Abstract
On 20 April 1989, the Commission issued COM (89) 162, which is a proposal for a Directive designed to establish a Community legal framework to guarantee product safety. Such a regime would have the dual aim of securing free trade while also maintaining effective consumer protection. This paper demonstrates the vital role which would be played by standards in such a framework and explains how Community law can prevent a Member State adopting a purely domestic approach to standards of safety and quality. The paper investigates the extent to which the United Kingdom's statutory general requirement to supply only safe goods, introduced in 1987, constitutes a model for a parallel Community initiative. The paper concludes by emphasising that the twin goals of free trade and consumer protection can only be achieved through a proper resource commitment to effective standards-making.
Zusammenfassung
Am 20. April 1989 veröffentlichte die EG-Kommission die Mitteilung KOM 89/162, bei der es sich um einen Vorschlag für eine Richtlinie handelt, die die gesetzlichen Rahmenbedingungen für Produktsicherheit in der EG garantieren soll und gleichzeitig zwei Ziele verfolgt: zum einen die Gewährleistung von freiem Handelsverkehr, zum anderen die Stärkung des Verbraucherschutzes.
Der Beitrag beschreibt die zentrale Rolle, die in diesem Zusammenhang den Standards zukommt, und erläutert, wie EG-Recht einen Mitgliedstaat davon abhalten kann, einen rein nationalen Ansatz zur Etablierung von Sicherheits- und Qualitätsstandards zu verfolgen. Er untersucht ferner das Ausmaß, in welchem die im Jahre 1987 in England eingeführte allgemeine gesetzliche Verpflichtung, nur sichere Güter anzubieten, ein Modell für eine enstprechende EG-Initiative darstellen kann. Der Beitrag stellt abschließend fest, daß das Doppelziel von Freihandel und Verbraucherschutz nur erreicht werden kann, wenn ausreichende Mittel bereitgestellt werden, um wirkungsvolle Standards ausarbeiten zu können.
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Additional information
Stephen Weatherill is Lecturer in Law at the University of Manchester, Faculty of Law, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, U.K.
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Weatherill, S. A general duty to supply only safe goods in the community: Some remarks from a British perspective. J Consum Policy 13, 79–89 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00411871
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00411871