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This assignment will deal with jurisdiction of consumer protection in the European Union. For the simplicity, the assignment will be divided in few paragraphs that will explain what consumer protection is, what is consumer protection in the European Union, which jurisdiction rules and governs consumer protection issues in EU and national laws of the two Member States, for the comparison – Republic of Croatia and United Kingdom.
Introduction
Consumer is a person who purchases goods and services. Nowadays economical society is dealing with all kinds of social interactions, issues and relations, there are many laws and organizations that are governing consumer protection, which are established in order to ensure rights of consumers in fair-trade and obtaining correct information for them. Main goal of these organizations and law is to prevent any kind of fraud of unlawful acts regarding consumers. One of the fundamental values of the European Union is promoting consumer’s rights. Entering into membership of the European Union automatically ensures laws of protection for consumers. The body dealing with consumer protection in European Parliament is called Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee.
Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee
In the European Union, legislation guarantees that every citizen of EU has right to be treated fairly at buying or paying. It is specifically mentioned in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, Article 38 – Consumer protection, which states that “Union policies shall ensure a high level of consumer protection.”
European legislation guarantees fair treatment, products that are of acceptable standards and right of repay if products are not right. As mentioned, Internal Mar...
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...e European Union, retrieved from: http://europa.eu/pol/pdf/flipbook/en/consumer_en.pdf
Office of Fair Trading, retrieved from: http://www.oft.gov.uk/
United Kingdom Consumer Rights, Trading Standards Institute, retrieved from: http://www.ukecc-services.net/ukycr.cfm
Baretić, M. (2003a), Implementation of consumer law of the European Community in Croatian law, Pravo u gospodarstvu 42 (2003), retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10603-013-9238-9
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2007, European Parliament Council Commission
Internal Market and Consumer Protection, European Parliament/Committees, retrieved from: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/imco/home.html
European Standards, Health and Consumers/Consumers, European Commission, retrieved from: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/safety/euro_standards/index_en.htm
Firstly it is important to explore the reason of Consumer Law. Consumer Law is designed to prevent business to engage in unfair practices, gaining an advantage over competition and also to provide protection to those who are weak. Furthermore it is to provide protection to consumer, encourage consumption and help inform consumer and suppliers of their rights. Additionally Consumer Law helps deliver a competitive economy which engages in fair trade actions.
A consumer is a person who is seeking for products and services for personal, domestic and household use or consumption only.
The case of Francovich had a significant impact on the European Union (EU) law. If a conflict arises between the EU law and the national law, the EU law highly prevails. The European Union law is a framework of treaties and legislation, which have a direct or indirect effect on the laws of the member states which are bound to the European Union. Primary and Secondary laws are the two sources of the EU law. This essay will firstly analyse the main institutions of the European Union and define various legal terms. It will then move on, to discuss the case of Francovich and the importance it had for state liability. Furthermore, it will refer to subsequent cases which are linked with state liability and had an impact on the EU Law. Lastly, my own views about State Liability will be presented.
The role of law reform has responded rather effectively to a certain extent in protecting the rights of consumers. This is evident in the legal responses introduced to address issues of credit, marketing innovation and technology. These law amendments has effectively increase the protection of the rights of consumers to a certain extent, however loopholes still exist. Due to the increasing range of goods and services continues to grow and the failure of existing laws, the role of law reform has been significant in protecting the rights of consumers. Consumer laws were created to prevent deceitful activities, or unfair business practices, as well as serving a protection for weaker parties who are unable to protect themselves. However, laws were later reformed to enable customers to transact with confidence and protect suppliers, consumers from inappropriate business conduct and to reflect changed community values and circumstances.
Ombudsmen are required to provide services with respect for human dignity and the individuality of the consumer, regardless of their social or economic status, personal characteristics, or lifestyle choices. Ombudsman must advocate for consumer’s access to services and promote their right to self- determination. Ombudsmen must also identify as a professional and always be aware of their body language while working with consumers. All consumers must be treated with respect and we must practice patience when working with them.
The Lex mercatoria was an international law of commerce governing the trades and disputes based on the customs and practices of merchants. By the nineteen century, the law of merchant was fully incorporated in the Common law, but the development of commercial law led to a conflicting mass of case law . Following the commercial community recommendations, European countries started to rationalized the commercial law by building codes . English law didn’t follow this path, but instead adopted a series of Act of Parliament focusing on specific area, such as Bills of Exchange Act 1882 and the Sale of Good Act 1893 . Finally, the rise of the consumerism forced the Parliament to recognize the separateness of certain commercial transaction and to adopted an interventionist approach that aimed to create a body of laws protecting consumers, such as the Unfair Contract Terms ACT 1977 and Consumer Protection Act 1987
Ciro, T., Goldwassser, V., Verma, R. (2011). Law and Business (3rd ed) Oxford University Press.
Consumer offerings are essential products that are available in the consumers’ market. However, not all these offerings are part of the consumers’ need at a particular time. In this brief piece of writing, readers will understand the consumer offerings that relate to their needs and when. Similarly, readers will learn the difference in these offerings and probably the products the author has patronized with a vivid example. At the end of the paper, readers should feel free to consult the references that aided the writing.
Miles, C., and Snow, A. 1978. Food and drinks retailing policies: a comparative analysis in the Europe. Journal of retailing and consumer services, vol. 9, 3, pp.144-168.
...der to ensure that the quality of its products is upheld (Grover & Vriens 2006, p. 147).
Different rules and regulations are made to protect consumer rights. Through social cultural analysis people have also analyzed the change in their life styles.
Consumer is a person who buys the goods and services produced in the market. Earlier approach of caveat emptor, which means “let the buyer beware”. This has now changed to caveat venditor means “let the seller beware”. earlier there is no protection available to the consumers but now companies are given importance to the consumers, taking care of their tastes and preferences and produce according to their needs and wants.
Consumers today operate in increasingly complex markets, challenged by growing amounts of information and an expanding choice of products. Making sound choices and protecting consumer interests require a wide range of skills and knowledge. Consumer information is critical in this regard, it can be termed as the process by which we develop and enhance skills and knowledge to make well informed and reasonable choices that take societal values and objectives into account. This can help develop critical thinking and raise awareness, thereby enabling consumers to become more pro-active. It is also an important vehicle for building the confidence that consumers need to operate in increasingly complex markets. This helps to encourage the concept of consumer sovereignty whereby individuals and households are able to decide for themselves what they want to buy and consume. To add onto, this consumer information in the twenty first century covers more diverse areas than it has in the past. It now covers, for example consumer rights and obligations and sustainable consumption among others in order to enable them develop better decision making skills throughout consumer lives.
Consumer protection is an essential and extensive system of laws intended to safeguard the rights of consumers and encourage fair trade and honest information in the marketplace . Consumer protection encompasses three key areas, known as unfair trading practices, losses or damage and finally, unsafe products. Protection from unfair trading practices is established through the education of consumers in regards to their rights and obligations, losses or damage is monitored by enforcing consumer laws against unscrupulous traders whist unsafe products are regulated through rigorous safety standards . Consumer protection also aims to prevent unlawful trade practices by educating businesses of their rights and responsibilities and protecting the marketplace from the unlawful practices of other businesses. The following reported discusses Australia’s legal protection offered towards consumers currently, recent reforms undergone by the system and areas potentially applicable for reform in the future. In particular the report looks in the Australian Consumer Law (Cth) 2011 and the widespread implications of the legislation.
In fact, the implementation of consumer protection law also has the vested interest for businesses. It is a given fact that businesses have to take into account consumers' interest if they want to thrive in a competitive market. In view of our ever advancing technology, liberalisation and globalisation has increased economic competition by leaps and bounds. Many companies sell the same goods at similar prices and one of the few ways to stand out is to successfully satisfy the customers. Consumer protection sets the baseline of how a company should respect the interest and safety of the consumers. By taking into consideration the needs of consumers, businesses will then be able to keep up with both internal and international competition. Furthermore, apart from consumers, suppliers and retailers are also some of the other stakeholders that companies must keep in mind. Companies can only thrive and survive in the industry by getting resources from suppliers. Working in the business industry requires mutual trust that is built upon honesty and being forthright. If a company does not even fulfil the basic requirement of consumer protection, businesses will take a hit, and in turn suppliers and retailers will be affected as well. Suppliers and retailers might not wish to collaborate with the company and this will result in business complications. Hence, respecting consumers' rights is both beneficial for the consumers as well as the