China News Service, April 9 (Xinhua) The State Council Information Office held a regular policy briefing of the State Council on the 9th to introduce the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Consumer Rights Protection Law of the People's Republic of China". Chen Yifang, president of the First Civil Trial Division of the Supreme People's Court, said at the meeting that the Supreme People's Court is conducting research on issues such as online tipping, online live broadcast marketing, online booking, and consumer personal information protection. The next step will be to release typical cases in a timely manner. Continuously increase judicial protection of consumer rights and interests by formulating judicial policies and other means.
At the meeting, a reporter asked: As the first supporting administrative regulation of the Consumer Protection Law, what impact will the promulgated "Regulations" have on judicial trials? In addition, from what aspects will the Supreme Court make efforts to implement the provisions of the Regulations and strengthen judicial protection of consumer rights and interests?
In this regard, Chen Yifang said that first of all, the "Regulations" further clarifies the rights of consumers and the obligations of operators, which is conducive to creating a good market environment and preventing the occurrence of consumer disputes. Secondly, the "Regulations" smooth channels for complaints and reports and strengthen mediation, which is conducive to building a multi-level and efficient consumer dispute resolution mechanism and promoting the management of litigation sources. Thirdly, the "Regulations" improve systems such as punitive damages, prepaid consumption, and seven-day no-reason returns, providing new judgment basis for the people's courts. Paragraph 1 of Article 49 of the "Regulations" clarifies for the first time that if the labels, logos, instructions, promotional materials, etc. of goods or services have defects that do not affect the quality of the goods or services and will not mislead consumers, the operator shall not be liable for punishment sexual compensation liability, which has important regulatory significance for the People's Court to hear consumer fraud cases.
Chen Yifang introduced that in the next step, the People's Court will make efforts from four aspects to implement the Regulations and strengthen judicial protection of consumer rights and interests:
The first is to speed up the formulation of the "Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Laws in the Trial of Food and Drug Punitive Damage Dispute Cases." The "Regulations" not only protect the rights and interests of consumers, but also punish extortion, which is consistent with the judicial interpretation concept of food and drug punitive damages being formulated by the Supreme People's Court. The draft judicial interpretation clearly supports consumers in safeguarding their rights in accordance with the law, regulates the claims behavior of those who "know fakes and buy fakes", and cracks down on illegal claims such as extortion, so that consumers can consume with confidence and operators can operate with peace of mind.
The second is to improve the prepaid consumption referee rules. Article 22 of the "Regulations" stipulates that operators in prepaid consumption must enter into written contracts, not reduce the quality of goods or services, and return the balance of advance payments. The Supreme People's Court plans to improve the adjudication rules on issues such as the responsible party for prepaid consumption, contract validity, contract termination, refund and interest payment, consumer fraud, etc., to guide operators to operate with integrity and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
The third is to establish a communication and collaboration mechanism with administrative agencies. The "Regulations" improve the law enforcement norms of administrative agencies and the adjudication rules of judicial agencies, creating conditions for strengthening law enforcement and judicial cooperation. The Supreme People's Court is negotiating with the State Administration for Market Regulation and other administrative agencies to establish and improve a long-term mechanism for communication and cooperation. Through information exchange, judicial suggestions, litigation and mediation, etc., a joint force in the rule of law will be formed to ensure that the people can buy, eat and use with confidence. Comfortably create a good legal environment.
The fourth is to give full play to the role of consumer public interest litigation. The Regulations make special provisions for consumer public interest litigation. The Supreme People's Court actively participates in public interest litigation legislation, promotes the improvement of the consumer public interest litigation system, and reduces the cost of consumer rights protection.
Chen Yifang revealed that in addition, the Supreme People's Court is conducting research on issues such as online tipping, online live broadcast marketing, online booking, and consumer personal information protection. The next step will be to continue to increase consumer protection through timely release of typical cases and formulation of judicial policies. judicial protection of investors’ rights and interests.