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Enforcement of consumers' rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008

Thesis (LLD (Mercantile Law))--University of Pretoria, 2022.

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Other Authors: Barnard, Jacolien
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Barnard, Jacolien
author_browse Barnard, Jacolien
author_facet Barnard, Jacolien
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (LLD (Mercantile Law))--University of Pretoria, 2022.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
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license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher University of Pretoria
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/88971 Enforcement of consumers' rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 Barnard, Jacolien apotwana@thenct.org.za Van Heerden, C.M. (Corlia) Potwana, Andisa Federal trade commission Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) Consumer enforcement Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Consumers' rights UCTD Thesis (LLD (Mercantile Law))--University of Pretoria, 2022. In the foundational consumer protection policy document, the Draft Green Paper on the Consumer Protection Framework (Green Paper), the South African policymaker proclaimed that a ‘lack of enforcement results in widespread non-compliance with legal provisions, defeating the objectives of regulation.’ Item 22 of the revised United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection (revised UN Guidelines) urges the Member States to develop, strengthen or maintain consumer protection enforcement measures. Although the revised UN Guidelines are a non-binding international soft law instrument, they influence national regulatory regimes. Despite the proclamations in the Green Paper and the revised UN Guidelines, numerous challenges hinder the enforcement of consumers’ rights provided under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA). This thesis is an earnest attempt to identify and analyse all the challenges that impede the enforcement of CPA consumers’ rights and propose solutions to improve the enforcement of these rights. Chapter 1 is the introductory chapter wherein an overview of the legislative framework that governs the enforcement of consumer’s rights and the enforcement mechanisms are discussed. The primary CPA section that provides for the enforcement of consumers’ rights, section 69, and all the entities that may be approached to enforce consumers’ rights are discussed in general terms. This part of the thesis includes the research statement and objectives, the research methodology, the choice of comparative jurisdictions, an overview of each chapter, delineations and limitations, and the referencing technique. In Chapter 2, the numerous challenges faced by consumers who want to enforce their rights are identified through a study of multiple judgements and rulings of the National Consumer Tribunal (Tribunal or NCT) and South African high courts. In addition, an analysis of the legislative enforcement framework and enforcement mechanisms provided in the CPA is conducted. The identified challenges include several legislative drafting anomalies, a lack of clarity about the role and powers of some of the entities responsible for the enforcement of consumers’ rights, and the cumbersome enforcement processes and procedures that hinder the enforcement of consumers’ rights. One of the most critical discussions is whether the primary entity mandated to enforce the CPA, the National Consumer Commission (Commission or the NCC), should investigate individual complaints given its limited resources. To answer this question and discover investigation and enforcement strategies that are not prescribed under the CPA, a focused study on how consumer protection laws are implemented in the United States of America is conducted in Chapter 3. This is a shorter chapter than Chapter 4 wherein a more comprehensive study of the Australian legislative enforcement framework and enforcement mechanisms is conducted. Chapter 5 summarises the challenges that hinder the enforcement of consumers’ rights and proposes measures to improve the enforcement of consumers’ rights. While some proposals seek to rectify legislative drafting errors and lacunae that have been the subject of journal articles and law textbooks, the most innovative recommendations are based on the study of the two comparable jurisdictions discussed in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. Due to the identified challenges’ specificity and the distinctiveness of the necessary interventions, the proposed solutions are discussed under separate headings. The entire discourse is summed up under the final remarks. SEESA Mercantile Law LLD (Mercantile Law) Unrestricted 2023-01-26T07:32:17Z 2023-01-26T07:32:17Z 2022-12-09 2022 Thesis * D2022 https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/88971 en © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle Federal trade commission
Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA)
Consumer enforcement
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Consumers' rights
UCTD
Enforcement of consumers' rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
title Enforcement of consumers' rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
title_full Enforcement of consumers' rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
title_fullStr Enforcement of consumers' rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
title_full_unstemmed Enforcement of consumers' rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
title_short Enforcement of consumers' rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
title_sort enforcement of consumers rights under the consumer protection act 68 of 2008
topic Federal trade commission
Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA)
Consumer enforcement
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Consumers' rights
UCTD
url https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/88971