CONSUMER RIGHTS CONCEPT AND HISTORICAL REVIEW

Abstract

The article aims to establish the concept of consumer rights and the need for protection based on the historical necessity of the origin of consumer rights and the review of the existing legal regulations in Georgia, the European Union and the EU member states. Accordingly, the paper discusses the issues of the origin of consumer rights, their development in the territory of the European Union and the former Soviet Union. In the article, there is a separate review of the current approaches to the concept of consumer and trader in the legislation of the European Union, EU member states and Georgia.

Keywords: Consumer, Trader, Rights, Georgia, European Union, Soviet Union, Concept, Definition

Introduction

Consumer rights protection law is a relatively new and specific direction in private law, the purpose of which is, on the one hand, to protect the rights of the consumer as the “weak side” of a private legal relationship, and on the other hand, to reduce the risks of unfair use of monopoly power by large companies.

Protection of consumer rights is recognized as a priority by the Constitution of Georgia, according to the last sentence of Article 26 (4) of which, “consumer rights are protected by law”. Additionally, on April 4, 2022, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a new law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, which, to some extent, repeats the regulations and spirit of the EU Consumer Rights Protection Directive.

Consequently, the purpose of the paper is to discuss the stages of the origin and development of consumer rights based on the mutual comparison of the experience of the European Union and the former Soviet Union, as well as the necessity of the law for the protection of consumer rights based on the new law of Georgia, to determine the definition of consumer and trader by comparing it with the directives of the European Union and the legislation of the member states of the European Union. At the same time, the topic under discussion is relevant because the law of protection of consumer rights is a constantly evolving field, and defining the concepts of consumer and trader is key to determining the further development and transformation of the law of protection of consumer rights, taking into account the necessity and history of the origin of consumer rights protection.

1.Historical overview

1.1. Origin and development of consumer rights

Consumer rights protection law is a relatively new direction in legal science. Initially, the protection of consumer rights was related to the development of the market economy, and the need to protect consumer rights was due to the danger of abuse of the monopoly position of entrepreneurs in the market.^[1]

The modern understanding of consumer rights originates from the United States President John Kennedy’s address to Congress in 1962,^[2] where the president defined consumers as follows: “Consumers by definition include all of us”.^[3] The further development of consumer rights is mainly related to the European Union. It is true that today the member states of the European Union have almost similar regulations for the protection of consumer rights,^[4] although historically this harmonization has been quite difficult.

The first difficulty was related to the fact that the European Community included countries of completely different families of law, namely the families of common law, Roman law, German law and Scandinavian law.^[5] However, despite this challenge, two important consumer protection programs were implemented by the European Commission between 1975 and 1980.^[6] In particular, the Consumer Protection Program of 1975 provided for five basic consumer rights:

1. right to protection of health and safety;


2. the right to protect economic interests;


3. compensation for damages;


4. right to education (right to receive information);


5. the right to be heard.^[7]

The second serious problem was related to the absence of a common market in the European Union and the existence of different legal regulations in the member states of the Union. The first serious attempt to create a common European market and adopt more or less similar legal regulations was the adoption of the Single European Act by the European Union countries in 1986,^[8] as a result of which the previously existing regulations related to the internal market of the European Union were changed. Although the Act provided for high standards of protection of consumer rights, in practice it was not related to actual results.^[9]

In order to bring closer the economic and political cooperation between the countries of the European Union,^[10] the European Union was established in 1992 by the Maastricht Treaty,^[11] which led to the need to adopt higher standards for the protection of consumer rights.^[12]

One of the decisive agreements in terms of strengthening consumer rights is the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997, on the basis of which the right to receive information acquired a critical weight.^[13]

1.2 Consumer rights in the Soviet Union

In parallel with the European continent, where standards for the protection of consumer rights developed along with the development of the market economy, in the Soviet Union there was a completely different picture. In a centrally planned market, the consumer had no power to protect his rights, as the producer dominated the market and there was a “must buy, easy sell” principle.^[14] In the 1970s and 1980s, when consumer rights programs in Europe debated the five basic consumer rights, the Soviet Union failed to meet even the most basic consumer needs, which subsequently led to the 1990s and 1991 strikes of Siberian miners and Minsk tractor workers.^[15]

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the transition period led to serious risks of violation of consumer rights. For independent Russia, a satisfied customer has become a prerequisite for political stability.^[16] Among the post-Soviet countries, Poland chose the “shock treatment” and “accelerated transition” policy, while Hungary chose the “gradual transition” policy, which had a positive impact on consumer welfare.^[17]

1.3. Harmonization of national legislation with directives and Georgia on the path of harmonization

After the adoption of the common regulations governing consumer rights in the European Union, the issue of implementation of the said regulations in the national legislation by the member states was on the agenda. On this path, member states had two choices - either to extend consumer protection standards to the entire contract law,^[18] or to regulate this area specifically by adopting  new laws.^[19] From this point of view, Germany and the Netherlands chose the first way, making changes to the Civil Code, thereby extending uniform standards to consumer and all “weak” parties of contract law.^[20] In contrast, France and Italy have gone the other way and adopted a separate law (or code) for the protection of consumer rights.^[21]

Unlike European countries, Georgia was a member of the Soviet Union and therefore shared the Soviet legislation. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1996, even before the adoption of the Civil Code, the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights” was adopted in Georgia,^[22] which emphasized the importance of consumer rights protection in Georgia. At a later stage, after the adoption of the Civil Code of Georgia, the rights of the consumer were regulated to some extent by the Civil Code. A clear example of this was the existence of Article 336 of the Civil Code, which regulated the issue of transactions made on the street. In 2012, the Parliament of Georgia adopted the Law of Georgia “On Product Safety and Free Circulation”,^[23] which repealed the 1996 Law of Georgia “On Protection of Consumer Rights”.

Harmonization of Georgia’s consumer rights protection legislation with European standards was greatly influenced by the signing of the Association Agreement between Georgia on the one hand and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their member states on July 27, 2014,  including in the direction of consumer rights.^[24]

Based on Article 26 (4) of the Constitution of Georgia and the Association Agreement with the European Union, Georgia adopted a new law on the protection of consumer rights on March 29, 2022. Therefore, Georgia, like Italy and France, has chosen the way of harmonizing with EU directives through a separate act.

2. The concept of consumer rights and the need to protect them

People’s daily life is unimaginable without purchasing personal items and using services.^[25] At the same time, the purchase of goods and the use of services are in the interests of both sides of these relations, to the extent that they arise from the needs of both parties.^[26] And the relations established between private persons, which are regulated by civil legislation, are based on the principles of equality of persons and freedom of contract.^[27] The principle of freedom of contract, first of all, derives from the principle of private autonomy ^[28] and includes the freedom to conclude and determine the content of a contract.^[29] And the equality of the parties means their ability, as a result of showing their free will, to freely choose a counterparty and establish a private legal relationship with him.^[30] Historically, however, in this type of relationship, the trader has always had the power to pursue his own best interests by limiting the interests of the other party,^[31] and thus he has tended to achieve and maintain a dominant position. At the same time, the consumer is recognized as less knowledgeable, less informed and economically inferior to the producer and trader.^[32] This creates inequality between the parties and puts the consumer in a weak position. Thus, the issue of eliminating the mentioned inequality and ensuring the private autonomy and equality of the parties characteristic of private legal relations arises.

According to Article 10 (2) of the Civil Code of Georgia, “participants of civil legal relations may perform any action not prohibited by law, including those not provided for by law”. Therefore, the Civil Code of Georgia does not give unlimited autonomy/freedom to the parties, but, if necessary, clearly establishes a mandatory rule of conduct through imperative norms.^[33] In such a case, the legislator aims to protect the weak side.^[34]

Based on the above, when one party in private legal relations ^[35] is considered a weak party due to objective or subjective circumstances, the legislator tries to balance the interests of the parties through imperative norms and ensure the private autonomy of the parties and the equality of the parties.

The consumer, in the private legal relations established with the trader, is recognized as a weak party, not only because of the trader’s aspiration and real possibility to be dominant in the relationship, ^[36] but also, first of all, because of the consumer’s lack of awareness.^[37] Accordingly, it is necessary to equalize the mentioned inequality between the parties. In this context, the provision of information at the pre-contractual stage can be a key tool for ensuring equality.^[38] Therefore, the legislator, through imperative norms, imposes on the trader the obligation to provide the consumer with information about the goods and services to be purchased, which is necessary for the consumer to make a free and informed choice.^[39]

According to the Consumer Rights Protection Directive, “This Directive shall apply, under the conditions and to the extent set out in its provisions, to any contract concluded between a trader and a consumer…”.^[40] Article 2 (1) of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights contains a similar regulation, according to which “this law defines General principles of protection of the rights of the consumer who establishes a legal relationship with the trader...”. Therefore, the law of protection of consumer rights is the law regulating the relationship between the consumer and the trader.^[41]

In summary, lack of awareness is one of the main factors causing consumer weakness, as a result of which the consumer is deprived of the opportunity to enter into a transaction with free will and equally influence this process. Thus, the law of protection of consumer rights ensures the realization of the principles of private autonomy and equality of parties,^[42] which are the  foundations of the progress of the market economy and civil stability.

3. Concept of consumer

Based on Georgia’s aspirations for EU membership and the Association Agreement signed with the EU, it is appropriate to consider the regulations of the Consumer Rights Protection Directive and the approaches of the EU member states to this issue.

3.1. The concept of consumer in the European Union Directive

According to the Consumer Protection Directive, a consumer is any natural person “who, in contracts covered by this Directive, is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession”.^[43]

Based on this definition, two - Subjective and functional criteria^[44] must be cumulatively present for a person to be considered a consumer. In particular:

1. The consumer must be a natural person (subjective criterion);


2. and he/she must act for non-professional purposes (functional criterion).^[45]

Moreover, in mixed type of contracts, when a natural person acts partly within the scope of his commercial activity and partly outside of his commercial activity, moreover, the purpose of his commercial activity is limited and not predominant for the purposes of the contract, the person should be considered as a consumer.^[46]

3.2. The concept of the user in the legislation of the member states of the European Union

There are different approaches in the EU member states regarding the definition of consumer. In some countries, the definition of consumer is defined as in the Consumer Rights Directive. For example, according to §13 of the German Civil Code, “a consumer is any natural person who enters into a transaction that does not belong to his business or professional activity”.^[47] In addition, according to German judicial practice, the norms protecting consumer rights, to some extent, also apply to employees who are not self-employed.^[48]

According to the “Patrik vs Pinto” decision of the European Court of Justice, a broad definition of a consumer is unacceptable and should be limited to a natural person only.^[49] This approach is shared, for example, by Germany.

Although the member states of the European Union try to establish as much as possible the same standards in the law of consumer rights,^[50] in the legislation of the member states, there are still different approaches to the concept of the consumer. This is not a violation of the directive, but the law of the European Union itself allows the member states to expand the concept of consumer in the national legislation and include also legal entities and natural persons who are not considered consumers according to Article 2 (1) of the Directive on the protection of consumer rights.^[51] According to another decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is possible for the jurisprudence of the member state to expand the concept of consumer and its protective rules to extend to such entities of law that are not natural persons in the sense of the directive, for example, in Italian law, the association of co-owners.^[52] Under Austrian and Czech law, a legal entity can also be a consumer if it purchases a product or uses a service for non-professional purposes.^[53]  French jurisprudence considers natural and legal persons as consumers if they act with non-professional purposes. For example, a real estate agency that wants to install an alarm system at its workplace and enters into a contract for this is considered a customer.^[54]

3.3. Definition of the Consumer in the legislation of Georgia

“Anyone of us is a customer”.^[55] Similar to the directive on the protection of consumer rights, the legislation of Georgia also shares this approach.

According to the 1996 Law of Georgia “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, “a consumer is a citizen who uses goods/work, services for personal needs, acquires, orders, or has such an intention”. However, today’s legislation in Georgia, like Germany, shares the definition defined by the Consumer Rights Protection Directive, with the difference that the consumer definition in Georgia is given in the Consumer Rights Protection Law, and in Germany - in the Civil Code. According to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, “a consumer is any natural person who is offered or who acquires or subsequently uses goods or services primarily for personal use and not for carrying out a trade, business, professional or other professional activity”.^[56] The Consumer Rights Protection Law of Georgia, like the Consumer Rights Protection Directive, also provides for the case of mixed contracts. In the case of mixed contracts, there are generally four main approaches:

1. They are not considered consumer contracts;


2. They are considered consumer contracts if personal interest prevails;


3. They are considered consumer contracts if personal interest is disputed and unclear;


4. They are considered consumer contracts.^[57]

The legislation of Georgia shares the 2^nd and 3^rd approaches, in particular, “the effect of the law on the protection of consumer rights also applies to such a mixed purpose contract, in which the interest of personal consumption prevails over the commercial interest. Ambiguity related to the priority of interest in the contract should be resolved in favor of the customer”.^[58]

After the implementation of the new law, so far there has been no dispute in court in terms of consumer rights protection, so it is not known how the court will interpret this record of the law. However, in all cases, the explanatory note to the law specifies that state policy promotes “general principles of protection of the rights of an individual who enters into a contractual relationship with a trader...”.^[59] It is clear that, in this context, the adoption of a new law is part of this policy of the state. Therefore, I think in all cases, the court will be limited to expand the concept of consumer too much to include legal entities (eg non-profit legal entities,^[60] small and medium-sized enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises^[61] or non-governmental organizations).

4. The concept of a merchant

4.1. The concept of trader in the European Union

As mentioned above, the law of protection of consumer rights is the law regulating the relationship between the consumer and the trader. Terminologically, in the legal acts of the European Union, next to the customer, there are also other terms (for example, business, seller, service provider, etc.^[62]), which, in fact, perform the function of the strong party of the contract. Due to the objectives of the paper, in this section we will discuss only the definition of the European Union Consumer Rights Protection Directive.

Article 2 (2) of the Consumer Rights Protection Directive defines a trader as “any natural person or any legal person, irrespective of whether privately or publicly owned, who is acting, including through any other person acting in his name or on his behalf, for purposes relating to his trade, business, craft or profession in relation to contracts covered by this Directive”.^[63]

Despite this interpretation of the directive, in case law the court evaluates a number of circumstances. The European Court of Justice in the “Kamenova” case notes that the definition of “trader” is defined more or less identically in the EU Directive 2005/29/ EC and the EU Human Rights Directive.^[64] Accordingly, based on the judicial practice developed based on Directive 2005/29 /EC, in each specific case, the extent to which a specific entity is a trader should be determined based on the following criteria:

1. “Whether the trade is organized or not;


2. Whether trading is intended to make a profit;


3. whether the seller had a legal status that allowed them to engage in commercial activity;


4. Does the party have information about the item for sale, which the customer does not have and which puts him in a more favorable position and other criteria”.^[65]

However, according to the definition of the European Court of Justice, these prerequisites are not exhaustive. Moreover, the court emphasizes that even if one or two criteria are present, it does not automatically mean that a person is a trader.^[66] Thus, according to court practice, a person who is in a stronger position compared to the consumer is considered a trader.

4.2. Concept of trader in Georgian legislation

Georgia’s 1996 Law on Consumer Rights did not provide a definition of trader, instead the law provided definitions of “seller”, “performer”, and “manufacturer”.^[67]

The law in force today, like the Consumer Protection Directive, includes a definition of a trader. In particular, according to Article 4 (h) of this law, a trader is “any natural person, legal entity or association of persons acting within the scope of commercial activity, as well as any other person acting on behalf of or on behalf of a trader”.

Based on this entry in the law, a trader can be a natural person, a legal entity or an association of persons, which operates within the framework of commercial activity.^[68]

Conclusion

Along with the constant development of the world, the new needs of people lead to the need to organize existing relationships in a new way. A clear example of this is the law of protection of consumer rights, which originates from the 1960s and becomes crucial with the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997, according to which the right to receive information assumes a key role in terms of consumer protection. In contrast, in the Soviet Union, consumers did not have even the minimum leverage to protect their rights.

As established, the purpose of consumer protection law is to prevent abuse of market power by companies and to protect the rights of the weaker party in private legal relationships.

As part of the research, it was revealed that Georgia, like France and Italy, chose the way of regulating consumer rights by a separate law, unlike Germany, where consumer rights are regulated by the Civil Code and the concept of consumer is defined more broadly. Within the scope of the study, it was determined that the Consumer Rights Protection Directive sets minimum standards for the protection of consumer rights and empowers member states to protect consumer rights with higher standards.

As a result of the research, different approaches are observed in the EU member states and the consumer rights protection directive regarding the definition of consumer and trader. In this regard, the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights of Georgia shares the regulations of the Directive on the Protection of Consumer Rights. As it turned out, in some cases, the question of whether a particular person is considered a consumer (or a trader) is disputed. I think that in mixed contracts and other disputed cases, the issue should be resolved in the law of protection of consumer rights, taking into account the fundamental principle that the consumer is the “weak side” of the relationship, and the trader is the “strong one”.

Bibliography

Georgian language literature

1. Chachava S., Competition of demands and grounds of demand in private law, Tbilisi, 2010.


2. Chanturia L., General part of civil law, Tbilisi, 2011.


3. Explanatory card on the draft law of Georgia "On protection of consumer rights", <https://info.parliament.ge/file/1/BillReviewContent/113041 > [Last seen: 10.04.2023].


4. Gelashvili I., Chanturia L. (Ed.), Commentary on the Civil Code of Georgia, Book Three, General Part of Obligatory Law, Tbilisi, 2019.


5. German Civil Code, second edited edition, Chechelashvili Z. Translator, Chachanidze E./Darjania T. (ed.), Tbilisi, 2019.


6. Kardava E., Comparative legal review of European standards of consumer rights protection on the example of a contract concluded on the street, Review of Georgian Law, special edition, 2007.


7. Lakerbaya T., The right to reject a contract: a comparative analysis of Georgian and European contract law, Tbilisi, 2016.


8. Lakerbaya T., Zaalishvili V., Zoidze T., Consumer Rights Protection Law, Tbilisi, 2018.

Legislative acts

1. Association Agreement of June 27, 2014 between Georgia, on the one hand, and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Union, on the other hand, and their member states, website, 11/09/2014.


2. Law of Georgia Civil Code of Georgia, Department of the Parliament of Georgia, 31, 24/07/1997.


3. Law of Georgia Code of Product Safety and Free Circulation, Legislative Gazette of Georgia, 25/05/2012.


4. Law of Georgia on Consumer Rights, SSM website, 06/04/20222.


5. Law of Georgia on Protection of Consumer Rights, Parliamentary Office, 007, 30/04/1996, (repealed by the Law of Georgia, - Project Security and Free Circulation Code, Legislative Gazette of Georgia, 25/05/2012).

English speaking

1. Guidance on the interpretation and application of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on consumer rights, Official Journal of the European Union, C 525/1, 2021, <https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX: 52021XC1229(04)&from> [Last seen: 28.042023].


2. Haupt S., An Economic Analysis of Consumer Protection in Contract Law, German Law Journal, Vol. 4, No. 11, 2003, <https://doi.org/10.1017/S2071832200012013> [Last seen: 09.04.2023].


3. Kozminski AK, Consumers in Transition from the Centrally Planned Economy to the Market Economy, Journal of Consumer Policy, Vol. 14, No. 4, 1991.


4. Lakerbaia T., The Right of Withdrawal in European Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Law, No. 1 , Tbilisi, 2014 .


5. Loos M., Full Harmonization as a Regulatory Concept and its Consequences for the National Legal Orders: The Example of the Consumer Rights Directive, Center for the Study of European Contract Law, No. 3, 2010, < https://ssrn.com/ abstract=1639436 > [ Last seen: 15.04.2023].


6. Mendes I., The Development of Portuguese Consumer Law with Special Regard to Conflict Resolution, Journal of Consumer Policy, Vol. 17, No. 1, 1994.


7. Micklitz B., The Necessity of a New Concept for the Further Development of the Consumer Law in the EU, German Law Journal, Vol. 4, No. 10, 2003 .


8. Waddington L., Reading a Duty to Provide Accessible Pre-Contractual Information for Consumers with Disabilities into EU Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Consumer Policy, Vol. 45, No. 2, 2022.

Legislative acts and judicial practice

1. Case C-105/17, Komisia za zashtita na potrebitelite v Evelina Kamenova, [2018] ECR.


2. Case C-105/17, Komisia za zashtita na potrebitelite v Evelina Kamenova , [2018] ECR .


3. Case C-329/19, Condominio di Milano, via Meda v Eurothermo SpA , [2020] ECR .


4. Case C-361/89, Patrice Di Pinto , [1991], ECR.


5. Directive 2011/83/EU of The European Parliament and of The Council of 25 October 2011 , OJ L 304/64 .

Footnotes

[1] Lakerbaia T., The Right of Withdrawal in European Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Law, No. 1, Tbilisi, 2014, 79.

[2] Micklitz B., The Necessity of a New Concept for the Further Development of the Consumer Law in the EU, German Law Journal, Vol. 4, No. 10, 2003, 1043.

[3] Lakerbaia T., The Right of Withdrawal in European Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Law, №1, Tbilisi, 2014, 79.

[4] Lakerbaia T., Zaalishvili V., Zoidze T., Consumer Rights Protection Law, Tbilisi, 2018, 62.

[5] Micklitz B., The Necessity of a New Concept for the Further Development of the Consumer Law in the EU, German Law Journal, Vol. 4, No. 10, 2003, 1043.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Lakerbaia T., The right to reject the contract: a comparative analysis of Georgian and European contract law, Tbilisi, 2016, 30.

[8] Lakerbaia T., Zaalishvili V., Zoidze T., customers rights protection Law, Tbilisi, 2018, 62.

[9] Lakerbaia T., The Right of Withdrawal in European Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Law, №1, Tbilisi, 2014, 80.

[10] Lakerbaia T., of the contract denial Right: Georgian and European contracts of law comparative Analysis, Tbilisi, 2016, 30.

[11] Lakerbaia T., The Right of Withdrawal in European Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Law, №1, Tbilisi, 2014, 80.

[12] Lakerbaia T., of the contract denial Right: Georgian and European contracts of law comparative Analysis, Tbilisi, 2016, 31.

[13] Micklitz B., The Necessity of a New Concept for the Further Development of the Consumer Law in the EU, German Law Journal, Vol. 4, No. 10, 2003, 1043.

[14] Kozminski AK, Consumers in Transition from the Centrally Planned Economy to the Market Economy, Journal of Consumer Policy, Vol. 14, No. 4, 1991, 356.

[15] Ibid., 360.

[16] Ibid., 363.

[17] Kozminski AK, Consumers in Transition from the Centrally Planned Economy to the Market Economy, Journal of Consumer Policy, Vol. 14, No. 4, 1991, 363-366.

[18] Lakerbaia T., of the contract denial Right: Georgian and European contracts of law comparative Analysis, Tbilisi, 2016, 34.

[19] Loos M., Full Harmonization as a Regulatory Concept and its Consequences for the National Legal Orders: The Example of the Consumer Rights Directive, Center for the Study of European Contract Law, No. 3, 2010, 3, <https://ssrn.com/abstract=1639436> [15.04.2023].

[20] Lakerbaia T., Zaalishvili V., Zoidze T., Consumer Rights Protection Law, Tbilisi, 2018, 73.

[21] Loos M., Full Harmonization as a Regulatory Concept and its Consequences for the National Legal Orders: The Example of the Consumer Rights Directive, Center for the Study of European Contract Law, N3, 2010, 3, <https://ssrn. com/abstract=1639436> [15.04.2023].

[22] The Law of Georgia on Protection of Consumer Rights, Parliamentary Office, 007, 30/04/1996, (repealed by the Law of Georgia, - Project Security and Free Circulation Code, Legislative Gazette of Georgia, 25/05/2012).

[23] Law of Georgia Code of Product Safety and Free Circulation, Legislative Gazette of Georgia, 25/05/2012, Article 104 (1) (a).

[24] Association Agreement of 27 June 2014 between Georgia, of the one part, and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the other part, website, 11/09/2014, Annex XXIX.

[25] Lakerbaia T., Zaalishvili V., Zoidze T., customers rights protection Law, Tbilisi , 2018, 107.

[26] Chanturia L., General part of civil law, Tbilisi, 2011, 92.

[27] Law of Georgia Civil Code of Georgia, Department of the Parliament of Georgia, 31, 24/07/1997, Articles 1 and 319 (1).

[28] Chanturia L., general part of civil law, Tbilisi, 2011, 90-91.

[29] Gelashvili I., Chanturia L. (ed.), Commentary on the Civil Code of Georgia, Book Three, General Part of Obligatory Law, Tbilisi, 2019, 55.

[30] Ibid., 54.

[31] Haupt S., An Economic Analysis of Consumer Protection in Contract Law, German Law Journal, Vol. 4, №11, 2003, 1137, <https://doi.org/10.1017/S2071832200012013> [09.04.2023].

[32] Ibid.

[33] Law of Georgia Civil Code of Georgia, Department of the Parliament of Georgia, 31, 24/07/1997, Article 10 (3).

[34] Chachava S., Competition of demands and grounds of demand in private law, Tbilisi, 2010, 8.

[35] Ibid.

[36] Haupt S., An Economic Analysis of Consumer Protection in Contract Law, German Law Journal, Vol. 4, №11, 2003, 1138, <https://doi.org/10.1017/S2071832200012013> [09.04.2023].

[37] Ibid., 1137.

[38] Waddington L., Reading a Duty to Provide Accessible Pre-Contractual Information for Consumers with Disabilities into EU Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Consumer Policy, Vol. 45, №2, 2022, 308.

[39] Mendes I., The Development of Portuguese Consumer Law with Special Regard to Conflict Resolution, Journal of Consumer Policy, Vol. 17, №1, 1994, 115.

[40] Directive 2011/83/EU of The European Parliament and of The Council of 25 October 2011, OJ L 304/64 , Article 3 (1).

[41] Part A.C. of the Explanatory Card on the Draft Law of Georgia "On Protection of Consumer Rights" indicates this, according to which “the draft law regulates the civil legal relations between the consumer and the trader...”.

[42] Chanturia L., General part of civil law, Tbilisi, 2011, 91.

[43] Directive 2011/83/EU of The European Parliament and of The Council of 25 October 2011, OJ L 304/64, Article 2 (1).

[44] Lakerbaia T., The Right of Withdrawal in European Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Law, №1, Tbilisi, 2014, 82.

[45] Guidance on the interpretation and application of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on consumer rights, Official Journal of the European Union, C 525/1, 2021, 6, <https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri= CELEX:52021XC1229(04)&from> [28.042023].

[46] Ibid.

[47] German Civil Code, second edited edition, Chechelashvili Z. Translator, Chachanidze E./Darjania T. (ed.), Tbilisi, 2019, Paragraph 13.

[48] Lakerbaia T., The Right of Withdrawal in European Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Law, №1, Tbilisi, 2014, 84.

[49] Case C-361/89, Patrice Di Pinto, [1991], ECR I-01189; Lakerbaia T., The Right of Withdrawal in European Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Law, №1, Tbilisi, 2014, 83.

[50] Directive 2011/83/EU of The European Parliament and of The Council of 25 October 2011, OJ L 304/64, Article 1.

[51] Guidance on the interpretation and application of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on consumer rights, Official Journal of the European Union, C 525/1, 2021, 6-7, <https://eur- lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021XC1229(04)&from> [28.042023].

[52] Case C-329/19, Condominio di Milano, via Meda v Eurothermo SpA , [2020] ECR , para. 34.

[53] Lakerbaia T., The Right of Withdrawal in European Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Law, №1, Tbilisi, 2014, 83.

[54] Lakerbaia T., Zaalishvili V., Zoidze T., customers rights protection Law, Tbilisi, 2018, 110.

[55] Kardava E., Comparative legal review of European standards for consumer rights protection on the example of a contract concluded on the street, Review of Georgian Law, special edition, 2007, 122.

[56] Law of Georgia on Consumer Rights, 06/04/2022, Article 4 (i).

[57] Lakerbaia T., The Right of Withdrawal in European Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Law, №1, Tbilisi, 2014, 84.

[58] Law of Georgia on Consumer Rights, 06/04/2022, Article (2).

[59] Explanatory card on the Draft Law of Georgia “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, Part A.C., <https://info.parliament.ge/file/1/BillReviewContent/113041 > [10.04.2023].

[60] Lakerbaia T., Zaalishvili V., Zoidze T., customers rights protection Law, Tbilisi, 2018, 111.

[61] Lakerbaia T., The Right of Withdrawal in European Consumer Protection Law, Journal of Law, №1, Tbilisi, 2014, 83 .

[62] Lakerbaia T., Zaalishvili V., Zoidze T., customers rights protection Law, Tbilisi, 2018, 114.

[63] Directive 2011/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011, Article 2 (2).

[64] Case C-105/17, Komisia za zashtita na potrebitelite v Evelina Kamenova, [2018] ECR, para(s). 27-30.

[65] Guidance on the interpretation and application of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on consumer rights, Official Journal of the European Union, C 525/1, 2021, 6, <https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri= CELEX:52021XC1229(04)&from> [28.042023].

[66] Case C-105/17, Komisia za zashtita na potrebitelite v Evelina Kamenova, [2018] ECR , para(s). 27-29, 34-40 and 45; Guidance on the interpretation and application of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on consumer rights, Official Journal of the European Union, C 525/1, 2021, <https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX: 52021XC1229(04)&from> [28.042023].

[67] Law of Georgia on Protection of Consumer Rights, Parliamentary Office, 007, 30/04/1996, (repealed by the Law of Georgia - Draft Security and Free Movement Code, Legislative Gazette of the State Council of Georgia, 25/05/2012).

[68] Law of Georgia on Consumer Rights, 06/04/2022, Article 4 ( g).