This thesis is an in-depth discussion and analysis of the alternative dispute resolution process of arbitration in the United States. It begins by providing a basic explanatory overview of arbitration clauses and the arbitration process. It then goes on to highlight the various benefits over traditional court litigation that arbitration has to offer. From there, the paper presents a detailed discussion of the many shortcomings of the arbitration process. It identifies the overall lack of procedural fairness that exists in arbitration today due to the fact that arbitration currently tends to favor businesses over consumers and workers during dispute settlements. The paper then identifies the various negative potential consequences that exist as a result of the unfair nature of arbitration today. This thesis concludes by presenting various ways that the arbitration process can be improved upon to make for a fairer, more neutral dispute resolution alternative.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-03-14T17:42:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruna Simões França.pdf: 1589211 bytes, checksum: 1dad341b5fa496abdfccbc2de400367a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-14T17:42:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruna Simões França.pdf: 1589211 bytes, checksum: 1dad341b5fa496abdfccbc2de400367a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-20 / The propose of this work is to analyze the right that the right that consumers have to be oriented and informed and the consequences of this right is not observed by the financial institutions especially in loan contracts and considering the vulnerability of the consumers. We will begin doing an explanation of the legal regime of the financial institutions on Brazilian Constitution, the Central Bank and the Monetary Authority, as well as the possibility for self-regulation. Then we will analyze the legal protection of the consumer in Brazil, with main focus on the information right. We will study the concept of good faith in legal terms and the responsibility of financial institutions in abusive loan contracts regarding consumers. There will be a highlight on de vulnerability of the consumer and de concept of consumers that are more vulnerable than others. This paper intends to demonstrate that loan contracts sign with disregard of the information right by the financial institution to not oblige the consumer. As a consequence of this violation, the contract should be considered as not valid and the parties involved must return to the previously situation / O objetivo deste trabalho será analisar o papel do direito à informação do consumidor e do dever de educação do fornecedor e a responsabilidade jurídica que as instituições financeiras possuem nos contratos de mútuo bancário no direito brasileiro, especialmente considerando a vulnerabilidade do consumidor. Iniciaremos fazendo uma explanação do regime jurídico das instituições financeiras na Constituição Federal, no Brasil pelo Banco Central e Conselho Monetário Nacional, bem como a possibilidade de autorregulação de suas atividades. Após, trataremos da proteção jurídica do consumidor, especialmente o direito à informação. Será analisado ainda o conceito de boa-fé objetiva, bem como a responsabilidade dos fornecedores nos contratos de mútuo no que tange aos consumidores. Neste ponto, serão destacados a vulnerabilidade do consumidor e o conceito de consumidores hipervulneráveis. Este trabalho pretende demonstrar que os contratos de mútuo celebrados com desrespeito ao dever de informação por parte do fornecedor não vinculam o consumidor. Como consequência desta violação, o contrato deverá ser considerado nulo e, assim, as partes deverão voltar ao status quo anterior à celebração do contrato

This thesis analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of various types of eco-labels, focusing primarily on differences between mandatory and voluntary eco-labeling programs. I argue that many of the problems with eco-labeling could be addressed by improving regulations. The current regulation of eco-labeling in the United States is discussed, especially the shortcomings of the FTC’s Green Guides. I recommend creating enforceable national legislation to regulate environmental claims that includes involvement of key stakeholders, a list of acceptable environmental claims, enforceable national definitions of environmental terms, an avenue for manufacturers and consumers to challenge environmental claims, consumer education, and periodic review and revision.

This dissertation uses the latest development in consumer protection law in Vietnam (the adoption of the Consumer Protection Law of 2010 to regulate transactions between consumers and traders) to test key claims in competing legal transplantation theories. This research investigates comparative law debates about the legitimacy, usefulness and possibility of legal transplantation in law reform in developing and transitional countries. Alan Watson and his proponents believe strongly in the possibility of legal transplants, but fail to provide a clear and concrete methodology for producing effective and efficient laws. On the other hand, Robert Seidman and Ann Seidman openly reject the legitimacy of legal transplants, but offer a comprehensive methodology for effectively conducting law reform projects. They believe that, by following a problem-solving institutionalist legislative theory, legal drafters and law-makers in charge of law reform projects can easily produce effective and efficient laws. This dissertation argues that the nature of the reform of laws regulating consumer transactions in Vietnam is much more complex than Watson’s theory imagines. It also shows that, although the reception of foreign legal models is part of this law reform project, past legal transplants as well as the local law-making culture may filter or even inhibit the reception of foreign legal solutions. This research also reveals that current consumer law reform in Vietnam tends to follow the problem-solving approach, although it deviates somewhat from the legislative methodology proposed by the Seidmans. This dissertation attempts to clarify these deviations and explain the reasons for them. / Graduate

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master’s Degree in Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2017. / As a result of weaker bargaining power, consumers are often exploited or treated unfairly in the business arena. Whilst consumer abuse is a global problem, South African consumers are more vulnerable due to various socio-economic conditions that affect their ability to negotiate equally in the marketplace. Factors such as poverty and illiteracy contribute to consumer abuse and is perpetuated by the discrimination which was inherent in the apartheid era. Accordingly, the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (CPA) was promulgated to promote the respect for consumer rights, create awareness, enhance consumer protection and eliminate unfair and dishonest business practices which were prevalent at the time. This study aims to investigate the implications of consumer rights for service delivery within the retail sector. The main objective of this research was to explore the levels of awareness of consumer rights and to identify consumers’ expectations and perceptions of service delivery in relation to the CPA. The research design was quantitative in nature. A questionnaire was designed to assess the levels of awareness of rights and consumers’ expectations and perceptions of the service delivered by retailers, in relation to the service quality dimensions. Using convenience sampling, data was obtained from 337 respondents in the greater Durban area. Data was analysed using SPSS version 24.0 and interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the gap analysis revealed that the respondents’ perceptions of service quality was consistently lower than their expectations, in respect of several dimensions of service quality. These negative gaps indicate that the level of the delivered service had fallen below the respondents’ expectations of service quality amongst retailers. This implies that respondents’ were dissatisfied with business compliance with provisions of the CPA. Businesses are hence encouraged to take steps to ensure legal compliance, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and attaining higher levels of service excellence. / M

LL.M. / Despite payment cards being of a fairly recent origin,1 these instruments of payment play an increasingly significant role in commerce. With reference to credit cards, Cornelius already in 2003 stated: “They fulfil various functions that are increasingly important at a time that ecommerce is taking off at a tremendous pace.”2 Similarly criminals continuously use more inventive and technologically advanced methods to commit fraud, including counterfeit card fraud. Is the South African criminal law, however, keeping up? The aim of this study is to investigate whether the various activities which form part of the criminal business value chain relating to counterfeit card fraud, with specific reference to bank payment cards, are sufficiently criminalised in South Africa or whether the inability of our criminal law to address the challenges posed by this crime type necessitates the introduction of further legislation. In the first part of the dissertation the South African common and statutory criminal law is investigated in some depth to establish the applicability thereof on the activities forming part of the criminal business value chain relevant to counterfeit card fraud. The appropriateness of certain statutory provisions is questioned and recommendations are made to amend current legislation. An argument is also advanced for further development of the common-law offence of theft to include identity theft and the unlawful copying and subsequent use of data. Brief reference is made to the international situation. Chapter 2 is an introduction to bank payment card fraud in South Africa focusing on the most prevalent forms thereof being card-not-present fraud and counterfeit card fraud. Reference is made to the manner in which offences related to counterfeit card fraud are currently approached in our criminal courts and the limited impact prosecutions has on the prevalence of this fraud type.

La presente investigación aborda el problema de las altísimas tasas de interés que se cobran en los contratos de crédito de consumo por parte de la banca múltiple, puesto que es una situación anormal que tiene que encararse y solucionarse dentro del marco legal existente y mediante mecanismos institucionales que garanticen el respeto al Estado de Derecho. / Trabajo de investigación

L'émergence du droit de la consommation en tant que discipline autonome, peut être analysée dans les effets qu'elle a produits dans le discours juridique dans sa globalité, de diverses manières. Lors des célébrations de l’anniversaire de la signature du Traité de Rome qui a jeté les bases de l'Union Européenne actuelle, on doit souligner que « L'UE a largement amélioré la vie quotidienne de ses citoyens». Qu'en est-il plus précisément de la protection des consommateurs? Sans l’Europe, le droit de la consommation ne se serait pas développé aussi solidement qu'il ne l’a fait aux cours des quarante dernières années. Le droit européen de la consommation trouve sa source essentielle dans le programme préliminaire d'avril 1975 pour une politique de protection et d’information des consommateurs qui a énoncé cinq droits fondamentaux : droit à la protection de la santé et de la sécurité, droit à la protection des intérêts économiques des consommateurs, droit à la réparation des dommages, droit à l’information et à l'éducation, droit à la représentation. Le E-commerce (achat et vente de services et produits via Internet) a transformé notre manière de consommer, offrant aux consommateurs plus de choix qu'auparavant. Mais il soulève également de nouveaux problèmes, qui doivent être réglés. Les conditions de protection des consommateurs différent encore beaucoup d’un pays à l'autre. Si dans certains pays, 76% des consommateurs déclarent se sentir suffisamment protégés par les mesures existantes, dans d'autres ce chiffre tombe à 28%. Or, depuis qu’ils ont rejoint l’Union européenne, les pays de l'Est de l'Europe, généralement situés assez bas sur l’échelle de satisfaction, ont vu ces pourcentages s'améliorer de façon importante. / In regulatory jurisdictions that provide for this consumer protection is a group of laws and organizations designed to ensure the rights of consumers, as well as fair trade, competition, and accurate information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent the businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors. Furthermore the importance of the consumer protection is to safeguard the consumer from exploitation. In the absence of consumer protection, consumers were exploited in many ways for example sale of unsafe products, adulteration and hoarding of goods, using wrong weights and measures, charging excessive prices and sale of inferior quality goods. Through various Consumer Protection Acts, business organizations are under pressure to keep away from exploiting consumers. Consumer protection law is considered an area of law that regulates private law relationships between individual consumers and the businesses that sell those goods and services. In 2018, the European Commission is proposing a New Deal for Consumers to ensure that all European consumers fully benefit from their rights under Union law. A study on transparency in online platforms, also published, supports the New Deal’s proposals on online market places. Finally, the different theories show the sophisticated aspects of the French consumer law which has been developing since the Code Napoleon.

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

The thesis analyses the concept ‘fairness’ in consumer contracts regulated by the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, mainly from the perspective of a freedom and fairness orientation. It discusses the evolution of ‘fairness’ as background to a more detailed discussion of the classification of fairness into substantive and procedural fairness. The thesis examines dimensions of fairness, factors which play a role in the determination of fairness, and fairness- oriented approaches in an attempt to formulate a framework for fairness in consumer contracts. The main aspects that should be taken into account to justify a finding of fairness, or to determine whether a contract is fair, are identified. This analysis addresses, too, the extent to which the fairness provisions of the Consumer Protection Act are appropriate (with reference to the law of South Africa, Europe, and England). / Mercantile Law / LL.D.