Commission Report (2002): Czech Republic

• Progress since the last Regular Report
• Overall assessment
• Conclusion

Chapter 23: Consumers and health protection

Progress since the last Regular Report

Good progress has been made since last year`s Regular Report with the adoption of a number of non-safety related legislative measures. The process of administrative improvement continues with further enhancement of the market surveillance structures.

There have been no significant developments in the area of safety related measures, where Czech legislation is largely in line with the acquis.

A number of pieces of legislation have been adopted concerning non-safety related measures. In March 2002 a new Act on Payment Conditions was adopted which, along with the Act on Financial Arbitration, aims to raise consumer protection and secure out-of-court settlement of disputes arising from payments (see Ch 4: Free Movement of Capital). The Act on Consumer Credit, which further aligned Czech legislation with the acquis, entered into force in January 2002, aiming to improve consumer protection in this matter and to unify the rules for providing information on consumer credit prices. Amendments to the Civil Code made in March and April 2002 aim at transposing the acquis relating to guarantees on consumer goods, injunctions and timeshare. The Act on Timeshare increased protection made on a timeshare basis. An extensive amendment to the Act on the Regulation of Advertising was also adopted in April 2002, including measures on misleading and comparative advertising, advertising of tobacco products and defining a new system of supervisory bodies relating to advertising.

Concerning the market surveillance mechanism, administrative capacity has been further enhanced through training and development of strategies. The Czech Republic has continued to strengthen the Czech Trade Inspectorate, recruiting 24 new officials and increasing its budget for inspection work by CZK 15 million (EUR 440,270) in 2002. The Inspectorate made nearly 50 000 inspections in 2001 and analysed more than 3 500 complaints from consumers.

An amendment to the Civil Court Procedure and the Consumer Protection Act has allowed consumer organisations to commence proceedings for an injunction for the protection of consumers` interests. The number of non-governmental consumer organisations has reached 13 whilst the number of centres for consumer consultation and complaints mediation has increased from 28 to almost 50. non-governmental consumer organisations continued to develop in 2002 and a steady increase in professionalism may be noted. Integration of consumer NGOs into European structures such as the European Bureau of Consumer Unions (BEUC), the European Association for the co-ordination of Consumer Representation in standardisation (ANEC) and, recently, the Association of European Consumers (AEC) has continued. Funding for consumer organisations rose from CZK 10 million (EUR 293,513) to CZK 13.8 million (EUR 405,048) in 2002.

At the end of 2001 a Business Ethics Association was established under the auspices of the Czech Confederation of Commerce. The firms and organisations within the association accept the observance of a Code of Ethics for consumers. The code is already being applied in mail order, doorstep sales, advertising and tourist services.

Overall assessment

Legislative alignment is well advanced. The Act on General Product Safety of February 2001 makes producers, importers and distributors responsible for ensuring that goods introduced onto the market are safe and obliges them to provide relevant information to consumers. The Act also outlined structures which will be used to identify dangerous products at external borders. Nonetheless, further amendments to the Act will be necessary to complete alignment, in particular to incorporate new acquis in this area.

Further efforts are needed on alignment with the acquis as regards the indication of prices.

Responsibilities for the implementation of legislation in the sector were set out in the Concept of Consumer Policy for the years 2001 -- 2005, published in November 2000. The concept also sets out a range of consumer protection aims for the Czech Republic, including completion of alignment and a focus on new advances and the development of consumer awareness.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) has overall responsibility for consumer protection. Its consumer protection department has been strengthened in previous years, currently employing 12. Consumers themselves are represented in discussions on consumer policy by a consumer advisory committee.

Market surveillance is divided between several bodies, with the majority of activity conducted by: the Czech Agricultural and Food Inspectorate (CAFI), the State Veterinary Administration (specified areas of food control) and the Czech Trade Inspectorate (CTI) (non-food products and protection of consumers' economic interests). Other smaller bodies are responsible for particular niches within market surveillance whilst the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Regional Development, and Finance have relevant responsibilities, with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) as central co-ordinator. The division of responsibilities between the organisations involved has been increasingly clarified. However, efficiency and co-ordination among actors could still be further improved. Efforts should continue to increase the operability of the existing system for the exchange of information between market surveillance bodies.

The Czech Agricultural and Food Inspectorate (CAFI) has 500 employees, of whom over 220 are professional inspectors and approximately 100 laboratory staff. The CAFI made over 22,000 inspections during 2001, and analysed over 2,000 complaints from consumers. The Czech Trade Inspectorate (CTI) has over 500 staff, of whom about 440 are inspectors. Low salaries impede the recruitment of young qualified staff, in particular inspectors.

The TRAPEX (Transitional Rapid Exchange of Information System) is fully operational, and its contact point in the Czech Republic is the Czech Trade Inspectorate. Czech preparations for participation in the Rapid Exchange of Information System (RAPEX) are ongoing, led by the MIT.

At present there are 13 independent non-governmental consumer organisations in the Czech Republic. Their work focuses on giving free advice and information through almost fifty advice centres, publishing and education, the comparative testing of products and goods, and out-of-court settlement of disputes. Although they have made some progress in expanding their membership base, it remains relatively small. Support for such consumer organisations and their role should continue to be enhanced.

Although consumers have adequate access to justice through the courts in order to seek individual redress, a simplified exercise of consumer rights through out-of-court bodies and procedures would be desirable in order to provide alternative dispute resolution systems. It is important that consumers` awareness of their rights be increased and their interest in product safety enhanced.

Conclusion

In its 1997 Opinion, the Commission concluded that considerable work on approximation would be needed to bring Czech measures on consumer policy into line with the acquis in the medium term and that there was also a need to co-ordinate and organise the responsibilities of the different institutional bodies involved.

Since the Opinion, the Czech Republic has made significant progress in these matters. Framework legislation on product safety has been adopted along with numerous non-safety related measures. Overall, legislative alignment is advanced and there has been a steady reorganisation and strengthening of administrative structures.

Negotiations on this chapter have been provisionally closed. The Czech Republic has not requested any transitional arrangements in this area. The Czech Republic is generally meeting the commitments it has made in the accession negotiations.

In order to complete preparations for membership, the Czech Republic`s efforts should now focus on the fine-tuning of legislation, the adoption of any outstanding measures and the ongoing improvements to co-ordination amongst the institutions involved.

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