critical and comparative study of "consumer's right protectionlaw" in iran, withunited nations...

8/12/2019 Critical and Comparative Study of "Consumer's Right ProtectionLaw" in Iran, withUnited Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection.

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LAW MANTRATHINK BEYOND OTHERS(National Monthly Journal, I.S.S.N 2321 6417)

Critical and Comparative Study of

"Consumer's Right ProtectionLaw" in Iran, withUnited

Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection

Abstract

Emergence of consumer right in the business application has brought about significant

evolution in today's market as well as formation of consumer protection. Utilizing such

protection requires accurate conception of consumer behavior paradigm and application of

proper marketing strategies. In today's world preservation of society health and consumer

benefits are in government duty and responsibility, above all authority. The consumers are

being oppressed due to unawareness of their fundamental rights as well as they are ignorant

about the potential of available legal remedies. To furnish the consumer forums with

appropriate enforcement and paraphernalia for consumer protection in all consumer related

matters from food and health to pecuniary contracts and establishment of adequate redress

mechanisms should be one of the main objectives of any government. In Iran, the significant

of consumer protection was on the focus of attention in the recent years, which "consumers

right protection law"approved by 15-sep-2008.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the adaption among the concepts regarding consumer

rights under the legal framework of Iran. This paper will also point out the factors which are

mentioned in consumer protection law in the UNguidelines for consumer protection to

declare some improvement to the current stage of Iran's consumer protection.

Key words: Consumer, Manufacturer, Protection, Decision Making.

Introduction

In the traditional and agricultural economic that production and consumption of goods were

restricted to the household and there were not an independent group named "consumer",

protection and defense of their benefits did not have sense. However, after industrial

revolution and formation of a group that named "Consumer", gently protection of consumer


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against manufacturers and sellers became a social and political and essential

requirement. The main goal of applying consumer protection policy is prevention

of usage of harmful goods and services that threatened the society health (Haghighi, 2004,

55-56).In Iran, the significant of consumer protection was on the focus of attention in the

recent years, which "consumers right protection law" approved by 15-sep-2008, in Iran's

Islamic parliament.

Consumer protection is laws designed to aid retail consumers of goods and services that have

been improperly manufactured, delivered, performed, handled, or described (Dictionary of

Marketing, 2014). Conversely, it is efforts to ensure that products purchased by consumers

are safe to use, will meet all express or implied performance standards, that consumers will

have adequate information to make safe purchase and use decisions, that marketers are

prevented from using fraudulent methods to sell their products, and that marketers compete

fairly in the marketplace. To achieve their objectives, consumer protection advocates,

including individual consumers, government agencies and businesses, use federal and state

legislation, class action lawsuits, organized consumer actions like boycotts, and mass media

tools like local newspaper. Consumerism is Public concern over the rights of consumers, the

quality of consumer goods, and the honesty of advertising.This ideology is social phenomenal

that protection of consumers against unhealthy products and fraudulent suppliers are

necessary (Pearson, 2000, pp. 94-95, 212, 382) and emphasis in quality, safety and

information content of goods and services required by the consumer in the market (Statt,

1999, pp. 30-31). In today's world, some unions, associations, groups and consumer centers

are responsible for consumer protection.countries according to their economical, political,

social and cultural condition and interaction with the developments of external environment,

formulate a proper mechanism for establishing unions, groups, centers, governmental and

nongovernmental associations to protect consumers and thereby, through increasing the

whole consumer satisfaction improve the influence of governance. The following figure

shows the legal literature studies in Iran on the subject of consumer protection.

Figure 1- the legal literaturestudies in Iran on the subject of consumer protection.

Author /

ResearcherResearch Outcome

Hussein Saleki, Book: Protecting of The first book in Iran which had a legal


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Author /

Researcher Research Outcome

1986. Consumer Rights review on consumer protection.

Hadi Esmailzadeh,

1995.

Book: a Look at Consumer

Rights

Present the first Pattern of consumer

protection which approved by the

Council of Ministers.

Heshmat Allahe

Samavati, 1995.

Book: Business Competition

and its Role in Policy-making

and Market Regulation.

Assessing the general aspects of

business competition law and mention

one of the main goals in this law is

returning the lost consumer rights.

Taghi Ramezani,

1999.

Dissertation: Criminal

Protection in Consumer

Rights: Comparative Study in

France Criminal Law.

A comparative study in the consumer

protection right in two countries.

Abdol Hamid

Shams, 2002.Book: The Deregulation

The term of deregulation in initial

impression imagine forming some

action in order to reduce the rules but

this behavior is not necessarily mean

reducing quantities of laws: it means

preservation and reinforcement current

laws.

Ahmad

Bagherzadeh,

2002.

Book: Market, Government,

Consumer Rights.

Describe the duty and role of market

and government in the consumer rights.

Nasr Allah

Ebrahimi, 2004.

Article: The Responsibility of

Producing Defective Goods

Description the responsibilities and the

factors of protection.


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Author /

Researcher Research Outcome

and Protection of Consumers.

According to the above researches, The Main purpose of consumer protection will categories

as follow:

-

Consumer weakness:the relationship among professionals (suppliers) and consumers

are naturally disequilibrium. Professional competencies, information ownership and

often the financial solvency allowed the supplier to impose things upon consumer.

- Legal duty to protect the weak: the law task is to protect weak against strong. If

people in a community are always in misuse of powers, living in that community

would not Possible. Law in protecting the weak tends to create a peaceful society.

That is because protection of consumer is concerned.

- Disability of classical private law in consumer protection:civil laws are unable to

guarantee consumer protection because the solutions of civil law are often containing

litigation in the court, which should be done individually after the contract and after

its implementation (Ramezani, 1999).

Consumer Bill of Rights

Before the mid-twentieth century, consumers had limited rights with regard to their

interaction with products and commercial producers. Consumers had limited ground on

which to defend themselves against faulty or defective products, or against misleading or

deceptive advertising methods (Smith, 1995).

The consumer movement began to gather a following, pushing for increased rights and legal

protection against malicious business practices. By the end of the 1950s, legal product

liability had been established in which an aggrieved party need only prove injury by use of a

product, rather than bearing the burden of proof of corporate negligence.

On March 15, 1962, John F. Kennedy presented a speech to the United States Congress in

which he extolled four basic consumer rights. This right states that businesses should always

provide consumers with enough appropriate information to make intelligent and informed


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product choices. Product information provided by a business should always be

complete and truthful. These rights include as follow:

-

The right to safety: The assertion of this right is aimed at the defense of consumers

against injuries caused by products other than automobile vehicles, and implies that

products should cause no harm to their users if such use is executed as prescribed.

- The right to be informed:This right states that businesses should always provide

consumers with enough appropriate information to make intelligent and informed

product choices. Product information provided by a business should always be

complete and truthful. Aiming to achieve protection against misleading information in

the areas of financing, advertising, labeling, and packaging.

- The right to choose: The right to free choice among product offerings states that

consumers should have a variety of options provided by different companies fromwhich to choose.

- The right to be heard:This right asserts the ability of consumers to voice complaints

and concerns about a product in order to have the issue handled efficiently and

responsively.

The United Nations through the "United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection"

expanded these into eight rights (1998):

-

The right to satisfaction of basic needs:This right demands that people have access

to basic, essential goods and services: adequate food, clothing, shelter, health care,

education, public utilities, water, and sanitation.

-

The right to redress:The right to redress provides for consumers to receive a fair

settlement of just claims, including compensation for misrepresentation, shoddy

goods, or unsatisfactory services. For example, a consumer should be able to go to

consumer court against mobile phone companies that put hidden charges on the bill

that were not previously explained, or activate ringtones without the consumer's

permission.

-

The right to consumer education: The right to consumer education states that

consumers should be able to acquire knowledge and skills needed to make informed,

confident choices about goods and services, while being aware of basic consumer

rights and responsibilities and how to act on them.


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-

The right to a healthy environment: This is the right to live and work in

an environment that is non-threatening to the well-being of present and future

generations.

Consumer Protection Laws in Iran: acomparative approach

There are three laws concerning protection of consumer rights and following with their own

establishment under the authority of Iran's Ministry of commerce: (1)consumers right

protection law, (2) the law of loyal punishment and (3) the law of guild system. Figure 2

shows recognized consumer rights in each law and compare them with each other.

Figure2- Comparative Study of Consumer Protection Laws in Iran

Recognized Consumer Rights

in consumers right protection law of Iran

The Law of

Loyal

Punishment

The Law of

Guild

System

Rights to acquire safely

goods and services

Guarantee the accuracy and

safely of goods* *

Manufacture in accordance with

standards* *

Goods in compliance with the

specification stated* *

Compensation for damages

caused by defects* *

Provide guarantees * *

Supply of required spare parts * *

Right to required

information

Providing any information,

including instructions and

catalogs

- -

Stated unit price of goods and

installation of them* *

Providing invoice * *

Right to acquisition of

goods

No hoarding * -

Refrain from deceptive auctions

and vague award offer- -


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Figure2- Comparative Study of Consumer Protection Laws in Iran

Recognized Consumer Rightsin consumers right protection law of Iran

The Law of

Loyal

Punishment

The Law of

Guild

System

Right to have government

support

Prohibit conspiracy of suppliers

from supply reduction or product

quality to impose inappropriate

price

* -

Prohibit false and misleading

advertisements* *

* The right observes.

- The right do not observes.

The figure above shows that the laws of loyal punishment and guild system have some

imperfections in rights like providing any information, including instructions and catalogs, no

hoarding, refrain from deceptive auctions and vague award offer and prohibit conspiracy of

suppliers from supply reduction or product quality to impose inappropriate price. Therefore,

there is acceptable universality in the consumers right protection law of Iran toward the twoprior laws.

UN guidelines for consumer protection:a comparative approach

Taking into account the interests and needs of consumers in all countries, particularly those

indeveloping countries; recognizing that consumers often face imbalances in economic terms,

educational levels and bargaining power; and bearing in mind that consumers should have the

right of access to non-hazardous products, as well as the right to promote just, equitable and

sustainable economic and social development and environmental protection, UN guidelines

for consumer protection have the following objectives:

-

To assist countries in achieving or maintaining adequate protection for their

population as consumers;

-

To facilitate production and distribution patterns responsive to the needs and desires

of consumers;


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-

To encourage high levels of ethical conduct for those engaged in the

production and distribution of goods and services to consumers;

-

To assist countries in curbing abusive business practices by all enterprises at the

national and international levels which adversely affect consumers;

-

To facilitate the development of independent consumer groups;

- To further international cooperation in the field of consumer protection;

- To encourage the development of market conditions which provide consumers with

greater choice at lower prices;

- To promote sustainable consumption.

The following figure shows the recognized consumer rights according to the UN guideline of

consumer protection and its relation with the consumer's right protection law of Iran and its

enforcement. As could be seen, there are some main difference in focusing consumers'

requirements to create sustainable and loyal consumption.

Figure3- Comparative Study of Consumer Protection Laws in Iran and UN Guideline


in UNguideline of consumer protection

Consumers

Right

Protection

Law of Iran

Iran's

Enforcement

Physical safety

Adaption to standards and maintenance of

safety* *

Prohibition of supplying unsafe goods by

distributors* *

Notify unforeseen hazards of product(after

placement on the market) to consumers and

ensure that consumer are properly informed

* -

Recall, replace, modify or substitute

defective products - -

Promotion and

protection of

Achieve the goals ofsatisfactory production

andperformance

standards,adequatedistribution methods,fair

- -


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Consumers

Right

Protection

Law of Iran

Iran's

Enforcement

consumers'

economic

interest

business practices,informative

marketingandeffective protection against

practices

prevent practices which are damaging to the

economic interests of consumers * *

Clear the responsibility of the producer to

ensure that goods meetreasonable demands

of durability, utility and reliability, and are

suited to the purpose for which they are

intended

* *

Encourage fair and effective competition in

order to provide consumers with the greatestrange of choice among products and services

at the lowest cost

- -

adequate availability of reliableafter-sales

service and spare parts* -

protected from such contractual abuses * *

Promotional marketing and sales practices

should be guided by the principle of fair

treatment of consumers and should meet

legal requirements

* *

Participate in the free flow of accurate

information on all aspects of consumer

products.

* *


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Consumers

Right

Protection

Law of Iran

Iran's

Enforcement

Consumer access to accurate

informationabout the environmental impact

of products and services should be

encouraged

- *

The development of appropriate advertising

codes andstandards for the regulation and

verification of environmental claims should

be encouraged.

- -

Standards forthe safety and

quality of

consumer goods

and services

Formulate or promote the elaboration and

implementation of standards, voluntary and

other, at the national and international levels

for the safety and quality of goods and

services and give them appropriate publicity

* *

National standards and regulations for

product safety and quality should be

reviewed from time to time

* *

Where a standard lower than the generally

accepted international standard is

beingappliedbecause of local economic

conditions, every effort should be made to

raise that standard as soon as possible

- -

Distribution

facilities for

essential

consumer goods

and services

Ensure the efficient distribution of goods

and services- *

Encouraging the establishment of consumer

cooperatives and related trading activities- *


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Consumers

Right

Protection

Law of Iran

Iran's

Enforcement

Measuresenabli

ngconsumers to

obtain redress

Enable consumers or, as appropriate,

relevant organizations to obtain redress

through formal or informal procedures that

are expeditious, fair, inexpensive and

accessible

* *

encourage all enterprises to resolveconsumer

disputes in a fair,expeditious and informal

manner, and to establish voluntary

mechanisms, including advisory services

and informal complaints procedures, which

can provide assistance to consumers

- *

Information on available redress and other

dispute-resolving procedures should bemade available to consumers

- *

Education and

information

programs

develop or encourage the development of

general consumer education and information

programsin both rural and urban areas,

including low-income consumers and those

with low or non-existent literacy level

- -

Consumer education should, where

appropriate, become an integral part of the

basic curriculum of the educational system,

preferably as a component of existing

subjects

- -

encourage consumer organizations and other

interested groups, including the media, to- -


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Consumers

Right

Protection

Law of Iran

Iran's

Enforcement

municipality

)

Safely manage environmentally harmful - -

Promote awareness of the health-related

benefits of sustainable consumption- -

Encourage the transformation of sustainable

consumption patterns through the

development and use of new

environmentally sound products and

services and new technologies, including

information and communication

technologies, that can meet consumer needs

while reducing pollution and depletion ofnatural resources

- -

Promote research on consumer behavior

related to environmental damage in order to

identify ways to make consumption patterns

more sustainable

- -

Measures

relating to

specific areas

Give priority to areas of essential concern

for the health of the consumer, such as food

security, water and pharmaceuticals

* *

International

cooperation

Develop or strengthen information links

regarding products which have been banned,

withdrawn or severely restricted in order to

* *


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Consumers

Right

Protection

Law of Iran

Iran's

Enforcement

enable other importing countries to protect

themselves adequately against the harmful

effects of such products.

Quality of products, and information relating

to such products, does not vary from country

to country in a way that would have

detrimental effects on consumers

* *

* The right observes / execute.

- The right do not observes/execute.

Conclusion:

A critical approach to consumers' right protection law of Iran

According to this study and observation of researchers, approaches of protection in Iran aremore skew to manufacturing dimension. Therefore, enforcement of consumer's right

protection law is not under the authority of one individual organization, but governmental

organization with the mission of protecting the manufacturer are protecting consumer

simultaneously;this structural weakness would create a diversification toward consumer

protection goal approach.By considering the two comparative studies, there are three laws

which following different goals or in some criteria, parallel direction by the different

enforcements (Organizations), would causes consumer ambiguity. Nether of the laws on

domain of consumer protection are comprehensive to protect in detail the consumer rights.

In some cases, observed that there were some activities which applying and that did not

predict in the laws, which shows, the Iran's consumer protection laws should updated with the

new needs of society.Considering the goals of UN guideline for consumer protection, the

Iran's promotion is more considers the mitigation of consumption against sustainable


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consumption: and this conditional decision could be the consequences of

endogenous economicstrategies.

As could be seen in the comparative study of consumers right protection law of Iran and UN

guideline, there were numerous dimensions which do not considers directly in Iran's law. For

instance, it does not focus on educational aspects: Consumer education and information

programs should cover such important aspects of consumer protection as the following (UN,

2003):

-

Health, nutrition, prevention of food-borne diseases and foodadulteration;

-

Product hazards;

- Product labeling;

- Relevant legislation, how to obtain redress, and agencies and organizations for

consumer protection;-

Information on weights and measures, prices, quality, credit conditions and

availability of basic necessities;

- Environmental protection; and

-

Efficient use of materials, energy and water

The whole issues that mentioned in this research, shows the improvement points which needs

more consideration for promoting consumer protection more seriously in Iran. Consumer

generally is weak and the law task is to protect the weak against strong (supplier).

By:-

Mehrdad HassanZadeh Dugoori

Distinguished Professor: Faculty Member of Islamic Azad University Central Tehran

Branch (IAU) Tehran, Iran

Iman Mohammadali Tajrishi

Docterial Student in Marketing: Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch

(IAU), and Project Management Office (PMO) of Pars Oil and Gas Company Tehran,

Iran

critical and comparative study of "consumer's right protectionlaw" in iran, withunited nations...

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