The paper provides an analytical and theoretical framework on the actors and factors framing multi-layer governance in the field of unfair contract terms law in the EU, with a focus on the increasing role of private law adjudication taking place via judicial dialogue between Member State judiciaries and the Court of Justice of the European Union. The paper approaches the developments in European unfair terms law alongside the study of the interplay between the topdown and bottom-up developments that frame consumer contract fairness in Europe. [---]