Consumer Law in Senegal and Potential Threats to the Welfare of Consumers in the ECOWAS Region

Research Paper (postgraduate) , 2019 , 14 Pages , Grade: 10

Law - Civil / Private, Trade, Anti Trust Law, Business Law

In Senegal, where consumer protection is the subject of legal action given in the Code of consumption, the institutions aim to enforce and to give consumers the means to defend their rights and interests. Despite these measures, however, disappointments and unfair practices are still common.

Thus, with the application of the Common External Tariff of ECOWAS since 1 January 2015, many goods and services circulate more cross-border. Therefore, the Senegalese consumer should be better protected. Hence, the creation of the COUNCIL OF HIGH CONSUMPTION, whose mission is to provide security, because it is necessary to strengthen the coordination of national enforcement authorities and to deal with the risks associated with globalization of
production.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• ABSTRACT
• INTRODUCTION
• CONSUMER LAW IN SENEGAL
• The consumer law is born from the desire to provide the consumer facing professional protection that the law of contracts did not seem sure enough her.3
• Thus, "the use of modern technology in today's societies, development and technical and scientific progress in human life, and also the need of human society in their use, have led to increased level production of goods and services. This remarkable evolution of human society will eventually set up a so-called consumer society. "4
• Thus Thomas Diatta, points out that in this consumer society, there is a category of people called professionals who produce goods and services they offer to another segment of the population called consumers. In the relationship between consumer and professional, he has always been and always raises the question of safety first. According to the author, this question of consumer safety is acute throughout the world, particularly in Africa and Senegal.5
• Thus, Professor Jean-Pascal Chazal, supports the idea to affirm the need to protect the consumer, he calls vulnerable to the professional person.
• According to Chazal, by definition of the word vulnerable means the person or thing that may be injured. In a first direction, the injury (vulnus) is a synonym of wound, bodily injury. But quickly, even in classical Latin, ‟vulnerare” takes a figurative sense. It is used, for example, the damage to public order. Therefore, the vulnerable is one that can be injured in a physical sense but also in the sense imaged, one that is likely to be the victim of an infringement of its heritage, its property, its interests. The consumer seems to be vulnerable under these two senses.6
• The CHAZAL professor, says that the vulnerable person in its consumer business, may suffer bodily injury in connection with the use of defective goods. It may also suffer pecuniary injury, which is the most common case in practice.7So according to Chazal, the idea of potential injury should be preferred here. For if the consumer has to be protected by the law, it is not because he is always injured, but because it is likely to be for the simple reason that defends evil, he is not well equipped to deal with his partner-opponent what the professional.8
• The concept of "consumer safety", or more precisely the consumer's physical security poses enormous problems in his apprehension. Certainly, the words that made up the isolation are not elusive but mostly the term taken as a whole that is difficult to define. For example, to define the concept of consumer, it is important to distinguished it from related concepts such as the user, the user and the client. The user is a person who uses a public service, as opposed to the customer who is the one who uses the services of a private company.9
• In terms of the consumer's definition may be debatable, but when it comes to consumer safety, it is quite clear that the consumer, as protected by consumer law, is the person who is offered or accept a contract offer for a good or service for non-business purposes. All individuals are therefore consumers at a time of day. At night when the baker buys flour to make bread for her children, it becomes consumer. By cons, in the day when he contracts for the purpose of his work, he acts as a professional.10
• So to return to the notion of security, it can be difficult to define, but it must be understood as the state of mind of a person who feels calm and confident. It is feeling well or ill founded, to be free from danger and risk. But here the security word refers to the idea of protection against risks that can threaten the physical integrity of the person.11
• This for when we talk about consumer safety, the aim, not rules that would protect specifically and only the consumer, but the rules concerning the safety of that on which door customer activity.12 Henceforth we will talk protection that is so in fact the safety of these goods and services that the consumer is likely to get.
• To return to the purpose of this, that is what interests us here is the protection of the Senegalese consumer.
• So let us first interested in the geographical position of the Senegalese consumer. As we can see Senegal is a country crossroads (air, sea, road and rail). As such, it constitutes the stop and the bridge transit of most products within the African economic market in general and particularly in the West African economic market. Thus, in this country are meeting a variety of products manufactured locally or imported that are offered to Senegal consumer. And this diversity of products offered to the Senegalese consumer may subject to various risks related to the consumption.
• But be reminded that there is another problem that causes Senegalese consumers to these products at risk. Most Senegalese consumers are not rich. So with the poverty that plagues the Senegalese population, not to mention the economic crisis, are pushing these consumers to lower products cost without worrying about his safety and health. In addition to his carelessness, the Senegalese consumer faces an economy which is heavily dominated by the informal sector. This segment manufactures and distributes products to consumers sometimes in complete disregard of the rules of hygiene and health and safety products.
• Indeed, since independence until today, Senegal in its logic of protection of natural interests of the consumer has taken a series of laws and regulations to protect the health of people in general and especially the consumer. But one can also add health regulations on hygiene and specific texts for certain commodities, reinforce this legal arsenal of control for food safety.13
• So include some examples in texts on:
• The health safety control of foodstuffs is governed in Senegal by a basic law: the 66-48 law of 27 May 1966.
• The Basic Law is supplemented by two decrees of general application, the 68- 507 and 68-508 laws of 7 May 1968.
• The first specifies the import control conditions and measures of practical operating food.
• The second decree treats control procedures, sampling, data entry and analysis in law enforcement fraud.
• For drugs and other pharmaceutical products, there are also texts at this level. Only non-food consumer products and risk products (GMOs) that are yet on the market are not subject to regulation. Parliament seems to have focused on food, drug and pharmaceutical protection at the expense of other products that may also pose risks to the safety and health of the consumer. Next to this legislation, Senegal has set up official services control products.
• In this regard we have:
• The Directorate of Plant Protection Phytosanitary Control by Legislation Division and Quality.
• The Directorate of Oceanography and Fisheries by the (Office of Control of fisheries products and regional fishery services).
• The National Service of Health in connection with the Ministry of Commerce (Division of Consumer Affairs and Quality).
• Thus, with such a device we realize that the security of Senegalese consumer is not fully guaranteed. So, to protect consumer safety, Senegal has put in place mechanisms for prevention and management of risks related to consumption. This means that safety must be considered in all its entirety. Senegalese Consumers should also be framed in their contracts with professional requiring security there14. Although the basic law, decrees and provisions on pharmaceutical drugs and specialties, there is some prevention and risk management with the control enactment and criminal or administrative sanctions as mentioned above, but it should recognize that this device is still insufficient. For, it may be noted that the major problem of Senegal today is the enactment of the Consumer Code or a law on general product safety is lacking.
• The organization of the United Nations esteem in the guidelines "that governments should develop or maintain a strong consumer protection policy of drawing guidelines that aim to meet the legitimate needs below:
• "Protection of consumers against risks to theirhealth and safety; Promotion and protection of economic interests of consumers; Consumer access to the information needed to make an informed choice 'according to their wishes and needs; Consumer education 'notably concerning the socio-economic impact and environmental choices they make; Possibility for consumers to obtain effective redress; The right to form groups and consumer organizations and other relevant groups and possibility 'for these organizations' to assert their views in decisions affecting them; Promotion of sustainable consumption patterns. 15 "
• For the United Nations Organization "Governments should provide or maintain adequate infrastructure to develop and implement consumer protection policy and monitor its implementation. It is important to ensure particularly that the consumer protection measures are implemented to the benefit of all sectors of the population including the rural population and the poor. "16
• So consumer protection must remain a key concern for regulators.
• In fact, the regulated operators are required to observe a strong work ethic and oriented towards satisfying the needs of consumers.
• However, despite this gloomy diagnosis of the current state of Senegalese legislation, necessary to remember that the Senegalese consumer is not totally defenseless against risks that products may present for the 2002-23 was law in Article 5 has the same regulatory body is responsible for handling disputes between consumers and traders and that it must: "(...) act either as a peacemaker is to decide disputes between the licensing authority and dealers between companies in regulated sectors and between those airlines and consumers "17
• Note also, in case of realization of risks and damages are suffered by a consumer, "one can assume that it can engage the responsibility of the manufacturer or distributor on the basis of common law and even to some extent that of the state. Civil law, criminal law, administrative law and EU law would be a great contribution to the protection of consumer safety. This protection goes far beyond the scope of consumer law. "18
• "In view of the provisions of Law 2002-23, we have in Senegal essentially ten bodies that have a comparable mission to a mission control whether horizontal or sectoral, and in various fields such as: telecommunications and mail, electricity, water, consumer markets, broadcasting, public procurement, transport, oil and gas, and infrastructure19. "
• Thus, between theory and practice, the gap is still deep and all organs do not play efficiently their role of protecting the interests of Senegalese consumers.
• WHAT POTENTIAL THREATS TO THE WELFARE OF CONSUMERS IN THE ECOWAS REGION
• Indeed, the situation of consumers with respect to community integration and globalization that knows the world in recent years is really worrying in regard to potential threats to the welfare of consumers in ECOWAS member countries. Thus, in the case of Senegal, is a country fully integrated into the market economy. Today, regional integration shows that Senegal is part of community organizations at the sub regional and regional or continental level (WAEMU, ECOWAS, OHADA African Union). But let us interested especially on the two community areas namely UEMOA and ECOWAS, including Senegal made figure of economic power. Then, as in most community spaces, the free movement of goods and services is generally lavished. So, this is what will make the Senegalese consumer to be in direct contact with products from another country of the space where may be the observation of product security rules do not meet the standards. Like so said Thomas Diatta, in these two areas, there are not to our knowledge a policy to protect the safety of consumers as is the case in the European Community area20. But recently in November 2018, the workshop, which opened in Ouagadougou, had as main objective the strengthening of consumer protection mechanism in Africa in general, and within the Community in particular. To do this, during the work, the participants from the ECOWAS member countries have approved the
• In most of the cases, the requirement of consumer safety is seen as a ratification the fundamental rights of consumers in the safety and health. But it should be noted that there's few studies that examine the issue of consumer safety in the least developed countries (LDCs), particularly those who specialize in this area in the countries of Africa if was to make the comparison in particular with studies that focus primarily on the West.
• This for the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) has as main objective to allow some clarity, modernity and transparency in relation to the understanding, practice and the judicial application of the law business.
• In the words of Thomas Diatta, which claims that:
• ‟Through the uniform acts of OHADA heard intervene in commercial law, corporate law, collective procedures, the sales law, transportation law, labor law, accounting law and enforcement procedures . This is fundamentally a right of African economic affairs. Thus one may wonder if there is a consumer protector and especially one that would protect their safety in this fundamentally economic law. Business law is closely linked to that of consumption, is consumer protection in the field of sovereignty of member states or OHODA? If it is the responsibility of OHADA, what is done to ensure consumer protection, since there is little or almost no legal framework at Member State level? These observations are also valid for the UEMOA and ECOWAS22.”
• Indeed, Thomas Diatta, shows his concern by questioning the very existence of a law that would protect consumer safety, especially the Senegalese consumer at the OHODA but also valid for UEMOA and ECOWAS. Since their main objectives is the development of trade in the sub-region and intends trade, we necessarily expect to see the important role that consumers play so it is crucial that these community organizations can reflect on protection
• Because according to Ngom, "the common competition policy in the space of ECOWAS must contribute directly to the welfare of consumers, because people promoting providing them with a plurality of similar products, competitive or substitutable. It should also benefit companies that will grow their customer base and innovate, thereby increasing their competitiveness. "23
• It is in this context that this last workshop of ECOWAS held in Ouagadougou has been highly anticipated for the validation of the Community regulatory framework project developed according to the UN guide to consumer protection and the representatives of the designation mechanism consumer associations and sensitizing them to the platform and be able to use it.
• So this is to suggest, firstly, a more suitable environment for activities of independent organizations working for the protection of consumer rights and are regularly the cause of actions to inform and protect consumers we are and, secondly, a mechanism for consumer associations in the region to be represented in the organs of the regional quality infrastructure. According to him, the development of this framework comes into line with the quality policy of ECOWAS (Ecoqual) adopted in 2013 by the Heads of State and Government. Also, it aims to ensure the economic competitiveness of the region through the provision of quality goods and services and world-class, and the appropriate consumer protection and environmental conservation24.
• FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
• Even though Senegal has established an outstanding device for the protection of consumers, we realize that the security of the Senegalese consumer is not fully guaranteed.
• However, faced with the increasing vulnerability of consumers from advanced technology and business skills, information and consumer protection should be strengthened more than ever.
• It is also necessary to have information comparable, reliable and easy to use (especially in cross), to collect reliable data on how the market serves the interests of consumers, empowering advocacy organizations consumers, particularly in some member countries, and to improve information and educational tools used. He also recalled the need to strengthen the rights of consumers, particularly in a cross border context.

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This work aims to assess the strengths and weaknesses of consumer protection in Senegal, considering the challenges posed by globalization and regional integration, particularly within the ECOWAS framework. The author examines the legal framework in Senegal, identifying both the existing protective measures and the gaps in consumer safety regulations. The analysis highlights the potential threats to consumer welfare arising from the free movement of goods and services within the ECOWAS region, emphasizing the need for a robust and harmonized approach to consumer protection across member states.

• Consumer vulnerability in the face of globalization and regional integration
• Legal framework for consumer protection in Senegal
• Potential threats to consumer welfare in the ECOWAS region
• Importance of harmonized consumer protection policies within ECOWAS
• Role of information and education in empowering consumers

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The introduction sets the context by discussing the importance of the digital economy in Senegal's development strategy, specifically within the framework of the Senegal Emergent Plan (PSE). It highlights the significance of consumer protection in this context, emphasizing the need to safeguard consumer interests in the face of growing globalization.

The first chapter focuses on consumer law in Senegal. It analyzes the legal framework in place, exploring its strengths and weaknesses. The chapter examines the historical development of consumer protection in Senegal, discusses the key legal instruments, and addresses the challenges of implementing effective consumer safety measures in a country with a high informal sector and a significant portion of the population living in poverty.

The second chapter explores the potential threats to consumer welfare within the ECOWAS region. It delves into the challenges of harmonizing consumer protection policies across member states and discusses the need for a more robust approach to safeguarding consumer interests in a context of increasing cross-border trade.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This work focuses on the intersection of consumer law, regional integration, and globalization, specifically within the context of Senegal and the ECOWAS region. Key themes include consumer protection, consumer rights, consumer safety, globalization, regional integration, and the ECOWAS regulatory framework. The analysis emphasizes the importance of harmonized consumer protection policies and the need to address the challenges of ensuring consumer well-being in a globalized marketplace.

• Course: DROIT ECONOMIQUE
• Grade: 10
• Authors: Jean Karim Coly (Author), Luis Alexandre Winter Carta (Author)
• Publication Year: 2019
• Pages: 14
• Catalog Number: V590787
• ISBN (eBook): 9783346194886
• ISBN (Book): 9783346194893
• Language: English
• Tags: Consumer, Law, ECOWAS, Security, Senegalese.