The Consumer Protection System Formation: Historical and Legal Perspective

Abstract

The paper examines historical and legal aspects of the formation of the consumer protection system. On the basis of a number of provisions of the Laws of Hammurabi and the Laws of Manu, the Digests of Justinian, the author defines the features of protection of the rights of buyers from unfair actions of the seller. Taking into account the analysis of regulatory sources, the author draws a conclusion regarding a set of unsystematic norms and mechanisms and the absence of a consumer protection system. The situation began to change gradually only at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries when special legislation and state and public institutions ensuring consumer rights were developed. Referring to the provisions of the Law of the Russian Federation dated 7 February 1992 No. 2300-1 «On Consumer Rights Protection», the author notes the absence in its structure of special norms aimed at protecting the rights of consumers of financial services, which does not seem quite adequate to the economic relations that are developing in the financial market. According to the results of the study, the author concludes that at the moment there is a new stage in the development of the consumer protection system, involving both the formation of narrow-profile regulation for consumers, depending on which sphere they act as such, and the creation of specialized institutions to protect their rights.