Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
01/10/2013
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
Morishita: "the world demands more sophisticated tools to ensure consumer rights" PHOTO: Paula Giolito / O Globo
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RIO - The new guidelines of the United Nations (UN) will further protect consumers in electronic commerce, and to recover damages in financial matters. The last update was in 1999. And international cooperation among countries of the protection system come as a further guideline UN. Brazil, through the National Consumer (Senacon), will present the first draft with your assessment and feedback at the next meeting in February. The document should be ready in April this year, and the new international guidelines should be adopted in July 2014.
These rules of the multilateral organization is a reference to the international consumer movement. Consumers International is working with its members to enrich the proposals on how the guidelines can better address the concerns of today's consumers.
Talk about competition
Consumers International has been the driving force behind the establishment of guidelines in 1985 and is ahead of all the debates about its revisions since then. The announcement of this latest revision was made at a meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in which consumer protection experts discussed the relationship between business competition and consumer rights.
- Our experts have argued that changes in society require updating the guidelines in new areas such as internet and financial products. Consumers did research with its member organizations, to assess the level of protection currently offered to consumers worldwide. Our goal is to build a comprehensive framework that allows us to provide support for organizations in the protection of consumers in their countries - said director general of Consumers International, Helen McCallum.
The Senacon already prepared its proposal for drafting the new guidelines, which will be presented next month. For Secretary of Senacon, Juliana Pereira, is important to update the guidelines of the UN because the world economy has changed, developing countries are growing and adding new consumers, and the global economy is based on consumption:
- Brazil has much to contribute to these issues, because we have a law forefront and inspire other countries. We can contribute to advances in the field of financial services and the measures that today already predict compensation to Brazilian consumers. And we are counting on the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Brazil will propose that the allegations that give rise to compensation can be made by the consumers themselves or by a legally constituted association, especially in the case of low-income consumers. From these reports, the administrative authorities could order preventive, corrective and punitive action against those who violate the standards of consumer protection, which strengthens the bodies defense mechanisms and promotes definitive solutions to conflict.
Another proposal is that the Brazilian Justice, to determine damages and losses resulting from practices contrary to the rules of consumer protection, consider the resolutions issued by administrative authorities who declared the illegality of the practice, which also strengthen the defense system the consumer as a whole.
Punishment also for employees
Even within this proposed guideline, Senacon notes that fines and penalties should be based on reference units periodically adjustable and include objective criteria, with determination of aggravating and mitigating circumstances. And fines should include cases of violations of the rules, but also cases of non-compliance with the mandates of judicial or administrative authorities. Could there be further economic sanctions against officers or employees of the company who authorized, tolerated or performed illegal practice.
Ricardo Morishita, course coordinator of Law FGV / RJ emphasizes that discussions to update the guidelines began in UNCTAD, which is the voice of the market at the UN:
- The competitive issues are not realizing the problems generated by the market and experienced by consumers. It is no longer isolated cases. We are in a context different from 20 years ago. The market is increasingly globalized, transnational financing transactions are also international. It is no longer possible to attempt solutions case. The world demands more sophisticated tools to ensure consumer rights wholesale. Competition laws need to enter the structural issues of society.
Morishita said that measures countries' economic rights should be tied to social and consumers, so companies have incentives and also obligations:
- By giving a tax incentive, the government can harness it to maintain employment, which is the social side, and demand quality products and guarantee of service, because ultimately it is the consumer who is paying the bill.
Source: The Globe Online
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.