modal shift and more sustainable vehicles, a further solution lies with an efficiency gain in road transport. Still many trucks drive around empty and the average loading degree of vehicles is low. This isn't only bad from a societal perspective, but also for the individual shippers, who will eventually pay for these empty kilometers. As a means to increase road transport efficiency, we see the emerge of sharing economy in logistics, taking the shape of cargo bundling. In case of cargo bundling shippers first bundle their less than container load consignments with similar destinations to a full container load, before offering it to a carrier. This allows shippers to benefit from lower freight prices than in case of cargo consolidation (carrier-initiated bundling). This doesn't only allow to reduce the costs of logistics and with this also makes new export markets accessible, but it also reduces societal costs of logistics. As such cargo bundling can contribute to the realization of policy targets for sustainable logistics. Cargo bundling provides however a challenge to the existing legal framework, as such cooperation is operationalized through complex contracts -multiparty contracts and linked contracts- to which neither transport law nor general contract law are equipped. As a result, engaging in cargo bundling can lead to legal uncertainty and even increased risk exposure for the shippers involved. With this, the legal framework is an obstacle for this means to a more sustainable transport. The aim of this project is to analyze the legal obstacles to cargo bundling and to design contractual and legal models allowing to remove these obstacles. The project builds upon existing literature on cargo bundling in management science and links this with literature on multiparty contracts and transport law. With this, the project doesn't only provide a legal framework for cargo bundling, but in addition, it contributes to a legal theory on multiparty contracts and provides a framework for further research on horizontal cooperation in logistics. The research method is innovative as it combines traditional comparative/doctrinal research with empirical research. Through surveys preferences and resistances among sector players are being identified. This allows to build a legal framework which doesn't only facilitate cargo bundling, but in addition is modeled after sector preferences, allowing for maximal acceptance in practice.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter
• Fellow: Kołacz Marta Katarzyna

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The sector of transport organizers has undergone some significant changes in the light of recent evolutions. Mainly digitalisation and new types of sui generis intermediaries have disrupted the market. This research aims to propose legal changes to tackle these disruptions.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Platform economy makes it possible for consumers to market their available time (as gig worker) or assets (as prosumer). This is possible with very limited transaction costs and in a very short time frame. This has however as a consequence that also information needs to start such activities have been strongly reduced, which may trigger an unawareness about the risk linked to these activities amongst the actors involved. In many fields of private law, there are rules that aim to provide risk management to parties with a protectable interest. Such risk management is implement through information duties, limitation of the liability exposure and/ or mandatory insurance. The limited scope of such instruments has however as a consequence that gig workers and prosumers will not necessarily benefit from such mechanisms. This research aims to investigate the risks gig workers and prosumers are exposed to in the performance of their activities, the extent to which they are aware of these risks and to design a risk management model which can protect gig workers, prosumers and third parties.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter
• Fellow: Lari-Williams Feyisayo

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Electronic commerce has led to a disruption in the economy, creating opportunities but also threats for businesses, consumers and workers. E-commerce and platform economy have made services, goods and work available to consumers with only one click and allows them to optimize the use of their underused assets. Counterpart hereof is that traditional business models and are at risk because of the new competitors. This doesn`t only entail a risk for companies, but also for employees. Traditional market participants and doctrine mainly look at regulation as a tool to eliminate the threats for traditional businesses and workers. The envisaged research however aims to optimize the opportunities of contract law to provide a level playing field, with effective protection of protectable interests. Electronic commerce has revealed weaknesses in the contract law framework governing the underlying relations, while at the same time providing opportunities for a more effective protection and contract designs that can enhance (social, economic and ecological) sustainability. One of the major threats is that these new work and consumption relations would not enjoy an equivalent protection to that in case of traditional consumer and labor contracts. This is not only disadvantageous for these vulnerable market participants, but also for traditional companies. The non-applicability of such mandatory rules would provide the new competitors with an unsolicited competitive advantage, hence standing in the way of a level playing field. Another threat for traditional companies is the fact that electronic commerce has introduced new contract chains, without contract law governing the other relations necessarily adapting to them. This might trigger undesirable liability exposures. Electronic commerce also provides many opportunities for private law and contracts alike. First of all, electronic communication allows to communicate to vulnerable market actors in a more effective way about their rights. This allows to increase the effectiveness of said protective rules. Second, the platformisation of the economy made peers with similar needs more accessible. This triggered a revival of operational research on sharing economy as a means allowing businesses and consumers alike to optimize welfare through cooperation. Insofar also the legal transaction costs can be reduced, law could here in fact be a catalyst of (social, ecological and economic) more sustainable contracts. The project envisages to make proposals to eliminate the threats of electronic commerce in private law by filling the gaps that were created by innovation, to provide an equivalent protection of vulnerable market participants in similar situations and to align contract law in contract chains, eliminating unintended liability exposures. At the same time, it aims to make effective use of the opportunities provided by electronic commerce to make such protection more effective and to make trade more sustainable. Here the research looks in two directions: first, the possibilities of electronic contracting for a more effective protection through enhanced legal literacy. Second, the design of a legal infrastructure for horizontal cooperation between different stakeholders, allowing for more sustainable business models. With this, the project aims to repair private law`s role as a catalyst for business. In order to allow for the private law analysis and design of (inter)stakeholder-relationships, this project will combine labor law, consumer law and commercial contracts law (including insurance law). Given my research background, the focus of this project lies with the retail, mobility and logistics sector. The contract chain approach requires however a holistic analysis which makes the results also to a large extent transferable to other fields of the industry.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Verheyen Wouter
• Fellow: Verheyen Wouter

Research team(s)

• Business and Law

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project