Christopher Willett

Professor Christopher Willett is a distinguished academic at the Essex Law School, University of Essex, where he has been teaching since 2011. With over 30 years of experience in legal academia, he specializes in consumer and contract law across UK, EU, and global contexts. His work extends beyond the classroom as he regularly advises governments and international bodies on law reform, including significant contributions to the UK Consumer Rights Act and the EU Fitness Check of Consumer Law.

Professor Willett's research interests span a broad spectrum of legal domains including UK, EU and global consumer and contract law; commercial law; services of general interest; unfair terms and practices law; quality and safety of goods and services; financial services law; and digital content law. His current research focuses on major legislative reform of UK consumer law, reform of UK and EU financial services law, the values and ethics of European consumer law in the UK, and surprisingly, the global regulation of light pollution.

His scholarly output reveals a consistent progression from foundational consumer protection principles to addressing emerging challenges in digital commerce. Recent publications demonstrate particular interest in smart contracts, transparency requirements, and the ethical dimensions of consumer law, showing how traditional consumer protection frameworks must evolve to meet 21st century market dynamics while maintaining core values of fairness and justice.

• Visiting Professor at the University of Udine, Italy
• Council Member of Which? consumer organization (2014-2017)
• Regular advisor to UK government and European Commission on consumer law reform

Professor Willett actively supervises doctoral candidates, currently mentoring Sitora Safoevna Saidova and Hussein Al-Majidi, with a notable track record of successfully guiding numerous PhD students to completion across diverse consumer law topics. His international collaborations span Australia, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, the Middle East, the Netherlands and Serbia, reflecting the global relevance of his research.