Introduction

Consumer protection was not exactly a concept that flourished during fifty years of Romanian communism, so it was no surprise that protecting consumers from unscrupulous merchants was not perceived as a high priority in the early ‘90’s by Romania’s early governments. Law no. 12/1990 regarding the protection of people against illicit commercial activities provided sanctions only for a few illicit commercial activities. However, two years later, as shoddy and dangerous products poured onto the market from all over the world, causing injury and financial damage to Romanians, the government moved to enact Government Ordinance no. 21 regarding consumer protection (hereinafter “GO 21”), which became the first legal act to provide for a real shield for consumers against the unfair practices of some merchants.

Although GO 21 was an important accomplishment, its provisions were still not tough enough to provide for the hard-hitting consumer protection that Romania’s newly emerging market required. Consequently, other legislative instruments in the field came into force, such as: the Consumption Code (hereinafter the “Consumption Code”), Law no. 363/2007 on combating unfair commercial practices between businesses and consumers (hereinafter “Law 363”), as well as several other regulations concerning: consumer contracts negotiated away from business premises, protection of consumers in the execution and performance of distance contracts (contracts concluded between parties in different locations by the use of alternative means of communication such as the Internet) and unfair terms in consumers contracts.

Consumers’ Fundamental Rights

Since 1992, the competent authority in the consumer protection field has been the National Authority for Consumer Protection (hereinafter “ANPC”), which has territorial offices throughout the country. The AN