Spain
Introduction
Spanish law grants consumers and users enhanced protection to deal with the unbalance between the parties in the relationships entered into between consumers and companies. Article 51 of the Constitution reads as follows:
“1. The public authorities must guarantee the protection of consumers and users, protecting their safety, health, and legitimate economic interests through effective procedures.
“2. The public authorities must inform and educate consumers and users, foster their organizations, and shall be concerned about those issues brought in by consumers which could affect them under the terms which the law shall establish.
“3. Within the framework of the provisions of the above paragraphs, the law will regulate domestic commerce and the system for licensing commercial products.”
Act Number 1/2007, of 16 November, on Consumers and Users Protection (Texto Refundido de la Ley General para la Defensa de Consumidores y Usuarios y otras Leyes complementarias) (the “Consumer Protection Act”), which develops article 51 above, is the most important Spanish law on consumer protection.
However, there also are a number of other special laws and regulations dealing with consumer protection in specific sectors or activities. Numerous Spanish laws and regulations have been enacted as a result of the implementation of European Union (EU) Directives.
Furthermore, as the legislative power is shared between the State and the Autonomous Communities, most of the Autonomous Communities have enacted laws and regulations on consumers’ protection to be applied in their respective territories1 . Indeed, while article 149.1.6 of the Constitution states that Commercial and civil law are subject to State regulation, by virtue of articles 149.1.13 and 149.3 of the Constitution, the Autonomous Communities may enact law and regulation on consumer protection developing and complementing the State law regulation, as long as they have assumed those competences in their respective Basic Act (Estatutos de Autonomía). Therefore, regarding private law, the Autonomous Communities complement the State framework, which is
1 Act Number 13/2003 of 17 December, on defense and protection of the consumers and users of Andalucía; Act Number 16/2006 of 28 December, on defense and protection of the consumers and users of Aragón; Act Number 3/2003 of 12 February, on the Statute of consumers and users of the Autonomous Community of Canarias; Act Number 1/2006 of 7 March, on defense of the consumers and users of Cantabria; Act Number 11/2005 of 15 December, on the Statute of consumers of Castilla-La Mancha; Act Number 11/1998 of 5 December, on defense and protection of the consumers and users of Castilla y León; Act Number 22/2010 of 20 July, on the Catalonian Consumer Code; Act Number 1/2011 of 22 March, on the Statute of consumers of the Autonomous Community of Valencia; Decree Number 44/1995 of 18 April, approving the Statute of the consumers and users of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura; Act Number 12/1984 of 28 December, on the Statute of the consumers and users of the Autonomous Community of Galicia; Act Number 1/1998 of 10 March, on the Statute of the consumers and users of the Autonomous Community of Islas Baleares; Act Number 11/1998 of 9 July, on defense and protection of the consumers and users of Madrid; Act Number 7/2006 of 29 June, on defense and protection of the consumers and users of Navarra; Act Number 6/2003 of 22 December, on the Statute of the consumers and users of País Vasco; Act Number 11/2002 of 2 December, on the consumers and users of the Autonomous Community of Principado de Asturias; and Act Number 4/1996 of 14 June, on the Statute of consumers and users of the Autonomous Community of Murcia.
Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves PereiraBarcelona, Spain - 29 PAGES
In General
In addition to the private law remedies, from the perspective of public law, where a company commits an infraction regulated in the relevant consumer protection administrative regulation, consumers may address the matter directly to the relevant authorities. When claiming before consumer protection governmental bodies, consumers and users may claim to different public administrations, depending on the territorial administrations (estate, autonomous communities, and local councils), and on the type of product or service.
In this regard, consumers may reach the local consumer authorities (Oficina Municipal de Información al Consumidor) or those related to the relevant Autonomous Community (Dirección General de Consumo). These authorities shall deal with the infringer through mediation so that it stops and refrains from carrying out the infringing behavior under the relevant administrative rule. Otherwise, a public sanction may be imposed by the relevant public authority.
In addition, companies are obliged to have Claim Forms (Hojas de Reclamación) available for their customers. Claim Forms can be filled out directly in the commercial establishment of the company providing the product or rendering the service. These forms are conceived as an additional instrument in order to inform consumer authorities of conflicts between companies and consumers. However, as stated in Section 3 above, regarding special regimes, other governmental institutions and agencies will be entitled to solve consumers’ and users’ claims on their relevant fields (i.e., banking, insurance, investment services, and transport). In these cases, claims will be governed by their own terms depending on the pertinent sector regulation.
Criminal Law
Organic Law Number 10/1995 of November 23, on the Criminal Code, protects consumer interests and health. The Code regulates those behaviors that may damage the economic interests of consumers on an individual and a collective level.
On an individual level, articles 248 et
