在线交易中消费者权益保护问题研究

【作者】 陈瑜；

【导师】 陈志；

【作者基本信息】 西南政法大学 ， 经济法学， 2008， 硕士

【摘要】 随着信息科技的飞速发展,在线交易作为一种全新的商务模式受到商家和消费者的青睐,它的兴起拓宽了消费市场,增加了消费信息量和市场透明度,也扩大了消费者选择权。但在线交易的快速发展及信息技术的运用并没有扭转传统商务中消费者的弱势地位,相反,由于网络的虚拟性和不确定性对交易中消费者权益保护提出了许多新的挑战,而回应这种挑战,向来就是历史赋予法律人的光荣使命。正是在此背景下,本文以在线交易环境下的消费者权益保护问题为研究对象,结合国内的现状及国外的经验,试图对完善我国在线交易中的消费者权益保护制度进行有益的探索,并提出一些个人的建议。全文由四个部分组成。鉴于在线交易对于大多数人来讲比较陌生,为此本文第一部分介绍了在线交易中消费者权益保护的基本理论。首先阐明在线交易与电子商务的区别、在线交易的特点及分类,对在线交易作整体的剖析是本文的逻辑起点。其次,从经济学和经济法学的角度论述了在线交易中消费者权益保护的理论依据:消费者与经营者之间实际上是一种博弈,消费者权益的实现关键就在于实现消费者与经营者之间的博弈均衡,而信息时代背景下双方的博弈因信息不对称更显突出,以弥补市场失灵为已任、以实质公平、社会本位为价值目标的经济法理应对这些问题做出回应,使在线交易中的消费者享有与传统消费者同等的保护。再次,阐述了在线交易的消费者保护应以内化公平的法律效益为价值取向。第二部分是对我国在线交易中消费者权益保护的现状及问题的分析。尽管我国政府对信息网络的发展政策是清晰的,方向是明确的,但相对于发达国家而言,我国目前仍处于立法空白阶段,与网络相关的立法主要集中于计算机和互联网的管制、数据电文的效力认定方面,并没有对在线交易的规则乃至消费者保护做出实质性的规范。现行立法对在线交易的不适应性具体表现为一系列的新问题,表现在:交易主体难认定、知情权难保障、拍卖欺诈、不合理的格式合同、退换货难、受教育权缺失以及争议难解决七大问题。这些问题实质上仍是传统消费者问题在网络时代的延伸。第三部分是对国外在线交易中消费者保护的政策和立法保障的考察。在线交易发展到今天,国外已经有了大量的理论和实践积累,各国和国际组织出台了有关在线交易的消费者保护的政策、法规,可谓初成体系。本文主要对经济合作与发展组织、美国和欧盟相关政策和法律进行了介绍。虽然各国因经济、法律文化背景等因素的不同而制定不同的在线消费者保护对策,但他们共同的经验是:将在线消费者保护视为系统工程,在关注立法的同时,也倡导社会各方面的参与,鼓励企业、消费者团体在促进在线消费者保护中发挥积极作用,形成了政府立法与行业自律相互补充的格局,同时积极寻求国际合作。目前,在线交易起步较早的国家已经将立法重点从最初对电子签章、电子合同等效力的认定上更多地转移到营造消费者信任的交易环境之上。由于在线交易具有全球性的特点,因此,我国在构建在线交易中的消费者权益保护制度时应该在充分考察我国国情的前提下对这些经验加以吸收和借鉴。第四部分是对完善我国在线交易中消费者权益保护制度的构想,包括基本原则和具体制度设计两部分。首先,在以内化公平的法律效益的价值取向指导下,确定在线交易中的消费者权益保护制度的四个基本原则:一是在线消费者保护纳入现有法律框架的原则,在线交易仍是一种交易关系,其所带来的各种新问题可以通过在现行消费者法律框架之下设立新的规则予以应对;二是保护消费者的原则;三是保护消费者与社会发展水平相适应原则,对在线消费者提供保护的同时,也应该鼓励在线交易为社会发展和经济增长做出贡献,两者关系在于,对在线消费者的保护水平应该与一定时期的社会经济水平相适应;四是法律规制与行业自律相结合的原则。在以上基本原则的指导下,进而针对前述第二部分在线交易中存在的消费者问题进行具体制度设计,主要涉及六个方面:其一,对在线交易主体的规制,提出应遵循主体真实原则、主体资格法定原则及主体公示原则,从而建立起在线交易主体登记和公示制度;其二,从信息披露义务的承担方式、信息内容、披露的原则以及在线交易平台的法律责任构建在线信息披露制度;其三,从格式条款的提醒程序、适用、解释等几方面对格式合同进行规制;其四,有条件地借鉴国外的“冷却期”规定建立起适合我国国情的退换货制度;其五,在分析了诉讼方式解决在线消费纠纷成本较高的前提下,提出将非诉解决机制作为在线消费纠纷的重要解决机制;最后,在消费者的社会保护方面,应发挥消费者组织在消费者教育中的积极作用,并通过第三方约束建立在线消费者信任。更多还原

【Abstract】 With the rapid development of information technology, online transaction as a new commerce mode is popular with consumers and merchants. On the one hand, online transaction extends market scope and increases business information; on the other hand, it also makes consumers have more choice. But the rapid development of online transaction and information technology still do not charge consumers’ vulnerable status. On the contrary, the unreality and uncertainty of Internet raise new challenge to legal protection of consumers’ rights and interests. But respond to these kinds of challenge are the honors and mission that history gives the lawman from the beginning. Under this background, this article pays attention to legal protection of consumers’ rights and interests in the online transaction conditions, and connects with the present situation of internal and external consumers’ protection experience, therefore tries to put forward some constructive proposal. The monograph consists of four parts.Since online transaction is sill unfamiliar to most people, the first part introduced the fundamental theories on legal protection of online consumer. Firstly, the author clarified the difference between online transaction and Electronic Commerce, illuminated the new characteristics and classification of the online transaction. These presentations established the logic basis of this article. Secondarily, from the point of view of economics and economic law, the author expounded the theoretical basis of protection of online consumer. In fact, the relationship between consumers and merchants is like a "game playing". The point of the realization of consumers’ rights and interests is that make equilibrium of power between each other. But information technology and Internet make their strength become imbalance. Therefore, economic law which aims at remedy for market’s limitation, essential justice and social unity’s benefits should responds to these problems. Online consumers deserve to be equally protected just as traditional consumers. Furthermore, the article pointed out that the protection of online consumers should orient its value to law efficiency that contains equity. Subsequently on the second part, the author analyzed the present status of online consumers’ protection in China and the problems existed. Although the Chinese government made a clear and affirmatory policy on the development of information economic, the rules of online consumers’ protection in our country is simple relative to the developed countries. Generally speaking, the legislations in respect of Internet still focus on the supervision of computer, Internet and the validity of electronic data and so on, the rules of online transaction including consumers’ protection lacks of essential regulations. Furthermore, the inadaptability of present legal framework to online transaction embodied into a series of new problems which involves such as the definition identity of transaction parties, information disclosure of operator, online auction fraud, unfair click-warp contract, purchase return and exchange, the rights of education and online disputes resolution. Actually, these problems derive from the traditional consumer problems.The third part reviewed the policy and legislations of online consumers’ protection in abroad. With the development of online transaction, many countries and international organizations in the world have worked out a lot of theories and legislations on online consumers’ protection, such as OECD, United States and the European Union. Although there are differences in economic background and legal traditions among countries, they came to common understanding that the protection of online consumers is a system engineering: on the one hand, paying attention to legislations, on the other hand, encouraging the enterprises, consumers groups and the other social organizations to engage in this program. All of these aspects boost forming the cooperative pattern between government’s legal regulating and professional’s self-discipline. At the same time, they seek for international cooperation. At present, the countries that engaged in online transaction early have transferred their focus from the validity of electronic contracts or signature into cultivating consumers’ trust atmosphere. Since online transaction is of globality, these advanced experience provide for our country to draw lessons from.In the fourth part, the author put forward the legislative conceiving on perfecting the institutions of online consumer protection. This part includes two aspects: the basic principles and the concrete institution. The basic principles of online consumer protection contain four points: the principle of bringing new rules into the current legal framework. Online transaction is the same essence of traditional commerce, thus current legal framework can make some changes to fit it. The second principle is protecting consumers. Thirdly, the level of consumer protection should adapt to the economic development. The last principle is that forming the cooperative pattern between government’s legal regulating and professional’s self-discipline. These basic principles should be established firstly, and the latter part is the concrete institution design guided by the principles and aim at being resolutions to the problems aforementioned. The concrete institution include six aspects, as following: regulation to online parties which demands reality and validity of parties, constructing register and publishing institution; the obligation of information disclosure which contains the way and rules of disclosure; the regulation to the click-warp contract; the rules of purchase return and exchange which based on our country’s conditions; the online disputes resolution which is advantaged with more efficiency than lawsuit; the consumer groups’ function in consumer education and the third party’s restriction should be emphasized.更多还原