Conflict Resolution System in Consumer Relations - Regulation of the Administrative Bodies Created by Law No. 26.993

Through Regulatory Decree No. 202/2015 (Official Gazette February 12, 2015), the Executive Branch regulated the administrative agencies created by Law No. 26,993 of the Conflict Resolution System for Consumer Relations (see “Consumer Relations: The Executive Branch Introduced a Bill on Conflict Resolution” in Marval News # 142 dated August 29, 2014) and established the disciplinary regime for conciliators in consumer relations, which is not referred to in this article.

Where applicable, the regulation appointed the Trade Secretariat, which reports directly to the Ministry of Economy and Public Finances, as the enforcement authority of the Mandatory Conciliation Service in Consumer Relations (“COPREC”). This administrative agency shall be in charge of analysing the admissibility of small claims before they are received by the conciliator. In order to comply with its obligations, the COPREC must firstly approve the form (online or in print) where the users and consumers can fill in the information about their claims.

After the form is submitted, the COPREC will verify that (i) the information is duly completed; (ii) the claim is about a consumer relation; (iii) the claim is of individual character; and (iv) the amount does not exceed the equivalent value of 55 index-linked minimum wages, established under the Law (in case of accumulation of claims or joint litigation, each claim will be considered individually for the purpose of the limitation due to the claim amount).

If the claim before the COPREC is allowed, it shall be filed before the conciliator who shall fix a hearing date. The defendant shall be given notice within three (3) days before the hearing. The regulation determined that the procedure shall take place within thirty (30) days; extendable to fifteen (15) days and said period of time shall begin from the date of the mentioned hearing. Once the procedure starts, the interruption of the limitation period of the legal and administrative proceedings occurs. On the other hand, in the event that the claim is rejected by the COPREC, the user or consumer is enabled to continue the claim via the ordinary judicial process.

The conciliators will be able to carry out their duties once they are registered before the National Registry of Consumer Relations Conciliators, which will be established within the framework of the National Office of Mediation and Conflict Resolution Processes of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. The regulation determined that the involved Ministries shall elaborate and enforce, in coordination, the software to facilitate communication between the COPREC and the conciliators, as determined by Law.

As regards the Audit of Consumer Relations, the regulation enabled the Ministry of Economy and Public Finances to call for bids and appoint the Auditors. We assume this service shall become operational in the next few months.

However, the regulation did not comply with Section 22 of the Law, which requires the Executive Branch to establish the integration of the necessary Support Institutions for the development of the Audit assigned tasks. Beyond the vagueness of the Law regarding which would be those Support Institutions, it is wise to consider that the Auditors shall have at least one body of expert witnesses to provide professional advice when the evaluation of the disputed facts requires specialized knowledge on science, arts, industry or any other technical activity.

The regulation established that the Auditor’s Resolution regarding the merits of the case shall be self-sufficient, be written and contain all the background information supporting the ruling. If this regulatory omission persists, the Auditors may decline to exercise their competence on this matter, on the grounds of the complexity of the case as provided by Section 34 of the Law (said Section was not regulated either).

It seems that the regulation per se does not comply with the requests to make the new Conflict Resolution System in Consumer Relations operational, although is a clear step towards its implementation and the Executive Branch shall continue working on this path.