CONSUMERS’ RIGHT TO HEALTH PROTECTION AND PHYSICAL SAFETY
Keywords:
General Product Safety, Consumer Concept, Right to Protection of Physical Health and Safety, Strict Responsibility of the ProducerAbstract
The right to the protection of the health and physical safety of consumers is generically addressed in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic (CRP) and in the Consumer Protection Law (LDC). The respective broadened legislative treatment is spread over two closely linked statutes, which, having distinct functions, are, in a certain way, complementary.
We are referring, therefore, to DL 69/2005, of March 17th and 383/89, of November 6th, which concern, respectively, the safety guarantees of products and services placed on the market and the strict liability of the resulting producer. defective products, and that contribute to the fulfillment of the general safety obligation. The two DL referred to are closely linked, as mentioned, since, on the one hand, civil liability plays a preventive role in the marketing of unsafe products or services and, on the other, in both diplomas, the notion of the defect lies in the lack of security and not just the lack of quality. Although this study has as its main purpose the theme, specifically, the general safety of products, reference will be made to the strict liability regime of the producer arising from defective products, as we consider both regimes inseparable. In this sense, we decided to base the structure of the article, in a first phase, on the unavoidable notion of consumer, establishing delimiting criteria that allow the construction of a concept, as, being consumer protection the object of Consumer Law, the determination of who it is consumer is imperative to fully understand the scope of application of the rules that regulate the legal relationships in which he is a party.
In a second phase, we will proceed with the succinct analysis of the general legal framework for consumer protection and, finally, we will focus, on the one hand, on the analysis of the regimes that contribute to the pursuit of the general safety obligation and, on the other hand, in the New Consumer Agenda of the European Commission, regarding this matter.
