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.

Dispute resolution is an important issue for corporations. Whether the disputes are with their suppliers, employees or with consumers, managing disputes effectively is integral to healthy business risk management. While arbitration is a well-known alternative in disputes with suppliers or employees, its use is infrequent in disputes with consumers. The purpose of this thesis is to introduce arbitration as an option for alternative dispute resolution between businesses and consumers. Banking institutions, insurance companies, businesses in the securities industry and most suppliers of good and services can usefully take advantage of this tool. In our view, the legislative framework in Quebec does not create any barriers to the use of this technique, but provides for some guidelines that corporations must comply with. We hope this paper encourages companies to exercise control of the management of their disputes with consumers with the help of arbitration mechanisms that are at the same time consistent with consumers' rights as set out in Quebec legislation.

Patients who have undergone treatment that has included the surgical implantation of a prosthetic device can become dissatisfied for many reasons. One cause for dissatisfaction is any adverse event where there is a demonstrable causal nexus with the failure of a device that is defective or at risk of being so. The magnitude of therapeutic product failure is considerable and therapeutic goods such as Vioxx, Thalidomide, silicon-gel-filled breast implants, contaminated blood products, cardiac pacemakers and valves, and orthopaedic devices are testimony to this. Many of these events have exposed a greyish area of Australian law that balances medical negligence with consumer protection and contract law. Australian product liability legislation that regulates the use of therapeutic goods is a complex amalgam of law that has at its foundations the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth). When a surgical device fails there can be exposure to liability. This thesis explores those important issues that can impact on individuals or on organisations and it is evident that where issues of product liability concern implanted surgical devices the current regulations for consumer protection may not always be the most appropriate. It is evident that there is a culture of under-reporting of adverse events to a Therapeutic Good Administration that does not have the resources to investigate the cause for failure of a surgical device. Furthermore, there is a potential for bias and conflict of interest in an environment where the regulator depends on the regulated for the funding of its existence. Other issues include the complex and often undesirable consequences of those partnerships that can evolve with the development of an implantable device and with the undertaking of clinical trials, the role of the learned intermediary, that interface between manufacturer and consumer, and the role of the expert witness, that interface between justice and injustice. These and other matters that can significantly influence any debate of implantable surgical device product liability are explored and recommendations are made that might form the basis of a Therapeutic Goods (Safe Medical Devices) Amendment Act.

This research examined the development of consumer product manufacturer's liability between 1890 and 1981. h large percentage of the manufacturers were involved in monopolies, suppression of free trade, price conspiracies, and fraudulent advertisments. Negligence in design and manufacture frequently resulted in defective products. Responsible writers exposed: dangerous foods; chemicals; insecticides; unethical manufacturing methods; and numerous injuries or deaths from defective consumer products. Three periods of organized consumerism, 1890-1917, 19271941; and 1962-1981, created congressional pressure for consumer-oriented legislation. Five presidents used the power of their offices to pressure congress to protect the public. The states adopted the federal Workmen's Compensation Law of 1908 to provide assistance for individuals who suffered job-related injuries or death. Additional consumer-oriented laws enabled injured workers to sue for damages through the courts. Organized women's clubs worked through industrial representatives and congress to correct flagrant manufacturing abuses and establish standards.

Consumer protection policy measures can enable consumer behaviour shifts in favour of more sustainable choices. Whilst government is responsible for developing consumer protection policy in a particular country, business is central in the implementation of such policy. In South Africa, there is disassociation in consumer protection policy and environmental policy where consumer protection policy is the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry, whilst sustainability is located under the Department of Environmental Affairs. As a result, South African consumer protection policy does not holistically incorporate sustainability. A six-step qualitative research process was adopted to develop a framework to implement sustainability into consumer protection policies. First, a theoretical framework for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection policy was developed to structure the qualitative research. Four dimensions for incorporating sustainability into consumer protection were then identified. Qualitative data was collected using an open-ended questionnaire and also content analysis of existing data. Two sets of experts further reviewed and critiqued the proposed framework. The results of the qualitative enquiry, in particular, showed that for all the countries examined, some at least had sustainability consideration elements in their policies, but this was evident to a lesser extent in African countries, particularly those with less-developed economies. On the other hand, policy mechanisms that promoted sustainability were more evident in the policies and laws of developed countries. In the case of most African countries, basic needs were foregrounded as the primary concerns of consumers, ahead of sustainability concerns. Further, poverty limited consumer choices, particularly if more sustainably produced and eco-efficient goods came at a higher price. The research also underscored the importance and centrality of consumer education and stakeholder engagement for achieving sustainability policy intentions. It further confirmed that the basic needs of poor consumers in South Africa, and the impact of poverty on sustainability policy intentions must underpin the proposed framework. Factors that created an enabling environment for the implementation of the framework were identified as policy harmonisation within government policy domains, joined-up government, good corporate governance and shared value that considered the needs of future generations and consumer education. These factors would create an enabling environment for policy implementation. Consumer policy could play a key role in the choices that consumers make and, if well-designed and implemented, could direct consumer spending in support of the goal of sustainability and sustainable consumption. The proposed framework provides a foundation on which to futher refine and develop consumer protection policy that incorporates the well-being of consumers and social justice. Using consumer spending to drive sustainability requires a deliberate intention on the part of policy makers to move away from the more conventional framing of consumer policy, which has tended to focus on the economic interests of consumers, such as price, quality, choice and redress. However, modern business is shifting towards a more holistic conceptualisation of sustainability, as a value that needs to be deliberately and consciously built into the design and essence of a business. Doing so is not only good corporate citizenship, but offers a competitive advantage, which could drive product demand and attract consumers.

The tourism industry is critically important for the economic well-being of South Africa. This realisation elicited a greater focus on the industry, including greater government regulation thereof. Although the concept of a tourist (consumer of tourism services) will not readily conjure up someone in need of protection, tourists are often exposed to exploitation through unfair business practices. Tourists, by definition, are outside their normal places of residence and often strangers to the environment within which they find themselves. For the important tourism industry to achieve its economic potential the protection of the tourist must be paramount. The introduction of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 in 2010 was heralded as a new dawn for consumers. The CPA provides consumers, including domestic and foreign tourists, with extensive consumer rights. As the CPA is the first comprehensive legislation aimed at consumer protection the impact of the Act is far from known. The CPA caused considerable uncertainty in the tourism industry establishing a clear need to determine its impact on the segments of the industry. This study focuses on the accommodation segment. The aim of the study therefore is to ascertain the impact of selected consumer rights on the accommodation segment of the tourism industry. An overview of the tourism industry reveals that tourists are becoming more experienced, demanding and discerning. The regulation of the industry is explained. Particularly relevant are latest developments in South Africa, particularly the Draft Tourism Bill, 2011 and the National Tourism Sector Strategy. The consumer protection regime applicable prior to the coming into effect of the CPA was characterised more by ad hoc legislative arrangements than any systematic programme of consumer protection. Consumers were reliant on the common law. However, as part of a larger scheme to improve the socio-economic well-being of the people of South Africa, the government introduced a number of statutes including the CPA. The CPA introduced wide-ranging rights for the protection of consumers and mechanisms to provide effective redress. Selected consumer rights are critically analysed to assess the impact of these rights on the accommodation segment. These include the consumer’s right to equality in the market place; the right to privacy; the right to cancel advance bookings; the right to documentation in plain language; the right to quality service; and the right that a supplier having possession of the property of guest must account for such property. Another important aspect relates to the use of exemption provisions. The use of exemption provisions by suppliers is severely curtailed by the CPA. The use of prepaid vouchers, trade coupons and similar promotions, and customer loyalty programmes are also considered and the rights and obligations for consumers and suppliers respectively are elucidated. Many of the rights considered will have a significant impact on accommodation establishments. Elsewhere the impact may not appear to be as significant as the CPA is merely codifying an existing right or remedy. However, codifying the right, providing examples of the conduct prohibited and providing enforcement mechanisms will increase the efficacy of these rights.

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

No description available.

The problem of this study was to measure older and younger consumers' knowledge or awareness of selected consumer rights and legal protections, and their perceptions of and experience with unfair and deceptive business practices. A 34-item instrument was developed and administered by telephone to a random sample of 1,305 consumers nationwide. The data were examined by analysis of frequencies, Chi-square, and analysis of variance. The findings revealed (p<.01) that consumer knowledge was related to the age and marital status of the respondent. Married consumers and consumers aged 25-49 were the most knowledgeable about the eight consumer laws and legal protections. Consumer experiences with unfair and deceptive business practices were related to age, marital status, and gender. Younger, married, and female consumers had experienced three or more of the unfair and deceptive business practices. Married consumers and consumers aged 25-74 are more perceptive than consumers aged 75 and over in correctly identifying a business practice as unfair or illegal. The gender of the respondent does not always influence their perceptions of whether or not a particular business practice is fair. Significant differences existed between the knowledge score means and the age and marital status of the respondent. Significant differences existed between the experience score means and the age, marital status, and gender of the respondent. / Master of Science

Food labelling serves to (a) inform consumers about the attributes of a food product so that they can make rational and well-informed choices; (b) assist manufacturers in marketing their product; and (c) warn consumers about the inherent risks of certain products, or ingredients in the product. The costs of labelling products fully and informatively are borne by consumers, but the benefits of labelling outweigh the costs. To understand the role of labelling in an regulatory system it is vital to consider the arrangement of the provisions protecting consumers generally before considering food laws and the labelling regulations. Furthermore, due to food being an international product, it is necessary to consider foreign countries and the manner they go about in protecting consumers. The United Nations, under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the \Vorld Health Organization (WHO), established a Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, called "Codex Alimentarius". The aim of the programme is to establish standards that can be used internationally to narrow the gap between developed countries and developing countries. To establish a standard various organs of the Codex Alimentarius are consulted. In addition, the standards have to comply with a prescribed format and follow a specified procedure. For the standard to be observed the member country has to incorporate the standard into its domestic laws. One of the advantages of the Codex Alimentarius is that the procedure to establish a standard is flexible. Australia, United Kingdom and the United States of America are member of the Codex Alimentarius. Australia, a federation of states, protects consumers by legislating either state and/or Commonwealth laws. Often there is a combination of statutes. Examples of subjects that are governed by both Commonwealth and states include false or misleading trade practices, and weights and measures. Commonwealth laws only deal with the freedom of information. Food laws are governed exclusively by state legislation. A significant area for future reform is uniformity of the state food laws. There are also other areas for future reform (eg date marking). England and Wales protect consumers by enacting statutes that relate to private and public rights. The important Acts that protect public rights are the Trade Descriptions Act, Weights and Measures Act, Consumer Protection Act, Fair Trading Act and Food Act. One of the provisions of the Criminal Courts Act is to protect personal rights when a consumer suffers personal injury, loss or damage as a result of the offender committing an criminal offence. Food labelling is governed by regulations, that are progressive. A fundamental criticism of the legislation and regulations is the lack of appropriate enforcement of the laws. The enforcement of most of the above Acts is delegated to the local weights and measures authorities. A further complication is the United Kingdom's membership of the European Economic Community. The United States of America enacts federal and state legislation. In protecting consumers in respect of food, it enacts federal legislation. The important Acts include the Fair Packaging and Labelling Act, the Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry and Poultry Products Inspection Act and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The United States government also encourages openness, with regards to its public agencies, by creating the Freedom of Information Act. The class action is an innovative remedy established in terms of the Civil Procedure Act. The enforcement of food laws is delegated to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The protection afforded by the United States government is complex and sophisticated. Its laws serve as model for many countries. The common law of South Africa has limited value in safeguarding consumers. Consumer protection arise mostly by way of legislation and regulations. Consumers are protected generally by the Measuring Units and National Measuring Standards Act, Trade Metrology Act, Trade Practices Act and Harmful Business Practices Act, Standards Act, Dairy Industries Act and the Marketing Act. Consumers are protected against harmful and injurious foodstuffs by the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, and the regulations promulgated in terms of the Act. There are several problems with the laws, eg lack of enforcement, lack of consumer awareness and education, and so on. An analysis of the foreign countries discussed in Part II result in the indication of twel ve themes. Part III examine the twelve themes and present solutions. Some of the solutions are based on comparisons with foreign countries discussed in Part 11. The main issues that need to be addressed in the short-term are the lack of consumer education and problems of enforcement of consumer protection. Long-term issues include the feasibility of introducing a department of consumer affairs and the provision of statutory civil remedies for consumers. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of Natal, Durban,1990.