Extrajudicial Systems For Conflict Resolution: Mediation And Arbitration

Extrajudicial Systems for Conflict Resolution: Mediation and Arbitration

The right of consumption is a right characterized by having competencies in certain fields, such as civil, criminal, commercial and administrative showing in all of them a common element "the consumer" .

It should be taken into account that this right is completed with norms of private law and public law whose purpose isThe entrepreneur and protect the weakest part of the general principles of law in the different fields and affecting these norms at the national, autonomic and local levels .

As a result of the changes that have occurred to our society, it could be said that public authorities have increasingly influenced the protection of consumers and users to guarantee a balance between the entrepreneur and the user since new technologies,Creation of credit and debit cards, globalization, and new elaboration methods have affected most of the population, so that greater legal protection is needed to ensure the needs and interests, since as J said.F Kennedy on March 15, 1962 in Congress on the protection of consumers’ interests: “Consumers, all of us, by definition, represent the most important economic group and have been interested in almost all economic, social decisions, social, social,political and private. His expenses represent two thirds of total economic expenses. However, it constitutes the only group that is not really organized and whose opinion is almost never taken into account.

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Spanish legislation presents, as well as said, the protection of the consumer in different fields and is especially regulated, among others, in the Spanish Constitution and in the Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of November 16, by which it isApproves the consolidated text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users and other complementary laws, which will be discussed below.

The Spanish Constitution, especially in its article 51 whose literal:

1.  Public authorities will guarantee the defense of consumers and users, protecting, through effective procedures, security, health and legitimate economic interests of the same.
2. The public authorities will promote the information and education of consumers and users, will promote their organizations and hear them in issues that may affect those, in the terms established by law.
3. Within the framework of the provisions of the previous sections, the Law will regulate internal trade and the commercial product authorization regime ” .

It is reflected in this article as public authorities will be responsible for ensuring the defense of consumers’ legitimate interests, ensuring regulatory and legislative protection at the state level .

This consumer defense by the State must focus according to Miguel Ángel Larrosa Lover on: “a) the elaboration of effective protection procedures both judicial and administrative and arbitration;b) Promote consumer participation in the protection of their own rights, facilitating their education and information on their rights as well as promoting associationism in this field;and c) hear consumers through their organizations in all those subjects that affect the protection of these interests ."

However, in the third section of the article, it shows the positive part of this, that is, it publicizes the binding content of the rules that emerges from this section;So we could say that a series of obligations are granted to public authorities, which are included in turn in article 38 of the Spanish Constitution, not forgetting the Judiciary, on the one hand, in charge of the application and resolution of theConflicts that may arise and on the other to the Public Administration, which is of special importance, since they are responsible for achieving the objectives and ensuring the general interest, without forgetting that in terms of consumption, the competences are divided between the different public administrations .

For the distribution of the powers of the Public Administrations, articles 148 and 149 of the Spanish Constitution mustCompetence of autonomous communities and vice versa, so that the statutes of autonomy, went to regulate these matters, without forgetting that other matters subject to the right of consumption such as banking, health or transport can also be regulated by the statutes of autonomy .

On the other hand, the Spanish Constitution shows a decentralized State (as stated in article 2 CE), that is, it is divided into autonomous communities, municipalities and provinces, attributing to each of these categories, the power to dispose ofconsumption;But not only these categories, but also guarantees local entities .

That is why the OMIC (Municipal Office of Consumer Information) and the associations of consumers and users in case of dispute can act within their jurisdictional environment .

Apart from the Spanish Constitution, for the regulation of the protection of consumers and users we find the Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of November 16, which approves the consolidated text of the General Law