English abstract of advisory report Commissie voor Consumentenaangelegenheden - Alternatieve geschillenbeslechting in de EU (2012/03)
At the end of 2011, the European Commission presented two complementary proposals intended to help consumers resolve disputes with businesses without needing to have recourse to the courts. One proposal is for a directive regarding the alternative resolution of consumer disputes (“ADR”); the other is for a regulation regarding the online resolution of such disputes (“ODR”). The Commission considers that both consumers and businesses will benefit from these measures because they will enable them to resolve disputes quickly, simply, and effectively without recourse to the courts. This can increase consumer confidence where cross-border transactions are concerned, and thus promote the operation of the internal market.
In the present Advisory Report, the Committee for Consumer Affairs (CCA) of the Social and Economic Council (SER) responds to a request for advice from the Dutch Government. The CCA is made up of members representing consumers and businesses, as well as independent experts.
In Section 2, the CCA provides a general review of the matters concerned. In Section 3, it deals with specific components of the proposals. Section 4 deals with the ODR regulation.