Verkhovna Rada adopts new Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Consumer Rights”

Managing Partner of ALARIUS JSC Viktor Surnyk analyzed the innovations adopted on June 10, 2023 by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Consumer Rights” (draft Law No. 6134 of 05.10.2021).

The initiator of the bill was the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. This draft law is European integration.

Ukraine was one of the first countries in the post-Soviet space in 1991 to adopt the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Consumer Rights” (No. 1023-XII). However, on Ukraine's path to European integration, there was a need to adapt the system of consumer protection established in 1991 to European standards and practices.

As indicated in the explanatory note to the draft Law, this legislative act aims to bring national legislation on consumer protection closer to the legislation of the European Union and harmonize the system of consumer protection in Ukraine with the principles, approaches and practices of the EU.

The adopted Law of Ukraine will allow:
- implement EU directives and regulations in the field of consumer protection in the domestic legislative field;
- extend the effect of the Law to the field of food products in terms of economic rights of the consumer;
- define the rights and obligations of consumers in electronic commerce;
- provide for the introduction of a unified state web portal for consumers in the field of e-commerce;
- determine the list of information about the products and the entity that it must provide in the conduct of electronic commerce and the responsibility for the absence of such information, in addition, the responsibility of the entity providing the services of the electronic trading platform (marketplace) to place goods for sale to other business entities.

Indeed, the old version of the Law is “morally” outdated.

Since September 2015, the law ceased to apply to the food sector, which significantly complicated the protection of consumers' rights in this area in terms of their economic rights.

Therefore, one of the novelties of the new Law is to extend its effect on relations between consumers and business entities in the food sector.

Also, the new Law proposes to define the concept of electronic trading platform (marketplace) and electronic product comparison service (price aggregator), regulate their activities at the legislative level and establish a list of mandatory information about the business entity on such sites. And in the absence of all the necessary information that will allow the consumer to identify a specific business entity that sells products on the websites of the marketplace and the price aggregator, it is proposed to establish responsibility.

At the same time, the State Service of Ukraine and Consumer Protection is empowered to take measures to restrict access to websites (unfair electronic trading platforms) — for this the body will have the right to contact the Internet service provider.

Among the innovations, one can also single out the expansion of the rights of public associations of consumers. From now on, a legal opportunity will be created for public associations of consumers to conduct research on the level of quality and safety of goods, works and services in the consumer market. At the same time, such associations are exempted from paying court fees in all courts in cases related to the protection of consumer rights, including in relation to an indefinite circle of consumers.

It is difficult to predict the effectiveness of the new Law in practice, moreover, it still has to be signed by the President of Ukraine before it comes into force. Nevertheless, by adopting the new Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, our country demonstrates its resolute readiness for European integration, in particular, for changes in the legislative field, says Viktor Surnyk, Managing Partner of ALARIUS.

In addition, the novelties of the Law are caused by the transience of technological development and digitalization of social processes in Ukraine, so such changes are designed to “modernize” Ukrainian legislation and keep it up with the times.