Interest as Grounds for Consumer Rights Abuse Classification

Abstract

The abuse of subjective civil right is one of the most difficult legal phenomena to understand, the roots of which go back to the time of Ancient Rome. There is more or less consensus in civil law regarding the criteria for a civil tort, but there is no consensus on the identification of abusive actions. Studying a case of abuse of the right by consumers, the author proves that the key role in solving this problem can be in the interest that determines the aim of all the powers provided for by law for this subject: the satisfaction of personal or family needs. In this context, the ratio of objective and subjective interests, as well as the impact of the process of their implementation on the mechanism of law enforcement, is analyzed in detail. At the same time, it is concluded that interest is not a universal basis for recognizing dishonest behavior as an abuse of the right, i.e. depending on the type of legal relationship and the specifics of the legal status of its participants, the criteria for classifying the abuse of the right may vary. This explains the ongoing long-term discussion about the essence of this phenomenon.