Consumer rights in ASEAN

Abstract

This qualitative research aimed to study the consumer rights of ASEAN countries in order to analyze guideline or recommendations for Thailand to be harmonized with ASEAN legislation and practice appropriately. The doctrinal research includes international consumer rights provided in the United Nations Charter, UN Guidelines for Consumer protection: UNCGP, Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations, ASEAN Economic Community Charter and AEC Blueprint including ASEAN Committee on Consumer Protection: ACCP’s tasks. The result comes across nine international consumer rights, i.e., right to satisfaction of basic needs, right to safety, right to be informed, right to choose, right to be heard, right to redress, right to consumer education, right to healthy & sustainable environment and right to access to public service. Eight ASEAN countries reflect those rights through their legislation either directly or indirectly. Unfortunately, Cambodia and Myanmar lack legislation for the first right to satisfaction of basic needs partly. Burdens found in ASEAN Member States (AMSs) are a shortage of legislation, awareness of consumer rights, services quality, the efficiency of state management in providing necessary services, rights access inequality, law enforcement and online dispute resolution system development. With consideration to the legislation and experiences of international organizations and AMSs, the proposals to Thailand are (1) to set up a one stop service; (2) to set up online dispute resolution system; and (3) to build awareness among consumers and encourage business sectors to have their own redress mechanism.