Consumer Law in Bangladesh:
An overview
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Consumers in Bangladesh very often have to suffer from unsafe and poor-quality products which are no longer fit for purpose after usage soon after purchase and are sometimes life-threatening. A number of cases have recently come to light in which consumers have bought fake, poor quality and/or goods ranging from vegetables sprayed with pesticides, cosmetics containing toxic chemicals and fake medicines. The problem of formalin, a toxic disinfectant and preservative, in fruits and vegetables has been an endemic problem of recent years, especially in the cities.
Even though until 2009, a unified consumer act did not exist, a huge number of laws could be attributed as forming the legal regime in the field of consumer protection regulating different goods and services in Bangladesh. A list of the major pieces of legislation containing provisions relating to the protection of the consumer interest, arranged in an alphabetical order, is given in Table I. However, there was no unified and effective machinery for the enforcement of these legislative measures until 2009 and thus the consumers did not enjoy statutory rights to seek redress of their grievances arising out of the violation of the provisions of these laws.
onsumer protection is a vital, but often ignored, issue in developing countries, and Bangladesh is no exception. Specially, in a country like Bangladesh, with the densest population in the world and a rapidly growing consumer-base, protection measures for consumers are of paramount importance. Globalisation and liberalisation of trade and business has resulted in many products and services being available to the consumers. Growth in economy has resulted in increase in the purchasing power of the many segments of the population. This has necessitated giving high priority for the protection of the consumers and promotion of responsible consumer movement in Bangladesh.
Consumer protection, in the broader sense, refers to the laws and regulations that ensure fair interaction between service providers and consumers. Government intervention and regulation in the area of consumer protection are justified on the basis of inherent information asymmetries and power imbalances in markets, with producers or service providers having more information about the product or service than the consumers. A consumer protection framework generally includes the introduction of greater transparency and awareness about the goods and services, promotion of competition in the marketplace, prevention of fraud, education of customers, and elimination of unfair practices.
Prior to the 1950s, the consumers had little protection in the global marketplace. Thereafter, the issue of protracting consumer rights started getting significance in different countries of the world. On March 15, 1962, President John F. Kennedy put forth the "Consumer Bill of Rights" to help consumers understand their rights and responsibilities. In 1985, eight basic consumer rights were adopted by the United Nations' Assembly, which resulted in consumers having stronger consumer protection policies worldwide. March 15 is now declared as World Consumer Rights Day. By the end of the 20th century, the issue of consumer rights protection became almost like a movement all over the world. However, in Bangladesh the Consumer Rights Protection Act, 2009 was passed by the Government of Bangladesh in April 2009 to ensure consumer protection by realizing consumer’s right to quality goods and services at fair prices.
Current legal regime:
By Saqeb Mahbub and Arafat Hosen Khan
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