Law on Protection of Consumer Rights, No. 59/2010/QH12

SOME NEW POINTS OF THE LAW ON PROTECTION OF CONSUMER RIGHTS

On November 30, 2010, the President issued the Order formally announcing the Law on Protection of Customer Rights (Law) No. 59/2010/QH12 passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 8th session on November 17, 2010.

Compared to previous regulations on protection of consumer rights, this Law includes some advanced and prominent points and what is the most attracted one that Law regulates prohibited behaviors in consumer right protection.

In particular, prohibiting goods or service trader makes deceitful or misleading advertisements or conceal information or provide incomplete, untruthful or inaccurate information; harass consumers through goods or service marketing against consumers’ will for 2 or more times or commits an act that obstructs or affects the normal work or day-to-day activities of consumers; forces consumers.

Besides, in order to overcome disadvantages in the Ordinance on consumer right protection in 1999 on controlling model contracts and general transaction conditions, the Law requires that A trader of goods or services on the Prime Minister’s list of essential goods and services shall register its model contract and general transaction conditions with a competent state agency in charge of consumer right protection. A competent state agency in charge of consumer right protection may, itself or at the request of consumers, request a goods or service trader to cancel or modify its model contract or general transaction conditions when detecting such contract or conditions infringe upon consumer rights.

The Law also includes 01 Chapter regulating settlement of disputes between consumers and goods and service traders, including negotiation; mediation; arbitration; court. Especially, a consumer is obliged to provide evidence and prove in a civil case to protect his/her legitimate rights and interests under the law on civil procedures, except proving faults of a goods or service trader.