[Ecommerce] OECD Recommendation on Consumer Dispute Resolution and Redress

[Manon Ress]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Dear colleagues,

Here's OECD on consumer dispute resolution new Recommendation. It was
adopted by the OECD Council earlier this month.  This should be of
interest to consumer groups - especially those in Europe who are
pushing for new collective action procedures.

Manon


http://www.oecd.org/document/
53/0,3343,en_2649_33703_38960053_1_1_1_1,00.html

OECD Recommendation on Consumer Dispute Resolution and Redress


On 12 July 2007, OECD Member countries adopted a Recommendation on
Consumer Dispute Resolution and Redress to provide governments with a
framework to help consumers resolve disputes and settle claims with
business. The framework covers disputes in both domestic and cross-
border transactions. It was developed to deal with issues arising
from the rapid growth in electronic commerce, but it will also
benefit consumers making traditional types of purchases.

The Recommendation is available at www.oecd.org/sti/consumer-policy.

=93E-commerce has allowed consumers access to an expanding range of
goods and services,=94 says Michael Jenkin, Chairman of the OECD
Committee on Consumer Policy (CCP), which prepared the
Recommendation. =93Recent studies have shown that consumers may be
reluctant to take full advantage of shopping on-line because of
concerns about dispute resolution if they are unsatisfied with their
purchase. The Recommendation provides a practical approach to address
these concerns in a systematic and comprehensive way.=94 In addition to
being Chairman of the CCP, Mr. Jenkin is the Director General of the
Office of Consumer Affairs, Industry Canada.

The Recommendation aims at addressing the current practical and legal
obstacles to pursuing remedies in consumer cases, whether locally or
cross-border contexts. The Recommendation comes at a time when Member
countries are paying increased attention to dispute resolution and
redress mechanisms, and in particular collective action mechanisms.
The Recommendation focuses on five priority areas for attention:
identifying basic elements needed for effective domestic resolution
and redress frameworks; improving resolution of cross-border
disputes; enhancing the scope and effectiveness of private sector
initiatives to resolve disputes; developing information for
monitoring developments and trends in consumer complaints; and
improving consumer and business education and awareness on ways to
avoid and handle disputes.

The domestic framework calls on governments to provide consumers with
mechanisms allowing them to act individually, such as alternative
dispute resolution services and simplified procedures for small
claims courts, or collectively, such as actions initiated by a
consumer in his name and representing other consumers. It also covers
actions initiated by consumer organisations representing consumers,
actions initiated by consumer protection enforcement authorities
acting as representative parties for consumers. Consumer protection
enforcement authorities may obtain or facilitate redress on behalf of
consumers, allowing them to seek court orders in civil and criminal
proceedings and to act as a representative party in lawsuits seeking
redress. In the context of cross-border disputes, the Recommendation
calls on Member countries to improve awareness of, and access to,
dispute resolution and redress mechanisms and to enhance the
effectiveness of remedies.

The Recommendation builds on the previous 1999 OECD Guidelines for
Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce, which call
for further development of dispute resolution mechanisms, and the
2003 OECD Guidelines for Protecting Consumers from Fraudulent and
Deceptive Commercial Practices Across Borders, which specifically
recommend further work on consumer redress. The Recommendation is
based on a Report on Consumer Dispute Resolution and Redress in the
Global Marketplace which includes a Member country survey and a
summary of the OECD Workshop on Consumer Dispute Resolution and
Redress in the Global Marketplace that was held in Washington D.C. in
April 2005.

The OECD Media Centre's press release can be found here (http://
www.oecd.org/document/45/0,3343,en_2649_33703_38967917_1_1_1_1,00.html).

For further information, journalists are invited to contact Peter
Avery, OECD's Science, Technology and Industry Directorate (+ 33. 1.
45. 24. 93. 63; or peter.avery@oecd.org).
--





************************************************************************
***
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@keionline.org,

1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.:  +1.202.332.2670, Ext 16 Fax: +1.202.332.2673

1 Route des  Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 791 6727

24 Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX, UK
Tel: +44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252 Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607