Daño moral colectivo en el derecho del consumo chileno: Situación actual y proyecciones

Abstract

The work presented aims to analyze the current state of moral damages in collective or diffuse procedures resulting from the implementation of Law No. 21,081 that reforms the Consumer Protection Law No. 19,496. We start with a general overview of moral damage, differentiating between individual and collective interests. Later, we assess the modification introduced by article 51 No. 2 of the Consumer Protection Law, which conceptually restructured the origin hypothesis: physical and psychological integrity and the dignity of consumers. The assessment becomes critical due to the legislator’s understanding of legal assets that generate compensation and collective interests, thus concluding that the suitable path, in order to talk of collective non-pecuniary damages - in a more refined sense - can be constructed by an adequate notion of dignity within the context of consumer relations.