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Amendments of the Consumer Protection Act will enter into force

13.12.2007

On 12 December 2007, several important amendments of the Consumer Protection Act (the “CPA”) will enter into force. The amendments are mainly related to the prohibition of unfair commercial practices and are based on Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market.

For example, the amendments of the CPA provide that a commercial practice is deemed to be unfair if it is contrary to the requirements of professional diligence of a trader and it materially distorts or is likely to materially distort the economic behavior with regard to a product of an average consumer whom it reaches or to whom it is addressed. The use of unfair commercial practices is prohibited. Furthermore, the amendments inter alia provide that unfair commercial practices are those which are misleading (e.g. consumer is given false information, etc.) and those which are aggressive (e.g. the average consumer's freedom of choice with regard to a specific product is significantly impaired or is likely to significantly impair because of harassment, coercion, etc.).

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