The Baltic Model for the Settlement of Individual Consumer Disputes

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the possibilities consumers in the Baltic countries have to fulfil their rights in individual consumer disputes by using different forms of alternative dispute resolution. Special attention will be paid to the relation between the existing alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems and the European Commission's Recommendation 1998 on ADR. The main finding is that in all three countries individual disputes are settled by the same consumer authorities which are also protecting consumers' collective interests. The system resembles in many respects the Nordic model but there are some significant differences. These differences give good reason to speak about the "Baltic model," which differs from all systems existing in the EC Member States. The most remarkable difference is the right to impose administrative sanctions if a trader refuses to comply with a decision which a consumer authority has made with respect to an individual consumer dispute. The basic structure of the Baltic model does not clash with the principles of the EC Recommendation on ADR adopted in 1998. On the contrary, in practice the Baltic model gives better guarantees for consumer access to justice in individual disputes than many systems used in the Member States.