Consumer rights, including product safety

Protection of consumers and users

The protection of consumers and users is a basic principle under which the State is required to guarantee citizens their rights and freedoms in this area.

Article 51 of the Spanish Constitution requires public authorities to ensure the protection of consumers and users, to protect their safety, health and economic interests, to promote information and education for consumers and users and to support consumer and user organisations.

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Basic rights

The legislation relating to consumers and users establishes the following six basic rights:

• protection against risks to their health or safety;
• protection of their legitimate economic and social interests;
• compensation and redress for damage suffered;
• accurate information on the various goods or services;
• involvement in the drafting of legislation which directly affects them;
• and lastly, protection of their rights through effective measures.

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Protection against risks

Protection against risks to their health or safety is one of the basic rights of consumers. Goods and services placed on the market must therefore be safe, i.e. they must not, under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions, pose any health or safety risk to persons.

Obligation to place only safe products on the market

According to Royal Decree 1801/2003 , both producers and distributors have a duty to ensure that only safe products are placed on the market and sold. Producer means a manufacturer if it is established in the European Union, or a manufacturer that affixes its name, trade mark or other distinguishing feature, the manufacturer’s representative or the other professionals in the marketing chain in so far as its activities may affect the safety characteristics of the product.

Producers and distributors have a number of duties with regard to the products they place on the market, including staying informed of their products’ compliance with the safety requirements, taking appropriate action and informing authorities, other economic operators and consumers where appropriate. Producers must withdraw unsafe products from the market or make the necessary corrections to avoid risks, or even recall the products from consumers.

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Market surveillance

In Spain, the public authorities are responsible for carrying out market surveillance. Market surveillance means the activities carried out and measures taken by market surveillance authorities to ensure that products comply with the requirements laid down by the applicable legislation and to ensure the protection of the public interest covered by that legislation .

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Alert system for non-food products

The principle of the free movement of goods is one of the four founding freedoms of the internal market, and its implementation with the abolition of internal Community borders of the EU countries has led to a considerable increase in the supply of goods and services on national markets. Monitoring this market is becoming an increasingly diverse and complex task that the competent authorities must meet.

Bearing in mind that one of the substantial rights of consumers is, inter alia, the right to health and safety, effective market surveillance by the authorities is essential to enable unsafe products to be detected and to take the appropriate action against them.

A system for the rapid exchange of information between the authorities known as the alert system for non-food products has been set up for existing products that could pose risks to the health and safety of consumers. The purpose of the system is to inform other authorities of measures taken to prevent these products from reaching consumers.

How is an unsafe product identified?

• By information obtained from market surveillance by the competent authorities.
• By European alert system notifications from other Member States.
• By notifications from the European Commission.
• By information from producers, in accordance with the obligation laid down in Article 6(1) of Royal Decree 1801/2003.
• By information from complaints or reports received from economic operators or industry associations, consumers, consumer organisations, etc.
• By notifications from health professionals via the website of the STATE SYSTEM FOR REPORTING CONSUMER PRODUCT INCIDENTS.

What action is taken when an unsafe product is identified?

In order to determine whether a product is unsafe, appropriate checks are carried out to see whether or not it complies with the applicable regulations. If an instance of non-compliance is identified that could pose a risk to the safety of consumers, restrictive measures (prohibition of placing on the market, withdrawal of stocks from the market and recall from consumers) are taken and notified in the alert system at national and European level.

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Information for each Autonomous Community

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