{"id":5180,"date":"2021-10-13T12:52:29","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T12:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawyerup.ro\/?p=5180"},"modified":"2025-02-24T07:33:43","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T07:33:43","slug":"the-consumer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawyerup.ro\/en\/the-consumer\/","title":{"rendered":"THE CONSUMER (I)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I. Introduction: the Romanian legislative framework<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

If, at the beginning of the development of market economies, the focus was on imposing measures to ensure the development and strengthening of the production of goods and services (so on supply<\/em>), gradually, it was observed that market cannot exist without demand and that, consequently, it is also necessary to implement protection measures for those who “demand” commercial products and services. These members of mass of anonymous people who, through their large numbers and requirement of satisfaction of needs – real or invented – keep the market in balance, are called consumers.<\/p>\n

The issue of consumer protection has arisen in Western societies with large market economies as an expression of the concern for the health and satisfaction of the economic interests of the recipients of products and services offered by manufacturers and traders. At European level, consumer protection policies are expressed as regulations aimed at strengthening the weaker part in relations with producers or distributors. <\/em><\/p>\n

In Romania, these policies have been embodied in several laws and government ordinances, some that directly and explicitly address this issue, others that somehow end up having an impact in this area implicitly (for example, competition law or antitrust). The main legislative texts in the field are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • GO (Government Ordinance) no. 21\/1992 on consumer protection;<\/li>\n
  • Law no. 296\/2004 on adopting the Consumer Code.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    We say main<\/em> because they regulate the general framework and the minimum guarantees offered to consumers in the circumstances of concluding a contract with an economic agent, but the legislation in this matter is much broader, following a more specialized regulation, depending on the categories of goods or services (for example, there are the following special laws Law no. 449\/2003 on the sale of goods and associated guarantees, GEO (Government Emergency Ordinance) no. 34\/2014 on consumer protection in distance contracts and contracts negotiated outside commercial premises, Law no. 193 \/ 2000 on unfair terms in contracts concluded between traders and consumers and many others).<\/p>\n

    What this means when analysing and interpreting the law is that we need to keep in mind that the legal norm does not exist in isolation, but is a component part of a system (in our case, the consumer protection system), and the fundamental characteristic of any system is the fact that its component parts are in a constant state of interaction, of intersection, they cannot be excluded from each other. Therefore, the rules will be interpreted through each other, the special legislation will be analysed with priority (if any, of course) and, insofar as it has gaps, the gaps will be filled with the principles outlined by the general legislation.<\/p>\n

    In the following article, the interest is focused on answering who is the consumer<\/em>, who can have this quality according to the provisions of Romanian law and what are the main rights associated with this quality.<\/p>\n

    II. Who is the consumer?<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

    Before trying to answer this question, it should be mentioned that in this matter (consumer protection) the Romanian legislation is rallied to the European one and everything that is currently provided in our legislation is in fact borrowed from the European one.<\/p>\n

    GO no. 21\/1992 and the Consumer Code define the consumer as:<\/p>\n

    any natural person or group of natural persons constituted in associations, acting for purposes outside its commercial, industrial or production activity, artisanal or liberal.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    We note two limitations<\/strong> regarding those who can be called consumers. First of all<\/strong>, this quality shall only be recognised for natural persons, not legal persons (other than the exemptions made by the law). Secondly<\/strong>, the natural persons concerned must act for purposes outside their commercial activity<\/em> in order to be able to take advantage of that quality. This is because the purpose of the regulations is precisely to protect those persons who do not have specialized information and who cannot have a real comprehension and\/or representation of the obligations they contract.<\/p>\n

    Apart from the natural person, the law assigns the quality of consumer to any group of natural persons constituted in associations<\/em>; this must not be understood, however, as any association or foundation established under Government Ordinance 26\/2000 on associations and foundations (NGOs), but only those consumer associations, namely incorporated in order to defend the rights and legal interests of its members (i.e., the consumers).<\/p>\n

    The reason for this interpretation is that NGOs, in general, could not demonstrate compliance with the criterion on the non-professional purpose of the contracted good or service. Thus, art. 206 para. 2 of the Civil Code enshrines the principle of the specialty of usability<\/em>, a principle according to which non-profit legal persons (such as NGOs) may have only those civil rights and obligations that are necessary to achieve the purpose established by law, the articles of incorporation or the statute. However, if an NGO aims to protect the rights of vulnerable persons, environmental protection etc., it means that the acquisition of the good or service was made for this purpose, which is basically of professional interest to the NGO (the promotion of activities for which it their establishment was approved).<\/p>\n

    Consumer associations<\/strong> are regulated by both the Consumer Code and GO no. 21\/1992, being defined as:<\/p>\n

    non-governmental organizations, as legal persons, according to the law and which, without seeking to make a profit for their members, have as their sole purpose the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of their members or of consumers in general<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    III. Consumer rights of natural persons and the rights of consumer associations<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    Since we have identified two categories of consumers (natural persons and consumer associations), the same will be done for the presentation of their rights, by virtue of the main legal texts identified.<\/p>\n

    Thus, the natural persons have the following rights:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • to be protected against the risk of purchasing a product or a service that could harm their life, health or safety or harm their legitimate rights and interests;<\/li>\n
    • to be fully, correctly and precisely informed about the essential characteristics of the products and services, so that the decision they take in relation corresponds as best as possible to their needs, as well as to be educated in their capacity as consumers;<\/li>\n
    • to have access to markets that provide them with a wide range of quality products and services;<\/li>\n
    • to be compensated in a real and adequate way for the damages generated by the improper quality of the products and services, using for this purpose the means provided by law;<\/li>\n
    • to organize themselves in consumer associations, in order to defend their rights and interests;<\/li>\n
    • to refuse the conclusion of contracts containing abusive clauses, according to the legal provisions in force;<\/li>\n
    • not to be prohibited by an economic operator from obtaining a benefit expressly provided by law;<\/li>\n
    • to be prohibited from selling a product or providing a service by an economic agent without a justified reason.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      As regards to consumer associations<\/strong>, they have the following main rights:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • to be logistically supported by the central and local public administration bodies, in order to achieve their objectives;<\/li>\n
      • to receive financial aid from the state budget and from the local budgets;<\/li>\n
      • to be consulted, when drafting normative acts, standards or specifications that define the technical and qualitative characteristics of products and services intended for consumers;<\/li>\n
      • to bring legal actions to protect the rights and legitimate interests of consumers;<\/li>\n
      • to obtain information on the price and quality characteristics of the products or services, likely to help the consumer to make a decision on their purchase.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        IV. Conclusions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

        In view of the general and special regulations on consumer protection, what we must keep in mind is that only individuals and consumer associations have the status of consumer. Therefore, legal entities, such as limited liability companies or stock companies, will not be able to benefit from the protection of these provisions.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Bibliography:\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        • R\u0103zvan Scafe\u0219, Calitatea de consumator a avocatului la \u00eencheierea contractelor de credit<\/em>, Universul Juridic Premium nr. 8\/2021;<\/li>\n
        • Juanita GOICOVICI, Notiunea de “consumator” \u00een reglementarea Legii nr. 363\/2007 privind combaterea practicilor incorecte ale comerciantilor \u00een relatia cu consumatorii<\/em>, Pandectele Romane nr. 5\/2009;<\/li>\n
        • GO (Government Ordinance) no. 21\/1992 on consumer protection;<\/li>\n
        • Law no. 296\/2004 on adopting the Consumer Code.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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