M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Working Group for Chapter 28 – Consumer and Health Protection Bilateral screening: Chapter 28 PRESENTATION OF MONTENEGRO Brussels, April 2013

Chapter 28: Consumer and Health Protection Out-of-Court Settlement of Consumer Disputes Maja Golović Advisor The Chamber of Economy of Montenegro M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Contents  Acquis Communautaire  National legislation  Institutional framework  The role and competencies of the Arbitration Board  Further harmonization at legislation  Recommendations Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Relevant Acquis  The EU Commission Recommendation 98/257/EC of 30 March 1998;  The EU Commission Recommendation 2001/310/EC of 4 April 2001;  The European Convention on Human Rights (Article 6). Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

NATIONAL LEGISLATION  The Constitution of Montenegro (,,Official Gazette of Montenegro, 01/07);  Consumer Protection Law (,,Official Gazette of Montenegro’’, 26/07);  The Law on the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro(,,Official Gazette of Montenegro’’, 42/98);  The Statutes of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro (,,Official Gazette of Montenegro’’, 61/09);  The Rulebook of the Arbitration Board for Consmer Dispute Resolution (,,Official Gazette of Montenegro’’, 28/08). Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

NATIONAL LEGISLATION The Constitution of Montenegro(,,Official Gazette of Montenegro’’, 01/07), Article 70 : “The state shall protect consumers. Any action that endangers the health, safety and privacy of consumers shall be prohibited”. The Consumer Protection Law(,,Official Gazette of Montenegro’’, 26/07), Article 97:,,If consumer rights as defined in this law are violated, the out-of-court protection shall be excercised through the Arbitration Board for consumer dispute resolution. The Arbitration Board shall be established at the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro in order to enable peaceful settlement of disputes between traders and consumers (consumer litigation), as an autonomous body independent in its decision-making. THE LAW ON THE CHAMBER OF ECONOMY OF MONTENEGRO (,,Official Gazette of Montenegro’’, 42/98), Article 8:,,The Chamber shall encourage and develop business ethics and consumer protection’’. The Statutes of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro (,,Official Gazette of Montenegro’’, 61/09), Article 68:,,The Arbitration Board for consumer dispute resolution is an autonomous body independent in its decision-making’’. Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

Institutional framework  The Arbitration Board for Consumer Dispute Resolution,Chamber of Economy of Montenegro;  The Ministry of Economy. Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

Arbitration Board for Consumer Dispute Resolution The out-of-court protection shall be ensured through the Arbitration Board at the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro in order to enable peaceful dispute resolution between the traders and consumers. Arbitration Board – formed in (15 consumer complaints resolved since 2009). The Arbitration Board shall have 20 members: - 10 members (representatives of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro) - 10 members ( representatives of the NGOs). The members’ mandate duration– 3 years. The selection of members shall be conducted upon the open competition published in the two print media and the web page of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro. The Commission for selection of members shall publish the list of selected members in the Official Gazette of Montenegro; The President of the Board – at the proposal of the Board members shall be appointed by the representative of the Ministry of Economy. Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

Arbitration Board for Consumer Dispute Resolution Characteristics of the Arbitration Board: -independence (the Arbitration Board consists of three members or an individual arbiter, who shall be independent and impartial); -efficiency (the procedure shall complete within 30 or 60 days in dependance of its complexity); -legality (the decision shall be in writing and reasoned); -small claims procedures(not necessary involvement and legal assistance of a qualified person – a lawyer); -transparency (information on how to start the procedure, the rules of procedure and contacts are available at the Chamber’s web site); - low costs. Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

Arbitration Board for Consumer Dispute Resolution The previous attempt to resolve the dispute (the consumer submits a written request to a trader with the reasoning); The proceeding before the Board shall be initiated by the consumer complaint filed within 30 days of the expiry of the period within which the trader was obliged to respond to the complaint; The Consumer Organization– the complaint to protect collective interest; Attempt to peacefully settle the dispute; Binding decision– res iudicata and enforceable(the trader stated to accept the decision as binding); Recommendation – the trader stated not to accept the decision as binding; The decision shall not affect the consumer’s right to excercise its rights in the regular court proceeding. Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

Arbitration Board for Consumer Dispute Resolution Activities of Arbitration Board for Consumer Dispute Resolution: -organizing training seminars for members of Arbitration Board; -raising public awareness of consumers rights and out of court resolving disputes through media campaigns ( in in cooperation through AIM Project is set 5 billboards about Arbitration Board in Montenegro); -publication of brochures about jurisdiction of Arbitration Board; -competition and a selection of a new members (decision on the appoitment of new members is published in Official Gazette of the Republic Montenegro, No.19/12); -participation in the work of NPCP 2010 – 2012 and NPCP 2012 – 2015; -publication of informations and activities of Arbitration Board in web-site of Chamber of Economy Of Montenegro. Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

Further harmonization of legislation  Draft Law on Consumer Protection (novelties in the out-of-court consumer protection): Article 136: “the procedure before the Board may be initiated by the consumer only”. Article 148: “the complaint for annulment is allowed only against a binding decision, in accordance with this Law”. Article 148, paragraph 2: “parties cannot in advance revoke their right to demand the annulment of the Council’s Decision”. Article 150: “the procedure before the Board shall be free of charge”. Article 150, paragraph 3: “if it is established that the complaint is unfounded or that it represents an abuse of the law, the Board shall order the plaintiff to pay a fee of 20 euros”. Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

Further harmonization of legislation  Draft Rules of Procedure of the Arbitration Board for consumer dispute resolution (novelties): Article 12 - Filing of complaints; Article 13 - Preliminary review of a complaint; Article 16 -The attempt to peacefully settle the dispute; Article 26 - Decision-making; Article 31 - Enforcement Clause; Article 32 - Compensation for work and expenses. Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

Recommendations To improve the system of alternative consumer dispute resolution by establishing the specialized bodies for out- of-court settlement of disputes (such specialized bodies can offer better protection of rights in specific areas of consumer contracts); To raise public awareness of the significance of the out-of- court consumer dispute resolution; To involve experts from certain fields in the work of the Arbitration Board (persons who are not on the list of elected members). Chapter 10: Information society and media M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Chapter 28: CONSUMER AND HEALTH PROTECTION

Thank you for your attention. QUESTIONS