ArmInfo. . Armenian authorities seek to establish an effective system for protecting consumer interests in the market and an environment necessary for the development of fair competition and entrepreneurship. At its April 8 meeting, the RA National Assembly Committee on Economic Affairs approved the amendments to the laws "On Consumer Protection" and "On Advertising," submitted by the RA government for the second reading.
Introducing the amendments, RA Deputy Minister of Economy Lilia Sirakanyan noted that the draft laws are expected to fully align provisions related to consumer protection with the four relevant EU Directives, in accordance with the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the European Union. Specifically, the draft law proposes introducing the concept of distance and off-site contracts, defining the requirements for such contracts, the information provided to consumers in connection with them, and the consumer's right and procedure for terminating such contracts.
According to the Deputy Minister, the four directives provided by the draft law concern unfair terms in contracts concluded with consumers, consumer protection in contracts concluded remotely and off-site, misleading advertising and comparisons, and legal remedies for consumer protection in the event of product non-conformity. Specifically, the draft law also defines the types of unfair terms, stipulating that any unfair term in a contract is invalid.
"As a result of the approximation of the directive, consumers will be protected by the fact that sellers and service providers cannot include unfair terms in related contracts, and if they do, they will be considered invalid. As a result of the provisions of the draft law, economic operators must eliminate any such unfair terms," said Lilia Sirakanyan. She also addressed the terms "misleading advertising" and "comparative advertising" and noted that the convergence of the directives had resulted in comprehensive provisions on both terms.
