Consumer Protection Code wins consumer western for 32 years – 03/14/2023 – Maria Inês Dolci

This March 15th, Consumer Day is celebrated.

On the 11th, the CDC (Consumer Defense Code) completed 32 years of invaluable services provided to citizens.

61 years ago, John Kennedy, then president of the United States, gave a famous speech defending the consumer’s right to safety, information, choice and to be heard. It is not a commercial date, but a triumph over the wild west in consumer relations

We all have criticisms of the political class. But there are great moments in history when, through the articulation of society, deputies and senators, laws were drafted, voted on and approved that changed people’s lives for the better. The CDC is a great example of this.

Each of the consumer rights established by the Code represents the victory of civility over MMA in all types of manufacturing, buying, selling and providing services.

Take, for example, automotive safety. Nine years ago, it became mandatory for brand new cars to leave the factory with dual frontal airbags (driver and passenger) and ABS brakes.

Currently, we don’t even think about it much, but how many lives were saved by this measure?

The ESC (English acronym for Electronic Stability Control) will be a mandatory item from next year on models already launched, on all brand new cars. According to a study by the Institute of Road Safety in the United States, the ESC, by preventing the driver from losing control of the steering, reduces the percentage of fatal accidents by up to 43%.

I mention these achievements because I participated directly in them, in the institutional coordination of a consumer protection entity. And I recognize that these advances would be much more difficult, maybe even take longer, without the CDC and the Procons.

And there is so much more to celebrate.

Article 5 of the CDC, on instruments for the implementation of the National Consumer Relations Policy, includes the creation of Special Small Claims Courts and Specialized Courts for the resolution of consumer disputes. Well then, the Special Civil Courts innovated with the use of mediation, which often resolves a situation of harm to the consumer through negotiation between the parties arbitrated by a judge.

Since July 2021, the Over-Indebtedness Law has instituted the possibility of renegotiating all debts at once. Its creation and entry into force rescued a proposal made in 2012 by the commission of jurists who prepared suggestions for updating the CDC.

There is still a lack of legislation on electronic commerce, also proposed 11 years ago by the aforementioned commission.
Rest assured that, over time, the CDC will adapt to new consumption paradigms, such as sales supported by artificial intelligence, the internet of things, sensors that capture consumer intentions and whatever else influences our lives, as citizens who buy products and services.

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