The aim of this thesis is to analysis the current consumer protection in the case of bankruptcy of the tour operator in the Czech Republic, review of the present situation in selected member states of the European Union and a draft for the specific alternative options for the Czech Republic to increase the protection of clients of the tour operator. The theoretical part is devoted to the definition of the fundamental and legislative terms relating to the issues under examination. The practical part outlines the current situation of bankruptcies of the tour operators and ensuring the conditions in the Czech Republic and also in the European Union. The merit of the practical part is the result of the market research implementation, aimed at evaluation of the attitude and opinions of the professional public on the current situation in the branch. Based on the obtained information, the specific options for the tour operators and adjustments in the Czech tourism industry are provided, so the consumer protection in the case of bankruptcy of the tour operator would be sufficient.

The thesis deals with the consumer dispute and ways how to resolve it. The main aim of this thesis is to analyze and evaluate if disadvantages of court proceeding in the Czech republic still overweight its advantages, and thus whether the topic of alternative disputes resolution of consumer disputes is actual, then to give an overview and evaluation of alternative disputes resolution for consumer dispute which the Czech republic offers in the context of Community Law of the European Union, and finally to outline the development of future initiatives in this area.

Traditional redress mechanisms such as litigation and traditional alternative dispute resolution generally fail to strengthen consumer confidence in e-commerce. Rather they may represent an additional source of uncertainty. In particular litigation fails to offer the certainty the consumer seeks. To date, neither European nor American courts have found reliable criteria for determining Internet jurisdiction and have failed to provide consistency in their decisions. In addition, uncertainty arising from unclear concepts on the enforcement level and the high volume of disputes with low monetary value have led to the development of online ADR providers that allow individuals from across the world to settle disputes. Both online mediation and online arbitration serve consumers as appropriate instruments to enforce their rights arising out of online disputes. They are designed for disputes with small monetary value and are capable of overcoming jurisdictional obstacles. On the enforcement level, online arbitration based on the New York Convention provides the consumer with a powerful tool on global level. Online consumer arbitration can ensure a maximum of enforceability if the consumer arbitration rules of online ADR providers incorporate the requirements of the New York Convention. In addition or instead of online ADR, businesses increasingly rely on other dispute avoidance and dispute settlement instruments in order to promote consumer confidence. Some of those models employed by e-commerce companies succeed in promoting trust, while others do so only to a limited extent. In particular, mandatory credit card chargeback regimes give consumers an effective and quick means of disputing a transaction with a merchant at almost no cost. On the other hand, escrow services seem to be less appropriate for the typical small amount e-commerce transaction mainly since consumers are generally not willing to pay the added costs for the use of the escrow service for the average small amount transaction. Trustmark and seal programs provide the potential to give guidance to the consumer about consumer protection standards of the online seller before any damage is done and offer effective and inexpensive certification, monitoring and enforcement procedures. However, to date trustmark and seal systems have applied these powerful tools only to a limited extent. A proliferation of trustmark and seal programs make it hard for consumers to distinguish between differences in the programs and to assess their quality. Rating and feedback systems provide an immediate and inexpensive source of information to buyers about sellers and a strong incentive for good performance to repeat sellers. These systems are prone to abuse and information gathered through these systems is often unreliable. In my thesis I argue that traditional litigation no longer provides the most appropriate means of dispute settlement in the case of small amount crossborder consumer transactions. Neither do traditional ADR mechanisms provide the most convenient and efficient method of settling online consumer disputes. Online ADR and several other models of redress successfully replace traditional mechanisms since they better meet the challenges of online disputes and live up to recognised consumer protection principles. I argue that online arbitration based on international arbitration law such as the New York Convention presents a particularly viable instrument for the settlement of the average smallamount online consumer disputes. After having sketched the jurisdictional hurdles for the resolution of online disputes I analyse whether both online ADR and other trust-creating models are capable of providing an efficient and fair redress instrument for the consumer. For this purpose, the practises and policies of online dispute resolution providers are mirrored in recognised consumer protection principles and the international legal framework. Likewise the potential and limits of other trust-creating models are explored under the question of to what extent they serve the consumer as a viable instrument to impose her rights. The guiding questions of this evaluation will be if and to what extent these recently evolved institutions meet - according to their policies and practises - the challenges set up by the particularities of online consumer transactions. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

The thesis analyzes consumer protection on the market of genetically modified products in the Czech Republic and the European Union. Development of the world legislation in the sphere of genetically modified products and its current situation in the EU and the Czech Republic are specified in the thesis. Consumer protection in the sphere of GMO is evaluated on the example of member states of the European Union -- the Czech Republic, France and Spain -- as well as in the states with a high level of share of genetically modified products in the food production -- the United States of America and Brazil. Practical part of the thesis is focused on the evaluation of knowledge level of inexpert public relating to the topic of genetically modified organisms and products. The conclusion of the thesis mentions the weak points of the current consumer protection on the market of genetically modified products in the Czech Republic and European Union together with suggestions for improving the present situation.

The in duplum rule is a rule of Roman-Dutch origin which has been preserved by the South African common law. A useful consumer-protection device, it temporarily ceases interest once arrear interest has reached the unpaid capital. The rule distinguishes between arrear and accrued interest. Arrear interest is interest that has become due but because of non-payment it has accumulated. While accrued interest is also accumulated interest, this type of interest has not become due and payable. The in duplum rule prevents arrear interest from accumulating to more than the unpaid capital amount. This preclusion is only temporary, however, and as soon as the debtor makes payment towards the debt, the interest begins to run again. The in duplum rule has no effect on accrued interest. Thus, when parties agree that the capital amount plus the interest component of the debt will be paid at a future date, without installments by the debtor in the interim, the in duplum rule will have no effect on the total amount owing. The rule has recently been incorporated into the National Credit Bill of 2005. The rule seems to have been codified without due caution to its carefully sculpted common law developments. The courts have over the years cleared misconceptions that the rule prevented any interest from accruing to more than the unpaid capital or that the rule permanently affected the running of interest. The work of the courts has somewhat been neglected in clause 103(5) of the National Credit Bill which appears to include in its interest component more than just interest. This may have a very dramatic effect on the profit element of the risk takers (credit lenders) and may in the long term curb investment in the lending market. The effect of the codified in duplum rule remains to be seen through the actions of the lawmaker, and if the codified form of the rule is accepted into law, the burden will once again lie with the judiciary. / Dissertation (Magister Legum (Private Law))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Private Law / unrestricted

Please read the abstract in the dissertation. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2015 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM / Unrestricted

Magister Legum - LLM / Deceptive advertising, which is also known as false advertising, refers to a manufacturer making use of confusing, misleading, or blatantly untrue statements to promote a particular product or service. The phrase ‘false, misleading or deceptive’ was apparently adopted from North American legislation. It is important to begin by defining these key terms that are frequently used in this thesis. A ‘false’ representation means giving wrongful or incorrect information to someone. A ‘misleading’ representation can be defined as one that leads someone astray, or causes someone to have an incorrect impression or belief. A ‘deceptive’ representation is similar to a misleading representation because it is aimed at deceiving the consumer which ultimately leads to the consumer making an error in judgement. These terms are very similar to each other but there are subtle differences between them. Representations are often misleading or deceptive by virtue of it being false. A representation can, however, also be true yet still be misleading or deceptive.

Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Private Law / unrestricted

The common law of lease sets out certain reciprocal rights and duties of lessors and lessees. It also provides for sui generis aspects such as the lessor’s hypothec and the protection of the lessee under the huur gaat voor koop rule. The relatively uncomplicated manner in which the common law has addressed specific issues pertaining to the law of lease has however been influenced by recent legislation that have an impact on various aspects of lease. The Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 has entrenched parameters for the exercise of certain rights by the lessor and lessee and has introduced Rental Housing Tribunals to deal with unfair leasing practices. The Prevention of Illegal Eviction of and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 has radically impacted on the process that a lessor has to follow where he wishes to evict a lessee who remains in occupation of a leased premises after lawful termination of a lease agreement. Most recently the introduction of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, which came into full operation at the end of March 2011, appears to have a significant impact on the law of lease in those instances where the Act finds application to a lease agreement. In this regard it must be observed that the Consumer Protection Act impacts on a lease agreement that falls within its scope in two ways: on the one hand section 14 of the Act which regulates fixed term agreements may find specific application to a lease agreement that falls within the scope of application of the said section. On the other hand, there are certain ‘general’ provisions of the Act that will find application generally to lease agreements that fall within the scope of application of the Act , even if they do not fall within the specific scope of application of section 14. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how the various pieces of legislation indicated herein , impact on the common law of lease . The main focus will eventually be the impact of the Consumer Protection Act as such impact still has to manifest in practice.It will thus be endeavoured to present a holistic view of the ‘changing face of the law of lease’ in South Africa. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Mercantile Law / unrestricted

The goal of this dissertation is to highlight the ambiguities contained in section 61 of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA), which attempts to introduce strict product liability for the entire supply chain in the event of product failure, and to propose amendments from which both the consumer as well as the supply chain could benefit. The new dispensation of strict product liability will lead to a step away from the no-fault based liability system that our courts have implemented for decades. Although this system is unfamiliar to South Africa, strict liability regimes have been followed in foreign countries for a considerable period of time. A comparative study of the approaches followed in America and Europe, which both advanced strict product liability regimes, will be undertaken in this study in order to illuminate problematic aspects relating to the concept of defect contained in section 61 of the CPA as well as the various duties of the supply chain in a strict product liability regime. It is argued that the provisions of the CPA ought to be supplemented with regulations, including, but not limited to, the implementation of adequate safety regulations to mitigate product recalls and product liability claims. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Mercantile Law / unrestricted