(Press-News.org) The idea behind this research arose because of the huge disparity in existing laws regulating the area of consumer protection, which made it necessary, according to the researchers, to carry out a systematic study to develop a "general report" which would gather the common principles and regulations regarding the different laws governing consumer protection. During the time this research study was underway, the Texto Refundido de la Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios (Consolidated Text of General Law of Consumer Protection) (LGDCU) was published; however "said legal text has not solved the existing problems because it leaves out important special laws and it does not contain a coherent regulation but rather it contains, on the contrary, inexplicable contradictions", the head of the study, Jorge Caffarena Laporta, Full Professor in the UC3M Department of Private Law, explained.
With respect to the existing regulation, in spite of the shortcomings brought to light by these researchers, such as not being systematic and containing contradictions and rambling texts, its consumer protection nature cannot be denied. "Notwithstanding", Professor Caffarena continued, "the aforementioned defects provoke confusion and insecurity as to the extent of consumer rights, although the problem probably resides in their practice". And if companies violate consumers' rights, there are not effective instruments which allow the consumer to pursue a successful legal claim. "Given the limited number of most consumer operations and the costs and delays involved in a judicial process, the consumer many times is not interested in making a legal claim against the company involved", he went on to explain. In short, increased development of consumer arbitration is essential.
The Consumer Code
In other countries such as France or Italy a Consumer Code has already been drawn up. "In Spain it would be desirable", Caffarena indicated, "to draw such a code up or to integrate the general norms of consumer protection into the Civil Code". The objective of this line of research precisely seeks to propose the bases for drawing up a text that takes into account the existing regulations, in order to standardize and to make possible a reasonable incorporation into natural law of the EU common guidelines in accordance with a certain system of principles and institutions. "The attempt of the legislator to make the area of consumer protection homogeneous with the publication of the LGDCU Consolidated Text brings to light the fact that it was a premature operation, not well-thought out, and one which would have required more prolonged legal reflection because it was limited to juxtaposing sectoral legislation in this area, and actually complicated the panorama in certain cases", Caffarena concluded.
The researchers have elaborated a set of recommendations regarding the development of a Consumer Code. On one hand, they pointed out that it would have to begin with characterizing the figure of the "consumer" given that consumer protection laws do no always refer to the same recipient. And on the other hand, uniform terminology must be employed since different technical terms (settlement, revoking or rescinding, etc.) are not always used with the same meaning. In addition, the researchers clarified that the institutions involved would have to be regulated according to the same criteria or that differences which exist between some cases and others would have to be justified, thereby eliminating the incoherencies stemming from the sectorization of the treatment of problems which has, for quite some time, caused the overall situation of this legislative branch to be unsustainable, as the legislator himself has recognized.
The members of the UC3M research group who have carried out this national project entitled "Hacia un Código del Consumidor" (Towards a Consumer Code), have analyzed the case of the most relevant institutions in the area of consumer protection in fields such as consumer characterization, advertising and binding commitment, the form of contract, obligations of information, and the right to voluntarily break a contract, among others. Nevertheless, they remarked that they have other areas of research underway in related areas, such as unfair conditions imposed by business owners or the lack of conformity and guarantees in the sale of goods to consumers.
INFORMATION:
A study analyzes consumer protection laws in Spain
2010-09-28
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Quantum physics: Flavors of entanglement
2010-09-28
Entanglement is a fascinating property connecting quantum systems. Albert Einstein called it the "spooky action at a distance". This bizarre coupling can link particles, even if they are located on opposite sides of the galaxy. The strength of their connections is behind the promising quantum computers, the dream machines capable of quick and efficient computations.
The team lead by Rainer Blatt at the Institute of Experimental Physics of the University of Innsbruck has been working very successfully towards the realization of a quantum computer. In their recent study, ...
Medical profession needs special training to handle self-harm, says international review
2010-09-28
Healthcare professionals are still not receiving the appropriate training and support they need to help people who self-harm and this can result in negative attitudes and inadequate levels of care.
Those are the key findings of a research review carried out by mental health specialists from the University of Nottingham, UK, and published in the October issue of the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.
Staff nurse Jo McHale and lecturer Anne Felton studied 19 papers from the UK, Australia, Sweden and Ireland, dating from 1998 to 2009 and covering the views ...
Spaniards choose stable jobs over ones related to their training
2010-09-28
"If you study, you are more likely to get a stable job, even if it doesn't have anything to do with your training". This is the thinking of workers living in Spain, according to a research study by the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), which studied the level of over-education in Spain, Italy and France, and the relationship between this and temporary work.
"This can be explained by the high levels of employment insecurity in Spain in comparison with other European countries", Luis Ortiz, author of the study and a researcher at the UPF, tells SINC.
The study, which has ...
Novel mechanism discovered for communication between proteins that cause 'cell suicide'
2010-09-28
A recent study undertaken by investigators at five research centres, amongst which is the CSIC-University of the Basque Country Biophysics Unit, provides new clues for the understanding of the 'cell suicide' process. The research was published in the latest issue of the prestigious Cell journal.
Our bodies daily eliminate in a controlled manner more than 100 million defective cells, by means of a procedure known as 'cell suicide' or apoptosis. This is a highly complicated process, any imbalances thus arising causing serious diseases, prominent amongst which is cancer. ...
Red light regulates nectar secretion
2010-09-28
Flowering plants produce nectar to attract insect pollinators. Some plant species, such as Lima bean, also secrete nectar from so-called extrafloral nectaries to attract ants which in turn fend off herbivores. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute in Jena, Germany, have discovered that the production of extrafloral nectar is light dependent. They have shown that the plants are able not only to distinguish between day and night, but also to adapt their nectar secretion to current light conditions by using a special photoreceptor, the phytochrome. Phytochrome probably influences ...
Surgery found effective for patients with aggressive prostate cancer
2010-09-28
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- In one of the first studies to focus exclusively on the outcomes after treatment for patients with high-risk prostate cancer,(http://www.mayoclinic.org/prostate-cancer/) researchers have found that surgery provides high survival rates. Collaborating researchers at Mayo Clinic and Fox Chase Cancer Center (http://www.fccc.edu/) in Philadelphia discovered that patients with the most aggressive forms of prostate cancer who had radical prostatectomy procedures had a 10-year cancer-specific survival rate of 92 percent and an overall survival rate of 77 percent.
The ...
Computer model shows US vulnerable to MDR-TB epidemic
2010-09-28
While the U.S. has made great progress in the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis, the nation has become more susceptible to potential epidemics of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), according a study led by Johns Hopkins researchers. Computer simulations show that as TB prevalence falls, the risk for more extensive MDR-TB increases. In addition, the simulation also showed that higher detection of TB cases without proper treatment of cases also increased risk. The study findings are published in the September 22 edition of the journal PLoS ONE. An interactive ...
Study shows patient-specific vaccines for metastatic melanoma may induce durable complete regression
2010-09-28
Newport Beach, CA – September 27, 2010 – Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian recently announced encouraging clinical study results for patient-specific vaccine therapy to treat metastatic melanoma. The study is ongoing, but the report concludes that patient-specific vaccines can sometimes induce durable complete regression of progressing soft-tissue melanoma metastases, as demonstrated in one particular patient who participated in the trial.
The study report, entitled: "Durable Complete Response of Refractory, Progressing, Metastatic Melanoma after Treatment with a ...
Diving deeper into the gene pool
2010-09-28
About ten years ago, the discovery of microRNAs ― tiny cellular molecules that regulate our genetic code ― unlocked a world of scientific possibilities, including a deeper understanding of human disease. One new analytical technology is "deep sequencing," which gives scientists the ability to discover invaluable information about human diseases at a genetic level. Now, Tel Aviv University researchers have developed the cutting-edge technology to better analyze these results.
The software, called miRNAkey, was developed by Roy Ronen as part of a team of researchers ...
Elevated nitrogen and phosphorus still widespread in much of the nation's streams and groundwater
2010-09-28
Elevated concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, nutrients that can negatively impact aquatic ecosystems and human health, have remained the same or increased in many streams and aquifers across the Nation since the early 1990's, according to a new national study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
"This USGS report provides the most comprehensive national-scale assessment to date of nitrogen and phosphorus in our streams and groundwater," said Marcia McNutt, USGS Director. "For years we have known that these same nutrients in high concentrations have resulted in 'dead ...