Consumer Rights

When unilaterally closing a customer’s account due to so-called de-risking, the customer’s interests are not only ignored by the bank but their human rights, including respect for his private life and presumption of innocence, are also severely violated De facto, de-risking stigmatizes discarded consumers as being involved in criminal activity without a court conviction. As a result of the unfair account closure, both the consumer's social and psychological integrity can suffer. Their rights to establish and develop relationships with other human beings and the outside world and respect for reputation are put in jeopardy. In order to overcome the above collision of interests, this study proposes a doctrinal assessment of consumer's interests that should limit the bank's right to unilaterally terminate the contract by the systemic and teleological interpretation of regulating rules in combination with the general civil principle of good faith. By analogy with the original...

Under Directive 97/7/EC of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts, consumers buying at online auctions face an uncertain fate. Whilst Article 3(1) excludes contracts concluded at an auction from the scope of this Directive, it does not provide a definition of what an auction is, leading to much legal uncertainty and fragmentation amongst the Member States. The proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights (pDCR), COM (2008) 614 final, responds to the negative effects of fragmentation by the use of full targeted harmonisation. In the area of online auctions, the Proposal recommends amending the distance selling provisions to create a harmonised regime that no longer exclude contracts concluded at an auction from the scope of the Distance Selling Directive, but defines auctions and public auctions respectively in Articles 2(15) and 2(16). For the sales that will fall within the scope of the proposed Directive, traders will have to yield to new inform...

Charitable crowdfunding is a global and rapidly growing new method for raising money to benefit charities and individuals in need. While mass fundraising has existed for more than a hundred years, crowdfunding is distinguishable from those earlier efforts because of its low cost, speed of implementation, and broad reach. Reflecting these advantages, it now accounts annually for billions of dollars raised from tens of millions of donors through hundreds of Internet platforms such as Charidy, Facebook, GoFundMe, and GlobalGiving. Although most charitable crowdfunding campaigns raise only modest amounts, every year several efforts attract tens of millions of dollars in donations. However, charitable crowdfunding also has its downsides. Donors may misunderstand how the beneficiaries will use the funds raised or a campaign that unexpectedly goes viral may overwhelm a small charity or greatly exceed an individual’s needs. There have also been instances of outright fraud, as well as concerns raised about money laundering and terrorist financing.

Existing laws relating to charitable solicitations and charities more generally have either uncertain or limited application to charitable crowdfunding. Broader fraud and money laundering laws may apply to the worst abuses, but these usually criminal statutes are rarely invoked. The challenge faced by government regulators is therefore whether and how to modify existing laws to address the downsides of this new activity without unduly inhibiting the generosity that charitable crowdfunding encourages. This challenge is made more difficult by the lack of information regarding the positive effects as well as the downsides of crowdfunding. Finally, existing scholarship relating to charitable crowdfunding focuses on either the motivations of donors or tax implications instead of addressing this regulatory problem, even as some governments are beginning to develop proposals to address this activity.

This Article fills this gap by reviewing the existing, incomplete information regarding charitable crowdfunding and theories for regulating in the face of uncertainty to develop recommendations for addressing this new and growing phenomenon. Given we know very little about the positive and negative effects of charitable crowdfunding, and given that any harms are likely modest, purely financial, and often readily cured, I recommend that governments should at this time only take two steps. First, governments should require notification of designated beneficiaries to help ensure funds raised reach those beneficiaries. Second, governments should require notification of regulators, but only for the small subset of campaigns that cross a relatively high threshold, to both provide information about the scale and growth of charitable crowdfunding and deter problems with the largest campaigns. Additionally, I disagree with initial steps taken by some governments to impose more comprehensive consent and administration requirements on many or all charitable crowdfunding campaigns because such requirements are unnecessary hindrances on this new and innovative way of encouraging generosity, given there is little evidence of widespread problems and given that any potential harm is almost certainly relatively small and easily remedied if it occurs.

The consumer buying and consumer decision making are complicated paradigms as a result of which external influence needs to be handled within an internal frame of reference which comes from consumer socialization. The present study has been undertaken to have an idea about the extent of utilization of existing knowledge of consumer education and awareness of rights by rural consumers towards FMCG products. An empirical survey among the rural populace was conducted in Kamrup district (rural) among the target consumers in the state of Assam. Altogether 300 consumers belonging to General, SC and ST communities were surveyed and responses availed. It was observed that amongst all the respondents belonging across GEN, ST and SC populace, the rural consumers are having poor awareness in displaying adequate knowledge in consumer education. Although consumers exhibited awareness in some segments of consumer knowledge as explored in the study, the rural consumers need to be much aware in the extent of utilization of existing knowledge of consumer education in their respective purchase decisions.

O presente artigo busca analisar a definição do conceito de consumidor no direito brasileiro, em especial o art. 2º, caput, da lei nº  8.078/90 e sua aplicação ao empresário e à sociedade empresária. Para tanto faz-se a análise das principais teorias, a maximalista, a finalista e a finalista mitigada, esta última, bastante presentes nas últimas decisões do Superior Tribunal de Justiça. O finalismo mitigado passou a ser adotado no referido tribunal como uma interpretação mais madura e de acordo com os princípios do CDC.

The Word “consumer” is a derivative of the Latin word
“Consumere” which means, “to take up totally or to eat’.
The consumer is one who consumes or uses any
commodity or service available to him either from natural
resources or through a market. According to John F.
Kennedy, “Consumer by definition includes every one.
There are the largest economic grope affecting and affected
by almost every public and private economic decision”.
The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 defines the consumer
as ‘one who buys any goods, hires any services or partly
paid and partly promised or under any system of deferred
payment”.

The growth of the quality of digital content market is intrinsically linked to consumer confidence, and the confidence of consumers is rooted in the awareness consumers have regarding their rights in the purchase of digital content. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 recently enacted in the United Kingdom attempts to solve the problem often associated with applying a legal regime set in an analogue era in a digital age. The Act brings together key consumer rights, harmonising existing provisions to give a single approach.
This paper argues that clarity in consumer rights will invariably boost the quality of digital content market hence this paper takes a consumer empowerment approach in regulating digital content. The analysis of digital content and consumer rights in the United Kingdom under Consumer Rights Act will be the benchmark for making recommendations on how an emerging economy like Nigeria can surmount hurdles in advancing its digital economy, especially where digital content and consumer rights are concerned.

This paper aims to provide necessary information about the RA 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines such as:
What is RA 7394?
What are the implementing agencies?
What are the rights of a buyer?
What are the practices of sellers that violate RA 7394?
What are the practices of buyers that violate RA 7394?
HOW A SELLER CAN BE PROTECTED AGAINST FRAUDULENT
COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS OVER THE INTERNET?
HOW A BUYER CAN BE PROTECTED AGAINST FRAUDULENT COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS OVER THE INTERNET?

ABSTRACT 
The issue of consumer rights protection is of the most complex and actual problems of tourism in the modern world. Unfortunately, today this issue also possess the urgency in our country and misunderstandings between tourism companies and customers, violation of consumers' rights during vacation which is considered the most undersireable experience for consumers appear in various forms. Therefore, tourism companies need to pay adequate consideration and care to this subject as well as become aware of the significance of consumer protection in obtaining customer satisfaction.
Appropriately in the research part of master thesis, through descriptive quantitative research that based on structured questionnaries, satisfaction level of local touristic consumers from local tourism companies, their awareness regarding consumer rights and the current situation of consumer rights provision in tourism sectot in our country are revealed properly.
The outcome of the answers related to the customer satisfaction level of local customers from Azerbaijan tourism enterprises signifies that, in spite of the tourism sector started to develop in our country, still there are various complications. In our Republic, the uncertainty of the boundaries of tourism product retailers' responsibilities accross consumers in case of contract terms' violation especially in package tours makes the issue of consumer rights protection more complicated. Meanwhile, like in all other fields the consumers of the tourism products do not have sufficient information on their consumer rights. However, such a result could not be considered acceptable for the country which has a rich nature, favourable geographic position, national traditions, tangible and intangible resources.
The result of this study conducted on consumer rights protection in tourism sector demonstrated that both in terms of development of tourism and consumer rights protection tourism companies should take various liabilities such as provision of clear and true information to consumers about products and services, implemention of marketing activities through considering consumers' interests and rights, strengthening of relationships with partners and customers, clear identfying of the wants and needs of customers and regulating activities in this direction, as
VII 
well as not allowing the violation of the customers' rights by the companies they cooperate, not deviating from the responsibility to restore consumers’ rights, applying the contract clearly describing commitments and responsibilities of tourism enterprises, developing of short time roads to solve consumer complaints. In this issue government in its term should take measures on supplementing a constant control by a sufficient number of qualified employees over tourism product retailers, regulating the punishment of one-sided and misleading contracts, ensuring of favorable condition for consumers' use of right to be heard and etc.
Due to the assessment of the issue of consumer rights protection in tourism sector considering the situation of this issue in our country the recommendations such as estimation of laws related to the consumer rights protection, interpreting together with the applied Consumer Protection Law, Law on Tourism and other laws and elimination of intersection and confusions, precise determining of responsibilities and obligations of tourism products retailers especially regarding package tours, ensuring the awareness of tourism companies about the violation of consumer rights as well as about the applied penalties in case of failure in ensuring consumers' rights, providing new lisence to the tourism enterprises with the expired license due to their ability to solve consumer complaints properly, carrying out the awareness activities among consumers by the interested bodies, accelerating of adaptation works to European Union in terms of protection of touristic consumers might be given.

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Objectives
1. To show how child consumerism has changed over the last two generations to the extent that modern childhoods have become commercialised.
2. To show how the commercialisation of childhood has influenced play patterns
3. To Discuss the implications of this from the perspective of creative development


Method
THE METHODOLOGY UPON WHICH THIS PAPER IS FOUNDED IS LIFE HISTORY RESEARCH.

The study is based on four life histories of Irish Parents who together span the last fifty years of living in Ireland. The age breakdown is as follows; Mother aged 26, Mother aged 36, Mother aged 42, Father aged 52.
Life history research involves the story of a person’s life. It can be set in a particular context and can be analysed in conjunction with other documents that relate to the time period or experience in question. Bloor & Wood (2006) define Life history research as the collection and analysis of past events from eyewitness participants for the purposes of historical reconstruction. The main method of data collection was depth interviews with participants concerning their lives supported with information from documents such as letters and diaries. Other documents were also used to stimulate memory or discourse (Plummer 2001). Examples include photographs, videos, toys and newspapers.
I believe that life history research offers an in depth and detailed method of including socially contextualised qualitative living experiences within a study.

This view of the importance of including living experiences within any study of human situations is underpinned by venerable and highly respected and established social research concepts such as Phenomenology, Ethnography, Hermeneutic Sociology (Dilthey 1998) and Interpretivism (Gubrium & Holstein 1997). It also echoes Weber’s sociologically foundational material on Verstehen or Understanding.

Life history research is a powerful medium of recording a person’s experiences and thereby enriching social understanding of our collective systems. As a process, it sets the person and their story at the centre of the research and as such is a participant empowering methodology. Collecting data on how cultures, systems and policies impact on the lives of people is a very important pillar of social research. It has also proved to be a fascinating journey of discovery, opening up lived experiences in a unique and fascinating way. The insight it affords into the human experience of such cultures, systems and policies is both important and truly rewarding research.

Results
The focus of the original  life history research was creative development through the Irish Education System from 1950’s Ireland to the present day. All participant’s however, spoke richly about their childhood play experiences and how they differ from that of their children’s. The common theme was that the growing influence of consumerism and marketing has impacted massively on children’s play patterns. These stories formed the basis of a thematic analysis on changing play patterns influenced by the increase of direct marketing to young children through a variety of mediums including television, cinema, branding, toys, songs and product lines.

Discussion
The commercialisation of Childhood has now become an internationally recognised phrase (Calvert, 2008). It refers to how the modern child is exposed to pressure from an early age to see themselves as consumers. It is the result of the evolution of childhood into a marketing opportunity. Children are now directly targeted not merely though advertising but also through television programmes such as Fireman Sam, Peppa Pig and Bob the Builder. These shows carry product lines that include not only normative merchandising such as cups, plates, cutlery, bedding, clothing, lunchboxes and so on but also play based merchandising such as dress up clothes, soft toys, character toys, imaginary play equipment and more. A phenomenon that started with Barbie has become increasingly pervasive to the extent that the television story lines are now being recreated during early childhood play sessions where children of previous generations created their own story lines for imaginary play. Where once they played the things they experienced such as house, doctors, school, problem solving and conflict resolution, they are now more likely to play ‘Bella Lasagne’s cat got stuck up a tree’ – A popular Fireman Sam storyline. The issue for creative development is clear. In traditional or real play, a child is using a recreation of a popular story or regular life experience to create a new learning, a new outcome, to problem solve or resolve an emotional or social issue. When recreating a marketed story the learning is inevitably more controlled. The pictures in their head are not their own. The ending of the story is strongly imprinted upon them through the visual nature of its consumption and their freedom to ‘play’ with it to achieve their own innate learning goals is compromised. This is no accident; the ‘story’ as presented is designed to sell to the infant viewer. Its patterns of emotional attachment between the child and the character are a key component in convincing the child that it ‘needs’ the associated product lines. When viewed from the perspective of the real role of play as a learning and processing vehicle for children, the commercialisation of modern play is of grave concern. The right of children to play is enshrined in the Article 44 of the UN Convention on the rights of the child. It is recognised as a learning vehicle for children; a space where they are empowered to work through the problems in their life and creatively solve those problems. Piaget highlighted the centrality of emotional processing within children’s play. Vygotsky laid emphasis on the importance of the child’s imagination in early play where they possess the ability to make a sheet a cape or a stick a doll simply by saying it is so. This intrinsic and important capacity to imagine is a central platform of creative development. It does not, however, suit toy manufacturers. How can one make money from such a concept? Educational Philosophers and play pedagogics may have united in their view of the centrality of the imagination within childhood play but the concept that a good toy is 90% child and 10% toy is the antithesis of toy manufacturing and marketing. Television, electronic games, music videos, social networking sites, the internet, magazines and mobile phones have all provided child marketing companies with the means to infiltrate children’s play. Their motivation is to maximise their opportunities to create consumers with an emotional product attachment. Their real achievement, however, could well be the alteration of thousands of years of human developmental processing with unknown results for adult capacities within creativity and related skills such as problem solving, conflict resolution, emotional processing and interpersonal capacity.
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Ebooks have emerged as one of the popular means of reading, but little is known about how ebook usage by the general public and the ability of public lending libraries to serve their patrons are being constrained by various sociocultural factors such as restrictive licensing agreements that publishers demand. This study identifies the various constraints through the lens of Lessig's four modalities to better understand how the ecosystem of ebooks that includes legal and economic conditions is affected by the modalities. In doing so, this study examines the shift towards the licensing of ebooks and the proprietary schemes of digital rights management with a particular focus on the diminishing capability of public lending libraries to advance the public interest in a democratic society. In the age of licensing, the mission of public libraries as 'equalizing institutions' should be upheld to the fullest.

"...Consumer Complaint Filed with MA AGO on 07/23/2020 – Filed against the Plaintiff – JEANNE D’ARC CREDIT UNION and their retained counsel of record, SANDRA BOULAY, Esq., Principal of BOULAY LAW FIRM, LLC (9 Central Street, Lowell, MA, 01852), who as a matter of record, continue to make false, deceptive and misleading statements when attempting to collect a debt – evidenced violations to the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, M.G.L. c. 93A. These violations have continued for nearly a DECADE, as evidenced by the transcripts associated with this Docket – and most recently in an email exchange between both parties that shows the same patterns of
deceptive conduct – only this time with the intention to deceive multiple government offices/agencies..."

According to a European Commission study, almost 40% of French
consumers believe that they have little or very little protection. Understanding
the performance of consumer protection systems would, therefore,
seem to be a crucial social issue.
In their report, Xavier Gabaix, Augustin Landier and David Thesmar
aim to explain the economic foundations of consumer protection in order
to assess how effective the current protection system is and to propose
measures likely to improve it.
Given the psychological and cognitive biases inherent in household
decision-making, their study reveals that the markets are incapable of protecting
the consumer effectively: it thus proves necessary to develop regulation
to protect the consumer. This report therefore provides six proposals
aimed at improving consumer protection focusing on three key levers for
action: facilitating the consumer’s decision, promoting their effective mobility
and intensifying sanctions to penalise deviant businesses.

Much is spoken and written about the liberal nature of global trade and its relation to democracy and freedoms. Trade representatives of the transatlantic free trade agreement (TAFTA | TTIP) have talked about the importance of the negotiations being transparent, accountable, and participative. However, a number of leaked draft texts of other free trade agreements being negotiated by the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) indicate that these promises are mostly empty. A leaked European Commission (EC) communiqué further evidences an attempt to establish a “mainstream media narrative” about the TAFTA | TTIP in order to reduce the “anxiety” of EU citizens and consumers. This article carefully analyzes the manners in which the negotiations of the TAFTA | TTIP are proving to be untransparent, lacking in participation, and unaccountable. The purpose of these analyses is not merely to present evidence that this is actually the case at hand, but also to clarify why transparency, accountability, and participation are crucial to the negotiations on transatlantic trade. Lastly, the article suggests that the TAFTA | TTIP negotiations learn from the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Marrakesh Treaty, characterized as an "exemplary exercise of transparency, civil society participation, and multilateral cooperation".

SUMARIO: 1. El Derecho del consumidor como expresión de la tutela de la debilidad jurídica. 2. Del consumidor medio al consumidor particularmente débil o hipervulnerable. 3. Los consumidores vulnerables en el derecho nacional. Bases normativas para su protección. 4. Conclusión

Il Codice del Consumo stabilisce una competenza territoriale esclusiva in materia di di controversie relative a contratti tra professionista e consumatore: tale previsione legale è accompagnata dalla sanzione di presunta vessatorietà di un'eventuale clausola contrattuale difforme. Il breve elaborato indaga sulla sussistenza di una possibilità di deroga alla previsione legale.

Объектом исследования является совокупность отношений, возникающих вследствие обращения советских граждан в какую-либо из властных инстанций в рамках официального механизма обращений. Цель исследования: описание и анализ норм и правил, регулирующих правовые отношения в условиях позднесоветского общества, на основании комплексного исследования опыта отстаивания интересов советских граждан в рамках официального механизма обращений граждан в органы власти в период 1960-х – 1970-х гг. Методы: комплексный анализ теоретического и эмпирического материала, представляющего процессы отстаивания интересов гражданами в позднесоветский период. Дизайн исследования определен методом критического дискурс-анализа. Источники информации: 1. отечественная и зарубежная научная литература; 2. нормативные законодательные документы (23 источника); 3. идеологические издания по общим вопросам (57 источников); 4. архивные материалы (150 документов); 5. анализ прессы (220 газетных статей); 6. интервью (9 чел.). Теоретические и практические результаты исследования могут применяться при разработке учебных курсов по истории и социологии советского общества, а также курсов, освещающих особенности правовых отношений и политической коммуникации в советский и постсоветский периоды.

At the beginning of the current problems of tourism, besides the problems experienced by the tourism enterprises, the problems of the consumers also have an important place. Consumers who use tourist products, as well as all goods and services in the market, have various consumer rights. In this context, awareness of consumers and tourism enterprises will reduce consumer problems, which are frequently experienced in tourism, to a minimum level. This article is written about internal tourism and the information that consumers have about the problems and consumer rights most frequently encountered by tourism in Turkey. It is aimed to contribute to the awareness of the consumers as well as various solutions for attracting the attention of the businesses operating in the tourism sector and taking the necessary precautions.

During the last years the content industry is facing a second “Gutenberg revolution”. To meet the new consumers’ demands, in an environment reshaped by new technologies, information and knowledge are reinventing themselves and their business models. This book is an opportunity to stimulate the knowledge and awareness concerning key strategic choices for the future of digital content examining the complex relationship between information security and the law in the context of web services.

Data Activism: Reviving, Extending and Upgrading Critical Citizenship Education and Consumer Rights Movements
Abstract
Considering the omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence of big data as the upgraded big brother, any resistance appears to be in vain. However, pessimistic accounts usually revolve on a model of a citizen as an individual. This atomized version of citizenship underestimates the power of citizens’ social solidarity networks which can be as traditional as nuclear or extended families or as modern as professional organizations and rights movements. However, big data activism and these forms of resistance are rarely connected with each other. In this article, we discuss how to integrate already existing rights organizations with data activism. The following themes are explored for this purpose: Snowden revelations and evolution of state surveillance; digital activism and data activism; and data activism and critical citizenship education. The notion of ‘critical’ citizenship education rather than citizenship education is mobilized in our reflection, since the mainstream, official citizenship education agenda is far from addressing the negative effects of big data and associated double surveillance by the state and corporations. Contrary to a merely theoretical understanding of citizenship, data activism needs to unite its forces with already existing rights movements, including human rights and consumer rights movements as distinguishing components of a critical citizenship. The purpose of this article is to show in what ways citizenship education and consumer rights movements can be integrated and updated within the context of data activism. The introductory section provides the background for the main arguments of the article. The method of this work is critical reflection and a theoretical discussion supported by a survey of a set of relevant research papers. 
Keywords: Big data, surveillance, data activism, critical citizenship education, and consumer rights movement


Veri Eylemciliği: Eleştirel Yurttaşlık Eğitimini ve Tüketici Hakları Hareketlerini Canlandırmak, Genişletmek ve Güncellemek
Öz
Büyük verinin güncellenmiş büyük birader olarak her yerde var oluşu, herşeyi bilişi ve herşeye gücü yetişi düşünüldüğünde, direnmek, boşa kürek çekmek gibi görünüyor. Ancak karamsar açıklamalar genellikle bir birey olarak yurttaş modeli çevresinde dönüyor. Bu atomlaştırılmış yurttaşlık sürümü, yurttaşların sahip olduğu çekirdek ya da geniş aile gibi geleneksel ya da meslek örgütleri ve hak hareketleri gibi çağdaş olabilen toplumsal dayanışma ağlarının gücünü hafife alıyor. Öte yandan, büyük veri eylemciliği ve bu direniş biçimleri birbirleriyle nadir olarak bağlantılandırılıyor. Bu makalede halihazırda var olan hak örgütleri ile veri eylemciliğinin nasıl bütünleştirileceğini tartışmaya açıyoruz. Bu amaçla şu izlekler açımlanıyor: Snowden açıklamaları ve devlet gözetiminin evrimi; dijital eylemcilik ve veri eylemciliği; ve veri eylemciliği ve eleştirel yurttaşlık eğitimi. Düşünümümüzde yurttaşlık eğitimi yerine ‘eleştirel’ bir yurttaşlık eğitimi kavramsallaştırması seferber ediliyor, çünkü ana akım, resmi yurttaşlık eğitimi gündemi, büyük verinin olumsuz etkilerini ve bunlarla ilişkili olan ve devlet ve şirketler eliyle gerçekleştirilen çifte gözetimi ele almaktan uzak. Yurttaşlığın yalnızca kuramsal olan bir kavranışının tersine, veri eylemciliği, eleştirel bir yurttaşlığın ayırt edici öğeleri olarak insan hakları ve tüketici hakları hareketlerini de içermek üzere halihazırda var olan hak hareketleriyle güçlerini birleştirmek durumundadır. Bu makalenin amacı, yurttaşlık eğitimi ile tüketici hakları hareketlerinin veri eylemciliği bağlamında hangi yollardan bütünleştirilebileceği ve güncellebileceğini göstermektir. Giriş bölümü, makalenin ana tartışmalarının arka planını sağlamaktadır. Bu çalışmanın yöntemi, konuyla ilgili çeşitli araştırmaların gözden geçirilmesiyle desteklenen bir eleştirel düşünce üretimi ve kuramsal tartışma biçimindedir.
Anahtar Sözcükler: Büyük veri, gözetim, veri eylemciliği, eleştirel yurttaşlık eğitimi ve tüketici hakları hareketi

The production and consumption of halal meat products, i.e. deriving from Islamic ritual slaughter, have grown steadily over the last 15 years. Today the global halal market is estimated at US $150 billion per year. In this paper I describe the main steps in the integration of ‘Muslim ritual slaughter’ into the national legislation of Western European countries, and present an analysis of the economic and political issues involved. Once the subject of dispute between animal welfare organisations and religious groups, the arguments surrounding slaughter ritual have, more recently, particularly in the aftermath of the BSE crisis, evolved to become an issue of consumer rights. To illustrate this evolution, I examine two specific cases: Switzerland, as a European country, and the UK as a member-state of the European Union.

American lawyers are licensed and regulated by courts, where judges themselves are licensed attorneys.  The article reviews the claims of origin of judicial power to regulate the American legal profession and their legitimacy, as well as the clash that such judicial regulation presents to both the declared goal of regulation of the legal profession and rights of individual attorneys to work independently and to criticize the government, including attorneys' own regulator, the judiciary.

With its recent legislation on consumer ADR and ODR, the European Union (EU) pioneers the creation of a comprehensive out-of-court dispute resolution system for B2C conflicts. The proposed system raises questions as to how consumer rights can and should be efficiently enforced. We propose design principles for efficient consumer rights enforcement systems in Europe and sketch an appropriate judicial model procedure. Against this background, we critique the new EU system: mandatory consumer rights will not be fully enforced; traders will have inefficient behavioral incentives; fundamental due process values will be compromised; an unnecessary, heavily regulated, and costly private enforcement industry needs to be created; access to the courts for consumers will be seriously impaired. Mandatory consumer rights attempt to correct market failure. Such rights should be enforced in streamlined small stakes proceedings by state courts, not by private service providers.

Everyday people's opinions and actions matter to governments and corporations because we are both citizens and consumers. Despite the EU's muted response to the USA's and UK's surveillance scandal, we can deliver a strong response (as citizens and consumers) by carefully selecting which services, goods, and companies we employ. When citizens and consumers voice their opinions clearly and act upon them, governments and corporations respond accordingly - the EU's experience with ACTA last year proves that, without a doubt.

In the construction of commercial transactions, protection of consumers is at the heart of every regulatory intervention. A look at the historical as well as current dimensions in consumer protection reveals that Informational Asymmetry and the problem of “lemons”, nature of financial decisions and outcomes; costs and price dispersion including the need for clarity on high impact commercial terms and conditions as well as behavioural characteristics of Consumers are recurring issues necessitating the regulatory interventions in the protection of consumers.

However, where there is a clear intention to create legal relations, joined with an offer, acceptance of that offer plus adequate consideration, and the presence of the elements of a contract of sale to create a valid contract of sale, should the validity of a commercial transaction be infringed in the face of implied terms directed at protecting the interest of a party to the transaction? Put differently, going by the meaning and application of Implied Terms under the Sale of Goods Act 1893 to a contract of sale, should the law come to the aid of a consumer who has wilfully executed a commercial agreement?

This paper questions the rationale for imposing implied terms on parties to a commercial transaction under the contract of sale of goods where those terms have not been expressly agreed by the parties and to answer the questions above, this paper comparatively examines the implied terms framework under the applicable US and UK laws and draws on a possible pathway for Nigeria.

This paper posits that the protection of the sanctity of contracts, economic growth and stability is not infringed by implied terms and the fact that terms are implied into contracts to protect consumers who ultimately is the “weaker party” is a step that will enhance and ensure a society where consumers can freely engage in commerce without fear knowing that their rights are protected.

In offering insights into the current framework for Consumer protection in Nigeria, this paper concludes that while the need to safeguard the sanctity of contracts is important, the need to protect unwitting consumers and parties in commercial transactions is equally paramount and one should not come at the cost of the other.