Compensation for damages caused by violation of consumer rights under Vietnamese Civil Law

by writing a letter to the office, calling the hotline number, or filing a complaint through the website of the consumer protection agency.

In some countries such as the UK, France, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand, relevant agencies have also coordinated to establish a consumer protection information portal. This information portal is linked to all local consumer protection agencies and relevant ministries/sectors. Through this electronic portal, consumers can access all relevant management agencies and can also file complaints about all issues when their rights are affected. The complaints will be reviewed, screened by the focal agency for processing or forwarded to the specialized management agency or local consumer protection agency. Member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have also established a cross-border information portal for all consumer protection agencies of their member countries.

3.2.9. Regulations on procedures for dispute resolution in consumer protection issues

The law on consumer rights protection should recognize disputes between consumers and producers and traders as civil disputes. Therefore, in principle, the settlement must comply with the provisions of the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Code. The law on consumer rights protection should clearly stipulate the order and procedures for consumer complaints and note the following issues: (i) clearly stipulate the time limit for complaints and the time limit for complaint settlement. The time for producers and traders to respond to complaints or the time for consumer protection agencies to investigate based on consumer complaints is not counted in the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit (to ensure the right to file a lawsuit of consumers); (ii) when consumer rights are violated, consumers can file a lawsuit in court without the need for a complaint procedure; (iii) stipulate a system of measures to handle administrative, civil and criminal violations (can be referenced) but must be specific and clear.

3.2.10. Improving the capacity of the team of judges

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Along with perfecting the legal provisions on liability for damages caused by violations of consumer rights, it is necessary to improve the capacity of the country's judges. Practice over the past decades has shown that when adjudicating, judges in Vietnam often have the habit of referring to the application of the law, referring to the Code, referring to the instructions of the Supreme Court. Obviously, when adjudicating according to the habit of referring, improving the capacity of judges will encounter many difficulties and, importantly, it is not suitable for the requirements of judicial reform. Therefore, one of the tasks of judicial reform in our country is to improve the capacity of the judges to have a team of good judges, capable of independent thinking and problem detection.

3.2.11. Regulations on state compensation liability

The basic rights of consumers have been recognized by Vietnamese law in Chapter II (from Article 08 to Article 13) of the Ordinance on Protection of Consumer Rights. With the right to information, consumers must be provided with truthful information about products that are legally circulating on the market. In the context of State management deeply intervening in business activities as it is today, ensuring the provision of information to consumers is not only the obligation of business organizations and individuals but also the responsibility of relevant State agencies. However, it seems that current law is only focusing on investigating the responsibility of business organizations and individuals when providing dishonest information to consumers without sanctions and establishing the State's responsibility to compensate, when the person causing damage is the competent authority due to the act of providing false information or not providing information in a timely manner (sometimes withholding information). In fact, there have been many cases of infringement of consumer rights where the violators are competent state agencies. The case of information about shrimp paste containing bacteria causing acute diarrhea, the case of the Ho Chi Minh City Health Department Inspectorate not providing information about soy sauce containing carcinogens

… are typical examples. In the above cases, perhaps due to the lack of a reasonable mechanism, consumers did not speak up to demand compensation from the above agencies and there were no surveys or calculations of the damage that society is suffering. In any case, the right to information of consumers as stipulated by law has been seriously violated.

From the perspective of a progressive civil society, when there is an act of violating the State's management order, people must bear the necessary sanctions. On the contrary, to be fair, the State needs to be responsible to individuals and organizations for acts of violating the law it has established, including acts that violate the legitimate rights of people - consumers. On the other hand, once the State takes responsibility for protecting consumers, it must also be ready to take responsibility to society and each individual consumer if state officials abuse their responsibilities or are irresponsible, causing damage. Therefore, the Law on Consumer Protection being developed in the coming time needs to recognize the responsibility to respect consumer rights not only of business organizations and individuals but also of state agencies, officials and all related organizations. From this responsibility, other legal fields can support the prosecution of violators, including the law on state compensation.

CONCLUDE

The level of development and civilization of some countries is not only assessed by the growth rate of GDP and per capita income but also depends on the value of fairness and the ability to enforce the law. A civilized legal system must prioritize the protection of consumer rights. Perhaps that is why the law on consumer rights is always an indispensable part of the civil and commercial legal system of developed countries and has become an international legal issue.

Protecting consumers is the responsibility of the State as well as everyone in society. Consumers themselves must be responsible for protecting themselves, must have the knowledge to use their money appropriately, must care about people and the surrounding environment, must be vigilant and coordinate with relevant parties in preventing and punishing negative issues in society... Producers and businesses who want to develop steadily must care about consumers, therefore they must listen to consumers, must do the best marketing, must serve consumers well: warranty, repair, guide consumers and receive complaints, compensate consumers. In the world, producers and businesses have established organizations to encourage healthy production and business and with the goal of protecting consumers, such as the BBB (The Better Business Bureau) in the US with hundreds of offices in the country and around the world. The forms of Science and Technology Associations, which gather scientists, technicians, manufacturers, businessmen and consumers into one organization to help manufacturers and businesses do honest business and protect consumers, such as the VINASTAS Association in our country, can be considered an organization in this direction.

In Vietnam, with the concept that consumers are the subjects in civil and commercial transactions, the law always aims to protect fairness and maintain the transparency of contracts that are subject to the regulation of the Civil Code, Commercial Law, etc. In recent years, our State has always paid attention to,

attach importance to perfecting the legal system in general, and regulations on compensation for damages in particular. This issue is of particular concern, especially since we have become an official member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and from the viewpoint: first, damages must be compensated promptly and fully; second, ensuring fairness for those responsible for compensation for damages, contributing to enhancing the responsibility of individuals and organizations in the process of performing their state management functions, especially agencies participating in litigation. It can be said that this is both the goal and the driving force of development, ensuring fairness while also meeting the objective needs of Vietnamese society in the process of integration, building a socialist rule-of-law state, building a socialist-oriented market economy in Vietnam. Consumer protection has truly become an independent legal field and has a significant position in the civil and commercial legal system since the important legal documents regulating this field were born: the 2005 Civil Code, the Ordinance on Consumer Rights Protection issued in 1999 and the Decree guiding its implementation...

Although there have been many efforts in developing and perfecting legal regulations on liability for damages caused by violations of consumer rights, the situation of violations of consumer rights in Vietnam is increasingly serious. Scientists, competent authorities and consumer associations have made many efforts to find and analyze the causes of the above situation such as the indifference of consumers in using legal tools for self-protection, the indifference of responsible agencies, the reality of the team of officials and civil servants applying the law when determining liability for damages is still quite inadequate, the unclear role of consumer protection organizations ... However, the most important cause is attributed to the lack of uniformity and ineffectiveness of the legal system. Legal regulations in this field as well as the application of those regulations have not yet met the practical needs of completeness, consistency, and consistency.

and other requirements of a legal system in a constantly developing society. To address the above situation, the State is trying to upgrade the Ordinance on Consumer Rights Protection to the Law on Consumer Rights Protection. This is necessary to affirm the legal value of this legal field. However, the more important task is that the law must have reasonable content and build an effective enforcement institution. In particular, the law being built needs to overcome the fundamental shortcomings of current documents and be placed in a favorable legal environment to be able to promote its true value.

REFERENCES

Vietnamese

1. Pham Kim Anh (2008), Joint civil liability for compensation for damages in Vietnamese Civil Law , pp. 60-62, 64-65, 78-79, Doctoral thesis in law, Hanoi.

2. Pham Kim Anh (2001), “On the provisions on compensation for damages caused by infringement of honor, dignity and reputation in the Vietnamese Civil Code and directions for improvement”, Journal of Legal Science , (3).

3. Civil Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 1995.

4. Civil Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 2005.

5. Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 1999.

6. Civil Procedure Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 2004.

7. Criminal Procedure Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 2003.

8. Ministry of Trade - Competition Management Department (2006), Handbook on consumer protection , pp. 17-19, 31-37, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi.

9. Ministry of Justice - Institute of Legal Science (2006), Dictionary of Law, Encyclopedia Dictionary Publishing House, Justice Publishing House.

10. Nguyen Van Cuong - Chu Thi Hoa (2005), "Compensation for non-contractual damages", Journal of Legislative Studies , (4).

11. Hoang Chau Giang (2006), “110 questions and answers on compensation for damages”, pp. 52-63, Labor and Social Publishing House, Hanoi.

12. Nguyen Duc Giao (1991), “The relationship between contractual liability and non-contractual liability”, People's Court Magazine , (7).

13. Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 1992 (amended and supplemented in 2001).

14. Le Thieu Hoa (2006), Legal handbook on business and consumer rights protection , pp. 19-20, 216-218, Labor and Social Publishing House, Hanoi.

15. Pham Cong Lac (2005), “60 years of formation and development of Vietnamese civil law”, Democracy and Law Magazine , (9).

16. Commercial Law 2005.

17. Nguyen Van Manh (2007), “Law on public health protection and recommendations for improving consumer protection law”, Journal of Legislative Studies , (105).

18. Decree 55/2008/ND-CP dated April 24, 2008 detailing the Ordinance on consumer rights protection.

19. Resolution 01/2004/NQ-HDTP dated April 28, 2004 of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court guiding the application of a number of provisions of the Civil Code on compensation for non-contractual damages.

20. Resolution 03/2006/NQ-HDTP dated July 8, 2006 of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court guiding the application of a number of provisions of the 2005 Civil Code on compensation for non-contractual damages.

21. Consumer Protection Ordinance 1999.

22. Civil Judgment Enforcement Ordinance 2004.

23. Nguyen Xuan Quang (2005), “Some new points in the 2005 Civil Code”,

Journal of Legal Science , (5).

24. Phung Trung Tap (2005), "Need to perfect the regime of compensation for non-contractual damages in the Draft Civil Code (amended)", State and Law Magazine , Institute of State and Law, (4).

25. Pham Thai (1972), “The issue of compensation for non-contractual damages”, People's Court Journal , (3).

26. Pham Thai (1972), “Some specific cases of compensation for non-contractual damages”, People's Court Journal , (4).

27. Pham Thai (1972), “Calculating damages and determining the level of compensation for non-contractual damages”, People's Court Journal , (5).

28. Circular 173 - Judges' Committee dated March 23, 1972 of the Supreme People's Court guiding the adjudication of compensation for non-contractual damages.

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