Concept of principles of consumer rights protection

1. Consumer concept

Consumption is an essential part of the law of "supply - demand" in the use of goods and services created and produced to satisfy the needs of society. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a consumer is "a person who buys goods or services for personal use". According to Black's Law Dictionary, a consumer is "a person who buys goods or services for personal, family or household use without the intention of resale, a person who naturally uses the product for personal purposes rather than for business purposes".

Referring to the laws of some countries, the concept of a consumer is also approached as an individual. For example, in the United States, “a consumer is an individual who engages in a transaction primarily for personal or household needs”. In Germany, this concept is clearly explained in the Civil Code 2002 as “any individual who engages in a transaction outside the scope of his or her trade, commerce or profession”. This provision is similar to the concept of a consumer under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 in the UK; accordingly, a consumer is “an individual who acts for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside the scope of his or her trade, business, craft or profession”.

In Vietnam, the concept of consumer was first officially recognized in Article 1 of the Ordinance on Consumer Rights Protection in 1999. And this concept continues to be recognized in the Law on Consumer Rights Protection in 2010. However, in the near future, when the Law on Consumer Rights Protection in 2023 officially comes into effect, the concept of "consumer" will be approached from a more comprehensive perspective, specifically as "a person who buys and uses products, goods, and services for the purposes of consumption and daily life of individuals, families, agencies, organizations, and not for commercial purposes".

2. Concept of principles of consumer rights protection

From the concept of consumers, with the purpose of participating in transactions for "consumption and living", not for business or commercial purposes, it can be seen that consumers will be the "last person" consuming goods and services on the market. Therefore, this is the subject that is (or is) most affected by the quality of goods and services in the supply chain. Currently, both the Law on Consumer Protection of 2010 and the Law on Consumer Protection of 2023 do not provide a concept of what consumer rights are, but are expressed in the form of a list of groups of rights that consumers are guaranteed. However, by giving consumers special priorities, it can be understood that the principle of protecting consumer rights is a policy that ensures the uniformity of consumer rights, contributing to ensuring that consumption becomes civilized and sustainable, while minimizing negative impacts on the environment, economy and society, and requiring entities exercising consumer rights to be responsible for compliance.