Preliminary Reform Bill of Consumer Protection Law

The project was prepared by a commission from the Argentine Consumer Protection Directorate of the Ministry of Production and Labor's Office, which was complemented with the involvement of the Argentine Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. The idea of a comprehensive reform was based on:

• The subsequent amendments the Consumer Protection Law had undergone since its effective date;
• The new additions made in the Civil and Commercial Code;
• The extensive changes in mass consumption;
• The impact of new technologies; and
• The international legislation and multilateral agreements of which Argentina is part.

The proposal, that means an authentic reform, consists of 186 articles divided into six groups (the current law consists of 66 sections divided into three groups). The legal foundations of the bill that justifies the rules and principles are explained, as well as the legal sources taken into consideration for the drafting of the bill.

Among the diverse innovations included in the draft, we highlight the following:

1. The detail regarding a duty to inform and the incorporation of  concept of information overload, understood as excessive complexity or length of the information provided;
2. The inclusion of a new category of hyper-vulnerable consumers, over whom legal protection is constantly reinforced throughout the bill, leaving the conceptual definition in the hands of the judiciary;
3. The regulation of distance contracts, specifically concerning online platforms, in which the liability exemptions and risk transfer are regulated;
4. The regulation of consumer credit, where duties are imposed on the creditor aiming to prevent consumer over-indebtedness;
5. Regarding class action procedural regulations, in which the standing to sue is broadened and the admissibility requirements are loosely regulated, the bill’s legal grounds make reference to the project presented by Justice 2020;
6. Regarding procedural regulations for individual consumer lawsuits, third parties interventions are now conditioned to the plaintiff’s approval;
7. Legal definition of defective product and service within the framework of lawsuits for damages caused by the abovementioned;
8. The inclusion of the market-share theory, which consists of distributing the liability among the providers accordingly to their participation in the market;
9. Development risk; meaning the risk inherent in developing a product which may be unknown when introduced to the market, is rejected as liability exemption;
10. Punitive damages, in which the standing to sue is loosely regulated and damages may even be granted ex-officio. The judge will allocate the funds. Moreover, securing a payment obligation is explicitly prohibited, and the cap is substantially raised;
11. Counter-advertising, which may be imposed on the infringer that committed deceptive advertising in order to counteract it.

To conclude, we welcome this initiative which aims to position our consumers’ rights legislation on the cutting edge. At the same time, we look forward to a wide-ranging debate in which all the representative voices are heard, so that the Argentine Congress may enact a balanced bill.