Consumer Safety Flashcards
Rationale behind consumer safety
When the consumer buys a product, there is not only the expectation that they conform to the contract and are of a satisfactory quality but also that they’re safe and not dangerous
> 2 fold measures to this problem: 1) product liability which is ex post protection - compensatory to the consumer
2) consumer safety - ex ante approach, protects consumers from defective products by imposing safety standards on the traders
What is the 2 fold test to consumer safety?
1) horizontal legislation: general requirements set by the legislator of ‘safety’
2) vertical legislation: more sector specific, deals with more dangerous products to make sure that the producer goes beyond merely rendering the product “safe”
Examples of horizontal legislation
e. g. General horizontal safety requirement directive 2001/95/EEC
- Chemicals: restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparation 76/769/EEC as amended
- packaging: Classification, Packaging and Labelling of dangerous substances (67/548/EEC)
- 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste
-and classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations 1995/45/EC
Horizontal legislation - Cassie De Dijon
Rationale behind horizontal legislation was consumer safety in the internal market and the functioning of the internal market
- case was about French liquor production company who was banned from exporting their fruit liquor to Germany because it didn’t meet the German safety requirements and Germany wanted to keep their consumers safe. Think it had too much alcohol in. Even though some restrictions to the free movement of goods could be justified this could not, and it established the principle of mutual recognition for the free movement of goods
The restriction to the free movement was prohibited even though they went against national safety rules in Germany
Vertical legislation
More sector specific for more dangerous products like
- batteries could explode
- kids toys
- cosmetics
- Fibres in clothes
Horizontal rules are what?
General rules so we look at the consequences
The EU legislator was becoming what?
Not a legislator anymore but just setting technical standards regulated by experts in each sector
What is the new approach?
Each of the instruments have a characteristic and set some general aspects but then delegate the setting of the standard to a third party like the CEN in Europe
- if a product is sold on the market it is presumed to be in compliance with those standards and safe
= 2 tiers of implementation - the legislators and then the expert based bodies
Drummond Rees v Dorset CC
Guilty of supplying an unsafe product when he let out a holiday home (landlord) with unsafe electrical wiring
Southwark LBC v Charlesworth
Guilty of supply when selling electric fires in the course of business - course of business is not as narrowly construed in criminal law as it is in civil - consequences for consumers?
