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Currently, business activity in the market economy, strongly influenced by globalization and technological advancements, along with mass consumption, has changed the patterns of supply and contracting for products and services. This transformation has increased the traditional imbalance between suppliers of products and services and consumers, favoring the former and frequently compromising consumers' economic interests. These changes are evident both during the contracting phase for goods and services and in the preceding phase of advertising and information about offers, and even afterward. Among many other harmful practices, the following have been identified:
a) Capturing consumer decisions with supply models that do not fully give consumers the right to information (concealment of information, false information, etc.).
b) Price setting not through free competition, but through deals between competitors in the market (agreements to alter the price).
c) Commercial practices and use of advertising and contracting techniques through ICTs that violate the freedom of disposal of assets of consumers.
d) Use of abusive contracting techniques, based on concealing product information, terms and conditions, or the final price, generally through the unilateral imposition of conditions by the supplier. This is increasingly occurring within a framework of remote supplier-consumer relationships, with a technological intermediary, generating aggressive commercial practices that affect consumers' freedom to dispose of their assets. This should be considered an interest that receives more comprehensive and effective criminal protection than that currently provided by the Criminal Code. Therefore, the project aims to achieve the following goals:
1. To analyze the suitability of criminal law as an instrument for protecting consumers' economic interests, and to define the scope of intervention. To this end:
a) Some criminal offenses that aim to protect consumer interests, as well as the types of punitive reactions, will be reviewed on a critical basis.
b) It will be determined what type of techniques, categories and legal-penal institutions allow criminal law to be more effective in its protective function.
c) And, where appropriate, the incorporation of new criminal offenses will be proposed, the content of which relates to the violation of regulations protecting the economic rights of consumers.
2. To propose a possible systematic model for protecting the economic interests of consumers, as is the case with other groups. This will require:
a) Explore the possibilities of consolidating consumer groups as holders of a legal asset that protects their economic rights.
b) Identify and define the legal interest that would protect these rights. Ultimately, the research aims to analyze whether consumers' economic interests are better protected and, based on a new legal interest to which consumers would be entitled, whether it is necessary to introduce new, systematically grouped criminal offenses that would come into play before any individual consumer's assets are harmed. [/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=»Abstract» tab_id=»abstract»][vc_column_text]
Currently the business in the market economy, strongly marked by globalization and technological advances, together with the massification of consumption, have changed the guidelines in supply and procurement of products and services. Such a transformation has increased the traditional imbalance between suppliers of products and services, and consumers in favor of the first, often compromising economic interests of consumers. These changes were noted both in the phase of procurement of goods and services and in the initial phase of advertising and information offerings, and even later. Among other many harmful practices are detected as follows: (a) Win of decisions of consumption with supply models which do not give fullness to the right to information which corresponds to the consumers (concealment of information, misinformation, etc.). (b) Determination of prices, not through free competition, but through commitments among the own competitors in the market (agreements to alter the price). (c) Commercial practices and techniques of advertising and recruitment through ICTs that violate the freedom of choice of consumers. (d) Use of abusive techniques in procurement, based on concealment of information of the product, conditions or price end, usually by unilateral of contractual conditions imposition by the supplier. All of this develops increasingly in a context of relationships between suppliers and consumers at a distance, with technological intermediaries, generating aggressive commercial practices affecting the rights of consumers. The freedom of choice of consumers must be erected in a main interest, that should receive a more global and efficient criminal protection than it currently provides the Penal Code. Therefore, the project aims to achieve the following objectives: 1st. Analyze the adequacy of the criminal law as an instrument of protection of economic interests of consumers, as well as define the stage of the intervention. To do this: (a) It will be reviewed on a critical basis some offenses that would be intended to protect the interests of consumers, as well as the kinds of punitive reactions. b) It will be determined what kind of legal institutes, categories and techniques allow criminal law to be more effective in their protective function. c) And, if necessary, it will propose the incorporation of new criminal offenses whose content sees about the infringement of protective standards of the economic rights of consumers. 2nd. Raise a possible model of systematic protection of the economic interests of consumers, as it is the case with other groups. To do this we will try: (a) Exploring possibilities for the consolidation of the consumers as holders of a legal collective that protects their economic rights. b) Identify and delimit the legal interest that would protect these rights. Ultimately, the research work aims to analyze if there are better protected economic interests of consumers, and based on a new legal interest, which would be consumers, and if necessary introduce new criminal offenses systematically grouped, and which came into the game until the individual assets of any of them were injured.
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