Эволюция защиты прав потребителей (мировой и отечественный опыт)

Abstract

Consumerism protection is a modern notion that has deep historic roots. Its content echoes back through millenia. The Old Testament says in the Third Book Leviticus "Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights" (Leviticus 19:35) The evolution of protection of consumers' rights started in the USA. The first form of consumers' protest was fixed in Massachusets state in 1975. The sellers of the spoiled food were sentenced to pillory. In his 1961 message to the Congress, John Kennedy became the first head of the state, who appealed for the defence of the consumers' rights. However, his appeal was not treated by the Congress with respect. On March 15, 1962 John Kennedy appealed for the second time to both the Congress and public organizations to recognize four basic rights of the consumer: a right to safety of goods and services, a right to information, a right to a choice of goods and services on competitive basis, a right to be heard out. These rights were recognized and adopted with two aditional rights: a right to effective compensation and a right to education. The consumers' rights claimed by J. Kennedy have become fundamental; today the governments worldwide are oriented at their protection. In 1973 the European Union at its 25th Session of the Consultative Assembly adopted the Charter of Consumers' Rights Protection. On April 9, 1985 the UN General Assembly adopted the Guiding Principles for the protection of the consumers' interests (the UN Resolution No. 39/248). The UN fixes as fundamental consumers' rights the following: a right to protection from damage to health, a right to safety, a right to protection of their interests, a right to information, consumers' education, a right to clean environment, a right to express the consumers' interests. The Republic of Belarus as a full member of the world community joined the UN Decision, having signed the abovementioned Resolution. "The Guiding Principles" imply a system of the state protection of consumers' interests at the national level on the one hand, and a right to independent public protection of these interests by the consumers' organizations on the other. One of the first results of realization of the "Guiding Principles" was the foundation of the Belarusian Society of Consumers' Rights protection (BSCP) in 1989, representing national non-governmental movement of consumers in Belarus. An important contribution to the emergence and development of national non-governmental consumers movement was made by adoption on the BSCP's initiative of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On protection of consumers' rights" which came into force from January 1, 1994. The Law in its article 4 defined basic consumers' rights: a right to protection of their interests by the state, a right to the appropriate quality of goods, a right to the safety of goods, a right to obtain full and correct information on goods, a right to compensation in full of the damage incurred by the goods of inappropriate quality, a right to judicial recourse, a right to the protection of the violated rights and interests protected by the Law, a right to creation of public consumers organizations etc. However, it is not the first Law aimed at consumers protection on the territory of Belarus. The outstanding monument of the feudal law — the 1588 Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that was the acting law on the territory of Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine for 250 years — states not only the constitutional, administrative, matrimonial, civil, criminal norms but also the norms, protecting the rights of the GDL citizens (feudals, szlachta, petty bourgeois, peasants, artisans,servants) on the commodities market (jobs, services), i.e. the norms of the consumers' rights. The citizens of the GDL at the end of the 16th century had the same rights: a right to protection of their interests by the state, a right to the appropriate quality of goods, a right to personal safety, a right to obtain information on the goods, a right to compensation, a right to judicial recourse etc. At present there is a significant influence of consumers on the Belarusian market of goods, jobs and services; most of the goods to be marketed are due for compulsory certification, thus creating control on the criteria of safety for life and health of consumers, drawing attention of manufacturers to ecological aspects of goods, jobs and services, making easier the access to the information on the goods, manufacturers or sellers; special courses on basic consumerism knowledge are introduced in educational institutions. Also, the development of the New reading of the Law "On Protection of Consumers' Rights" is taking place. These facts demonstrate that the Republic of Belarus is moving towards the formation of the civilized legal environment of consumerism.