Paradigm of ensuring consumer rights to information

Abstract

Background. Consumers that purchase, order or use products that are sold in Ukraine, to meet their personal needs have a right to necessary, accessible, accurate and timely information about the product, its quantity, quality, range, that enables conscious and competent choice, and about its manufacturer (performer, seller). Producer (performer, seller) alone must determine the right amount of information, mindful of its responsibility for the incomplete information provided by law. However, in the current legislation Ukraine there is no single interpretation of the term «necessary, accessible, accurate and timely information», which has certainly a negative impact on consumer protection, as it’s difficult to interpret ambiguous law nature of such information. That is why arises the issue of paradigm of consumer right to obtain information about products due to imperfect legal definition of this category. The right to information guarantees the customer complete, accessible, accurate and timely information about the products. Clarification of the definitions in legislation will allow consumers to fully exercise their right to receive information about products.
The aim of this article is the correlation analysis of the concept of «necessary, accessible, accurate and timely information»about the products and provide recommendations on improvement of legislation of consumer protection.
Materials and methods. Analysis of the current consumer legislation was conducted using formal and logical method that made it possible to detect discrepancies, contradictions and gaps currently existing in Ukraine’s legislation to protect consumer rights to information. The method of sociological research was applied in the characteristics of the ways to ensure adequate consumer protection, establishing laws to protect consumer rights.
Results. The right of citizens to information about the quality of goods is the social and economic rights, its implementation is possible primarily through an appropriate level of material production and social relations in society. The state takes the responsibility to establish for manufacturers specific requirements for the quality of goods and oblige producers and sellers to provide citizens with all the information about the extent of useful and other properties of the products offered to consumers. It exercises it through appropriate laws and the creation of special control over product quality and consumer protection and so on. Consumers that purchase, order or use products that are sold in Ukraine, to meet their personal needs have a right to necessary, accessible, accurate and timely information about the product, its quantity, quality, range, and its manufacturer (performer, seller). Given the fact that consumers aren’t professionals in the commercial sphere and don’t have special knowledge that can help them make a competent choice of products, there is a need for interpretation of the law concepts such as the «necessary information», «accessible information», «accurate information»and «timely information»about the products.
Conclusion. In this study improvements to the legal regulation of relations in this field, the essence of which is specifying definition «necessary, accessible, accurate and timely information about products»were suggested. Given this, it is useful to supplement Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine «On Consumer Rights Protection»with clarification of the meaning of «necessary, accessible, accurate and timely information about the product».