The draft legal notice relates to Malta’s obligation to implement the European Parliament’s council directive on an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for consumers.

Malta has to transpose the requirements of this directive into national law by July 9. The Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) regulation will come into force automatically six months later, on January 9, 2016, although the requirements relating to the creation of an ODR contact point will apply in advance, also from July 9.

Malta has to ensure that the ADR is available for all disputes concerning contractual obligations between a consumer and a trader. The resolution offers a cheaper and quicker alternative to judicial redress for disputes, where a consumer is not able resolve his complaint directly with the trader involved, whether the contract of sale or service is concluded online or directly from a trader’s premises, or whether the said trader is established within Maltese territory or in the territory of another EU member state.

The Complaints and Conciliation Directorate of the Office for Consumer Affairs within the MCCA already offers a similar service and it is being proposed that the said entity assumes the responsibilities of a residual ADR.

Other ADR providers can be set up as long as they fulfill certain requirements under the directive and are certified and monitored by a competent authority. In this respect, it is being proposed that the latter role be fulfilled by the Consumer Affairs Council.

When the proposed regulations are enforced, all traders must provide information on their websites or on their sales contracts as to whether they will use the ADR in an attempt to settle disputes that might arise with consumers in the course of business.

The draft legal notice and the ADR directive may be downloaded from the MCCAA website at www.mccaa.org.mt under ‘Consultations’.

Comments on the draft legal notice are welcome until April 30 and can be sent to info@mccaa.org.mt under the subject ‘Consultation on Consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution (General) Regulations’ or by post to the director general (Office for Consumer Affairs), MCCAA, Mizzi House, National Road, Blata l-Bajda, Ħamrun, HMR 9010.

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