Military-Madrasa-Mullah

A Global Threat 17
Article Complex 17

The Impact of Consumer Legal Asian Journal of Legal Education

2(1) 17–28
Education on the Effectiveness of © 2015 The West Bengal National
University of Juridical Sciences
the Protection of Consumer Rights: SAGE Publications
sagepub.in/home.nav
Taking into Account Legal Clinics DOI: 10.1177/2322005814552751
http://ale.sagepub.com
in Poland

Kinga Flaga-Gieruszyńska1
Ewelina Cała-Wacinkiewicz2
Daniel Wacinkiewicz3

Abstract
Practical aspects of consumer education and also a contrario—negative effects of inaction on this
matter—require further analysis due to their fundamental importance in the shaping of the actual level
of legal protection of the consumer. An educated consumer, aware of his legal status, in many cases is
able to defend his interests and also effectively enforce any claims he is entitled to before a court of
law or under existing alternative methods of dispute resolution. Therefore, the main objective of this
article is to present the role and importance of legal education of the consumer taking into account
the functioning of legal clinics in Poland. Consumer rights will be presented in the general concept
of the protection of human rights, with particular emphasis on the right to information—as one of
the fundamental rights of the consumer. At the same time, the framework of the Polish law and the
European Union law were adopted as a research perspective for these analyses.

Introduction
Given the prevalence of transactions in consumer trading, ensuring an adequate level of legal education
in the scope of a legal status and in particular of consumer rights has become one of modern challenges
of economic trading. Legal education, as an important task of state authorities and the civil sector, refers
to all economies, regardless of their level of development. The problem only lies in the rate of acquisition
of information by consumers, enforced by the pace of development of individual markets (mainly as a

1
Professor, Department of Civil Procedure, Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Szczecin, Poland.
2
Assistant Professor, Department of International Law, Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Szczecin, Poland.
3
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Economic Law, Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Szczecin, Poland.

Corresponding author:
Ewelina Cała-Wacinkiewicz,Assistant Professor, Department of International Law, Faculty of Law and Administration,
University of Szczecin, Poland.
E-mail: ewacinkiewicz@gmail.com India Quarterly, 66, 2 (2010): 133–149
18 Asian Journal of Legal Education 2(1)

result of political, economic and technological transformations). As pointed out by Bogunia–Borowska,

knowledge is a factor determining social and cultural development, which is why, along with expanding
its range, a social change occurs. In stable societies of Western Europe, transformations occur slowly and
steadily, whereas in countries like Poland, where a regime transformation occurred (from a restrained
socialist economy to a social market economy), there was a sudden need to absorb a large amount of
new information in a short period of time.4 Thus, the tasks relating to the legal education of consumers
are a priority, also because of the pace of changes introduced in the legal system in terms of consumer
trading. The problem is all the more important as consumer behaviour entails the participation of people
of all ages, including children and those who are of a more advanced age, where the latter require
specific levels of protection due to reduced consumer awareness and orientation in the realities of
the market.
The doctrine indicates that the modern idea of consumer protection in the European Union (EU)
is based on the assumption that the consumer needs to be protected because he is the weaker market
participant. An aware consumer is one who can make a free choice based on true premises on the basis
of the best knowledge of the product, service and rights that he is entitled to. The weakness of the con-
sumer stems from the lack of complete information or the lack of transparency thereof. It is therefore
necessary to provide him with as much knowledge and information as possible, as he will then have the
opportunity for genuinely free and individual actions. A model consumer has to be educated, smart and
aware of his rights, critical, accustomed to and familiar with a rich and diverse merchandise offer.5
Consumer education is a continuous process, which refers both to the information of a fundamental
nature (concerning the legal status of the consumer, the importance of institutions such as the merchan-
dise’s inconsistency with the contract or warranty) as well as the knowledge of individual transactions
(e.g., marking and features of a particular product or service that the customer is interested in). The
consumer must be aware of the consequences of his choices, which both have an effect on him and an
impact on his environment (e.g., relatives).
The importance of legal education for the implementation of consumer protection standards is also
clearly stated by the European Court of Justice in its case law. In one of the many cases relating to the
special treatment for certain groups of purchasers, the Court held that the general model of a consumer
may have exceptions that are designed to protect persons with reduced degree of criticism and ability to
cope in difficult economic situations. In such cases, a standard lower than the average needs to be
applied.6 Thus, the primary task of intensified legal education addressed to consumers is to restrict as far
as possible the subjective scope of those consumer groups who due to under-information, require specific
conduct on the part of the state, a conduct devoid of schematism.
All these practical aspects of consumer education and also a contrario—negative effects of inaction
on this matter—require further analysis due to their fundamental importance in the shaping of the actual
level of legal protection of the consumer. An educated consumer, aware of his legal status, in many cases
is able to defend his interests and also effectively enforce any claims that he is entitled to before a court
of law or under existing alternative methods of dispute resolution.
Therefore, the main objective of this article is to present the role and importance of legal education of
the consumer, taking into account the functioning of legal clinics in Poland. Consumer rights will be
presented in the general concept of the protection of human rights, with particular emphasis on the right

4
M. Bogunia-Borowska, Advertising as Shaping Social Reality 52 (2004) (in Polish).
5
R. Walczak, Consumer Protection 19–20 (Kodeks, Warszawa 2002) (in Polish).
6
R. Adamczewski, Legal Aspects of Defining the Concept of a Consumer’ in the Polish and European Law, 27 Newsletter of the
Office of Competition and Consumer Protection 79 (2001) (in Polish).
Flaga-Gieruszyńska et al. 19

to information—as one of the fundamental rights of the consumer. At the same time, the framework of
the Polish law and the EU law was adopted as a research perspective for these analyses.

The Notion of a Consumer in the Polish Law

The Polish legal system does not have one single term of a ‘consumer’ that is universal and applicable in
all situations. A basic definition of a ‘consumer’ for the Polish legal system is included in the most
important act of the Polish civil law—the Civil Code (CC) of 1964. In Art. 22(1) of the CC, a consumer
is understood as ‘any natural person who performs acts in law which are not directly connected with his
economic or professional activity’. It contains four elements: first, only a natural person (and not
a different entity, such as a partnership) can be a consumer; second, he must perform an act in law
(not only a paid and bilateral contract, but it could also be a unilateral action, such as withdrawal from
a contract); third, this action stays in a specific relationship with the person’s social role; and fourth, a
declaration of intent is addressed to the trader.7
In the Polish legal system, the term ‘consumer’ appears in many legal acts apart from the CC. In the
majority of cases, separate legal acts refer directly to the CC’s definition of a consumer. This solution
does not, however, need to be equivalent to the identity of understanding of a ‘consumer’ on the basis of
these separate legal regulations.
As these, based on the definition of Art. 22 of the CC (as a foundation), by all of their provisions, give
the notion of the consumer a certain endemic character; determined by the specifics of the area of
consumer protection they govern. The consequence of this state of affairs is the use in the content of said
separate legislations of a specific notion of a consumer—one corresponding to functions and objectives
of these regulations.
Under the Polish legal system, a different situation is possible—when a separate piece of legislation
introduces its own legal definition of the concept of the consumer for its own purposes. Such a definition
may or may not refer to the definition from the CC, widening or narrowing its scope in the former, or
assigning the notion a completely new (and even autonomous) meaning in the latter.

The Catalogue of Consumer Rights and Its Significance

for Consumer Legal Education
Characterizing consumer rights under the Polish law should begin by recalling the act of the highest legal
power in the hierarchy of sources of law—the Constitution; with which all provisions contained in legal
acts must comply. The Constitution refers to consumer issues in its Section II ‘Economic, social and
cultural freedoms and rights’, providing in Art. 76 inter alia that public authorities protect consumers
against activities threatening their health, privacy and safety as well as against dishonest market practices,
and that the scope of this protection is specified in the statutes. The Constitution thus clearly indicates
what values are subject to special protection.

7
See Tomasz Sokołowski, Commentary to Art. 22(1) of the Civil Code, in I The Civil Code. General Part (Kidyba ed., 2012)
(in Polish).
20 Asian Journal of Legal Education 2(1)

Given the absence in the Polish legal system of a comprehensive consumer protection, with the
simultaneous existence of different fragmented, situational regulations, it results in a ‘dispersed’ group
of legal acts relating to various aspects of consumer protection. More important than this scattered way
to protect consumers, however, is the fact that Polish legislation in this matter was formed in a dominant
way under the law of the EU, in particular directives. When, therefore, the interpretation of these
provisions is performed at the level of national law of an EU Member State (and especially if it raises
questions of interpretation), one needs to consider the principle of compliance with the EU law.
At the same time, one must not forget, as emphasized in literature, that most of consumer directives
have a minimal character. This means that they show only the lower threshold of protection which EU
Member States should ensure to consumers in their domestic legal orders. Therefore, it is possible to
leave the protection of the consumer at the required minimum, but it is also possible and permitted for
solutions extending or intensifying the protection to be introduced in the law of an EU Member State.
Extensions at the national level may refer to objective, instrumental and also subjective aspects (the class
of protected entities). The only requirement here is for the extensions of consumer protection to be in
agreement with the principles laid down (expressed) in the treaties forming the EU.8
Against this background, moving on to the characteristics of consumer rights, we turn our attention to
the chosen, fundamental rights that are afforded to consumers under the Polish law, and whose sources,
at the same time, stem from the EU law. Based on the values displayed in the Constitution, constituting
the subject of special protection, one can suggest a classification of consumer rights confined to three
main groups:
First, the right to protection against activities threatening health and safety of consumers, under which
the following regulations exist on: food and nutrition safety, by providing the necessary requirements
and procedures relating to food—in particular, in determining health requirements, observing principles
of food hygiene as well as materials and items intended to come into contact with it, or requirements for
the performance of official controls;9 general product safety, setting out requirements for the recognition
of the products to be safe, that is, those the use of which does not pose a risk to consumers;10 a conformity
assessment system, whose aim, inter alia, is to eliminate risks to life or health of consumers posed by
both products (as well as their manufacturing processes), through their control and fair and independent
assessment11 as well as a significant number of regulations on issues such as inter alia: pharmaceuticals,
medicines, cosmetics, chemicals, genetically modified products.
Second, the right to protection against unfair commercial practices (posing a threat to consumers)
under which regulations on anti-market practices committed by entrepreneurs operate. These are unfair
when these are contrary to good customs and significantly distort (or attempt to distort) the market
behaviour of an average consumer before, during or following the conclusion of a contract regarding
the product.12

8
See Tomasz Pajor, Commentary to Art. 22(1) of the Civil Code, in The Civil Code, General Part (Małgorzata Pyziak-Szafnicka
ed., 2009) (in Polish), available at LEX.
9
Regulated under the Food and Nutrition Safety Act of August 25, 2006 (Act No. 136, Item 914 as amended) (Pl) which executes
in its regulation the European Community Regulation 53 and implements the provisions of 43 directives.
10
Regulated by the General Product Safety Act of December 12, 2003 (J. of Laws 2003 No. 229, Item. 2275 as amended) (Pl)
implementing Directive 2001/95 of December 3, 2001 on General Product Safety, 2001 O.J. (L 11) 4 (EC).
11
Regulated under the Conformity Assessment Act of August 30, 2002 (J. of Laws 2010.138.935) (Pl) implementing the provisions
of nearly 40 different directives.
12
Regulated under the Act on Combating Unfair Commercial Practices of August 23, 2007 (J. of Laws No. 171, Item 1206) (Pl)
implementing in its content Directive 2005/29 of May 11, 2005, the so-called ‘Unfair Commercial Practices Directive’, 2005 O.J.
(L 149) 22 (EC).
Flaga-Gieruszyńska et al. 21

Third, the right to the protection of consumer privacy in economic trading, under which the following
regulations exist, for example, regulations on the prohibition of advertising, which is a material
interference with the sphere of privacy, in particular by being bothersome to customers, harassing them
in public places, sending goods which have not been ordered at the cost of the customer or by abuse of
technical means of information transfer. These actions are considered to be acts of unfair competition,
a term to be understood as activities contrary to law or good customs, if they threaten or violate the
interests of the customer.13
In addition to these three groups of consumer rights, particularly noteworthy is the fourth group—the
right to information, the essence of which is the obligation to provide consumers with reliable, truthful
and complete information. The obligation on the side of traders related to the implementation of this
right includes various elements: providing information about the merchandise or service (about its
attributes), about the price and other relevant characteristics and circumstances of the concluded
transaction as well as providing guidance and advice, in addition to the duty to warn.

Consumer Right to Information as a Condition for Effective

Consumer Legal Education in the Perspective of the Polish
Law and the European Union Law

The right to information, afforded to every person and relating to his existence, can be analyzed in many
ways, depending on the situation which forms basis for making use of this right. And therefore, in the
employee–employer relation, one can talk of the employee’s right to information,14 in the doctor–patient
relation, respectively, of the patient’s right to information15 and in the citizen–public administration
relation, of the right to public information.16 Each of these aspects is a derivative of the right to information
granted to a man in genere; the right making up the overall catalogue of human rights.
The right to information has its normative basis in international legal documents setting out standards
for human rights protection. These documents (often of a different status) regulate the objective scope of
the right in a slightly different way, while complying with its subjective aspect. This one is shared—the
right to information is the right of every human being, being one of his individual rights that make
up first generation human rights. The very location of the discussed right proves its importance
and significance as well as its fundamental character. The analysis of more important international

13
Regulated under the Act on Combating Unfair Competition of April 16, 1993 (J. of Laws 2003, No. 153, Item 1503 as amended)
(Pl) implementing in its content directives: 84/450 of September 10 relating to the Approximation of the Laws, Regulations and
Administrative Provisions of the Member States Concerning Misleading Advertising, 1984 O.J. (L250) and Directive 97/55 of
European Parliament and of the Council of October 6, 1997 amending Directive 84/450 (EEC) Concerning Misleading Advertising
so as to Include Comparative Advertising, 1997 O.J. (L 290).
14
See L. Florek, The Right of Employees to Information and Consultation, 5 Labour L. Monitor (2006) (in Polish), http://www.
monitorprawapracy.pl/index.php?mod=m_artykuly&cid=114&id=128 (last visited February 13, 2007).
15
See M. Świderska, The Right of a Patient to Information, Expression of and Refusal of Consent for Medical Intervention in the
Light of the New Act on Patients’ Rights and the Commissioner for Patients’ Rights and Amendments to the Act on the Profession
of a Doctor and a Dentist (2009), http://www.prawoimedycyna.pl/index.php?str=artykul&id=546 (last visited February 13, 2009)
(in Polish).
16
M. Zaremba, Right to Access to Public Information: Practical Issues (Difin, Warszawa 2009) (in Polish).
22 Asian Journal of Legal Education 2(1)

legal acts points to its wide objective scope, showing that the right to information is presented as a
component of:

1. The right to freedom of opinion and freedom of expression thereof, including the freedom to
seek, receive and impart information through any media, regardless of frontiers (Art. 19 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the UN General Assembly
on December 10, 1948)17
2. The right to freedom of expression including receiving and imparting information without
interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers (Art. 10 of the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms signed in Rome on November 4, 1950)18
3. The right to freedom of expression including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information
and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally or in writing, in print, in the form of
art or through any other media of one’s choice. However, it does not mean that the implementation
of this right cannot be restricted. This right may be restricted due to the need to respect the rights
and reputations of others or the protection of national security or public order, or public health or
morals (Art. 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened for signature
in New York on December 16, 1966).19 In this approach the right is of a derogation nature.
4. The right to freedom of expression which includes the freedom to receive and impart information
and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers—similar to point 2
(Art. 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU in the version established by the Treaty
of Lisbon of 13 December 2007 (2010/C 83/02)).20

Thus, establishing the content of the right to information (and thus its objective scope) on the basis of
the above-mentioned international legal acts, one can offer two approaches to the discussed issues, that
is, the sensu stricto approach and the sensu largo approach. In the former, the right to information will
cover the right to receive and impart (disseminate) information; while in the latter, also the right to seek
information. The doctrine of the subject also indicates separately the right to impart information and
ideas and the right to seek and receive information and ideas as a component of freedom of expression.21
Thus, transferring the right to information in genere, subjected to description already, onto the ground
of consumer rights, one can demonstrate that the right to consumer information will include (according
to the approaches offered above: sensu stricto and sensu largo) the right to receive and impart information
(with emphasis on the former) as well as the right to seek those in every sphere of life relating to the
consumer. The realization of this right is significant from the point of view of the need (and even legal
obligation) to ensure consumer safety. This is emphasized by a feature characteristic of a typical consumer
relationship; a professional–layman relation and the imbalance resulting therefrom. In this relationship,
the professional by default holds the dominant position. ‘The removal of this imbalance is aided by the
requirement to provide the consumer with information adequate to his real needs22 Thus, with the purpose

17
A/RES/217 A (III).
18
61 J. of Laws 284 (1993) (Pl).
19
38 J. of Laws 167 (1977).
20
O.J. (C 83) 391, March 30, 2010.
21
R. Mizerski, Freedom of Expression, in Human Rights and Their Protection 330 (Gronowska, Jasudowicz, Balcerzak,
Lubiszewski & Mizerski eds, 2005) (in Polish).
22
Basic Consumer Rights (2009), http://www.ekonsument.pl/a151_podstawowe_prawa_konsumentow.html (last visited February
13, 2007) (in Polish).
Flaga-Gieruszyńska et al. 23

of granting protection to the consumer as a clearly weaker party, he was equipped with a number of rights
whose catalogue was discussed earlier.
One can also note in this context that the consumer’s right to information is linked at the same time
with the requirement of professionals operating in the market to disclose the necessary information about
the products or services delivered by them. On the grounds of the Polish law, such a requirement covers,
inter alia, the food labelling requirement with particular emphasis on GM products as well as specific
labelling of medicines and pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or chemical preparations and substances. In the
context of contracts entered into by the consumer, it is indicated that his right to information includes
the features of the object covered by the contract, terms of payment, withdrawal from the contract, its
duration and the duration of the consumer’s obligations under its provisions.
Similar regulations are set out in the EU law since the right to information is recognized as a
fundamental subjective right of a universal nature, which is the subject of protection of the primary right,
that is, provisions of the aforementioned charter of fundamental rights. The discussed status of the
consumer’s right to information was confirmed by the Opinion of the European Economic and Social
Committee on ‘Consumer information’ (2011/C44/11) of July 14, 2010.23 In accordance with its terms
(Section 2.5), a basic precondition for the smooth operation of the free competition model particular to
the market economy system, on which the EU is based, is the requirement to provide consumers with a
thorough knowledge of all factors, so that they can make a rational decision.
With regard to both, the Polish law and the EU law, the question of covering the consumer with
protection against misleading information looks interesting. One may even be tempted to say that the
right to information combines a positive element and a negative one. It is based, on the one hand, on
the order for action (communicating information), and on the other hand, on the ban on action,
which includes refraining from acting (i.e., not communicating information that may bring about
misleading conception in the consumer as to the facts). And so, the Polish Act of April 16, 1993 on
Combating Unfair Competition24 talked, inter alia, about misleading company designations, false or
deceitful indication of the geographical origin of products or services, misleading indication of goods
or services as well as unfair or prohibited advertising. In the latter context, special attention should
also be paid to bothersome advertising, which is a form of communicating to the consumer, information
that he does not desire or even misleading advertising, which is a form of unfair commercial practices.
As constituted by the Directive 2006/114/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
December 12, 2006 Concerning Misleading and Comparative Advertising,25 if advertising is not
misleading, it may be a legitimate means of informing consumers about what is beneficial to them.
As noted by Węgrzyn, misrepresentation, regardless of the form it takes, restricts the freedom of
assessment and the opportunity to make decisions by the consumer and thus violates his right to
information.26
What is particularly interesting in the context of the right to information is that one can also talk of
the protection of the consumer against information that violates his privacy. What occurs then is a special
kind of connection of provisions on the freedom of expression with provisions on the right to privacy.
These designate the standard of the protection of the consumer, who, on the one hand, is a participant of
broadly understood trade relations with all the consequences arising from this fact, and on the other

23
O.J. (C 44) 62, February 11, 2011.
24
Consolidated text: 153 J. of Laws 1503 (2003) (Pl).
25
O.J. (L 376) 21, December 27, 2006.
26
J. Węgrzyn, The Consumer’s Right to Information in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the EU Law, http://www.
bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/Content/41087/Prawo_konsumenta_do_informacji.pdf (last visited February 13, 2007).
24 Asian Journal of Legal Education 2(1)

hand, has a sphere of privacy. This sphere is one of the basic premises for the restrictions on freedom of
commercial information. ‘It creates a certain line that a trader may not cross and therefore is significant
for the consumer as it protects him against the dangers arising from marketing practices’.27
What follows is the fact that the status of the consumer in economic trading differs fundamentally
from the status of an entity operating a business activity. First of all, the consumer is the ‘weak party’ in
legal relations which are inherently unequal. The purpose of the legislation adopted in this area is
therefore a need to return balance to these relationships with the use of special security measures, which
is pointed out (in the aforementioned opinion) by the European Economic and Social Committee as
regards consumer information.

The Problem of Legal Education of Consumers in the Perspective

of the Polish Law and the European Union Law
The primary factor affecting the efficiency of legal education in relation to such a wide range of recipients
with varying levels of legal and social awareness is taking educational actions that are multidimensional
and comprehensive in nature. The doctrine suggests that consumer education comprises informational
and advisory activities in the field of rationalization of needs, ways to meet them, purchase of goods or
the use of services as well as problems related to utilizing consumption resources available.28
Analyzing the issue of educational activities in subjective terms, one should note that the activity of
the bodies of public administration and the civil sector, that is, non-governmental organizations (NGOs),
are key in this regard. With regard to the first category of entities, it should be emphasized that the tasks
within consumer information and education fall within the scope of activity of both elected bodies of the
government administration as well as local self-governments.
In the structures of the government administration, essential significance is held by the activities of
the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, which is the central body of state
administration and reports directly to the chairman of the Council of Ministers. The powers of this body
include shaping the antitrust policy and consumer protection policy. The main directions of forms of
informational and educational activities are defined by the ‘Consumer Policy for 2010–2013’.29 It is the
sixth programme document describing activities of the Polish Government to strengthen the level of
protection of consumer rights in the Polish market and to ensure equal opportunities to them in the EU
market. In accordance with the assumptions of the ‘Consumer Policy for 2010–2013’, modelled on
previous years, the information and education policy is implemented using a variety of communication
tools. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is involved in organizing educational
campaigns, national and international conferences, publishing and development of guidance-focused
internet services for the most vulnerable market participants. These initiatives focus on communicating
legislative changes as regards the powers and responsibilities of consumers and promoting institutions
that provide assistance to consumers in their individual cases—county (municipal) consumer advocates,
NGOs, the European Consumer Centre and a free helpline.

27
Id. at 94.
28
M. Jażewska-Zychowicz, The Effectiveness of Consumer Education—Selected Aspects, in Consumer Education. Aims, Instruments,
Good Practice 173 (A. Lewicka-Strzałecka ed., Wyższa Szkoła Przedsiębiorczości i Zarządzania, Warszawa 2006); A. Dąbrowska
et al., Protection and Education of Consumer in the Current Market Economy 143 (Polskie Wydawnictwo Ekonomiczne,
Warszawa 2005) (in Polish).
29
http://uokik.gov.pl/download.php?id=628 (last visited February 13, 2007).
Flaga-Gieruszyńska et al. 25

These efforts are correlated with the provisions of another strategic document—key for Member
States of the EU—that is, the ‘Consumer Policy Strategy 2007–2013’,30 introduced under EU activity
to protect consumers. The EU strategy places special emphasis on educational activities in the area
of new Member States (including Poland). They comprise, most of all, the continuation of the cycle
of information campaigns designed to raise citizens’ awareness of consumer rights and the role of
consumer NGOs.
One of the key initiatives carried out against the background of this strategy is the European Consumer
Centres Network (ECC-Net). The development of structures of consumer centres is aimed at increasing
consumer confidence by advising citizens on their rights as consumers as well as facilitating their access
to redress in cross border purchase cases. The network is co-financed and managed by the European
Commission in cooperation with the Member States, where each country appoints a centre belonging to
the network.
In addition, measures directed at consumers particularly vulnerable to negative phenomena in
economic trading have been implemented, hence the emergence of, for example, educational materials
on consumption issues aimed at high school students. Also important are the (highlighted in the strategy)
actions for the development of various forms of adult education, particularly postgraduate courses and
training on consumer policy and legal framework for consumer protection.
The indicated European and Polish postulate documents are reflected in the practical activities of
the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. In its report for the year 2012,
it indicates various forms of information and education activity. First, these are information campaigns
and conferences. Among the activities addressed to the weaker market participants and conducted in
2012, particular attention should be paid to a series of training sessions for seniors—‘Be an informed
consumer’, which were attended by nearly 2,000 people; second, internet projects concerning mainly
free access to educational publications prepared by the Office; third, cooperation with the media for the
dissemination of information on the most important issues of consumer trading; and finally, the publishing
activity relating primarily to the know-how publications as well as analyses of existing legal regulations.
These are the main directions of the operation of the Office aimed at popularizing the concept of
consumer rights protection for the widest possible range of users.
This informational and educational activity at the central level (within the framework of the
government administration) is greatly enhanced by the activities of a local nature, taken up by local
government authorities. In accordance with Art. 38 of the Act of 16 February 2007 on the Protection of
Competition and Consumers,31 the role of the local government in protecting the rights of consumers is
to carry out consumer education, particularly through the introduction of elements of consumer awareness
into the curriculum of public schools. The tasks of county self-governments in the scope of protection of
consumer rights are performed by a county (municipal) consumer advocate. The counties may, by
agreement, create a common position of the consumer advocate.
As shown by Radwański, at this level of state administrative division, this education may take many
forms. One of them is the introduction of elements of consumer knowledge in the curriculum in public
schools, as listed in the regulation itself. Other possible forms of conducting consumer education can be
read from (as mentioned in the Act) the tasks of other bodies established to protect the rights of

30
Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and Economic and Social Committee. EU
Consumer Policy Strategy 2007–2013. Empowering Consumers, Enhancing Their Welfare, Effectively Protecting Them COM
(2007) 99 final, http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/index_en.htm (last visited February 13, 2007).
31
15 J. of Laws 331 as amended (Pl).
26 Asian Journal of Legal Education 2(1)

consumers.32 In accordance with the provisions of the law, these forms include primarily the development
and publishing of publications promoting the awareness of competition and consumer protection,
development and issuing of educational programmes on the subject, publishing magazines, research
projects, brochures and leaflets in this regard.
Radwański points out that no indication of other forms of implementation of this task is not, however,
an obstacle preventing their use for this purpose. Consumer education can therefore be carried out also
in any other way. It can, for instance, take the form of publishing press articles, conducting television or
radio interviews, organizing quizzes and competitions, conferences, thematic lectures or maintaining
websites. Education in terms of the knowledge of consumer law may also be directed to entrepreneurs.33
The latter direction of educational services is often underestimated, and practice shows that, especially
micro and small entrepreneurs, without ongoing access to professional legal services, are not always
aware of their obligations towards contractors, especially those resulting from their consumer status.
As aptly stated by Sieradzka, the Act on Protection of Competition and Consumers lacks indication
of not only actual forms, but also legal aspects of conducting consumer education by local self-
government units. It needs to be considered therefore that it can be carried out both on a regular basis,
particularly through the use of those tasks by educational units and care-and-education institutions, and
ad hoc—in the form of issuing brochures and informational leaflets.34 It is undeniable that particular
application in this area will be held by non-governing forms of public administration activity, because
the use of any form of administrative coercion goes against the idea of educational and informational
purposes. Therefore, in practice, one can see the cooperation of county (municipal) consumer advocates
with research centres and NGOs of a local and wider scope. Such cooperation significantly enhances
(organizationally and substantively) the offer of advocates to consumers as regards the materials and
types of activities of educational features.
This interaction between the administration and the social activity sector stems directly from the fact
that the complement (and actually, due to its wide range—the equivalent) of actions inherent in the tasks
of public administration is civic activity, accumulated within NGOs, whose statutory tasks include the
protection of consumer rights. In Poland, the oldest NGO in this sector, with extensive regional structures,
is the Consumer Federation. This organization carries out consumer education based on various forms of
activity. Individual activities undertaken in the projects of the Federation are directed at a diverse
customer, according to his preferences and capabilities.35 The Federation focuses its activities in
two areas: (a) the field—relating to particular local communities according to their characteristics and
needs, which apply to both individual counselling, supporting the activity of county (municipal)
consumer advocates in this matter as well as activities aimed at consumer groups (e.g., picnics,
educational meetings, local campaigns); and (b) nationwide—aimed at territorially broader groups of
consumers with similar problems; in this area, there are also both permanent information activities
(e.g., campaigns on the effects of entering into adhesion contracts) as well as periodic, short-term
activities (e.g., campaigns for the safety of pyrotechnics in the New Year period).

32
Marek Radwański, Commentary to Art. 38 of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection, in Act on Competition and
Consumer Protection (Stawicki ed., 2011) (in Polish).
33
Id.
34
Małgorzata Sieradzka, Commentary to Art. 38 of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection, in Act on Competition and
Consumer Protection (Kohutek & Sieradzka eds, 2008) (in Polish).
35
Consumer Education in Local Communities, http://www.federacja-konsumentow.org.pl/story.php?story=994 (last visited July 2,
2013) (in Polish).
Flaga-Gieruszyńska et al. 27

It is worth noting that the Federation is indeed the most recognized consumer organization, but not
the only one who works in the area of consumer protection. In this regard, there are a number of NGOs
at a local and national-wide level. Their work is focused on protecting the interests of consumers as a
collective (e.g., by providing information on a particular type of market sector) as well as on an individual
basis (e.g., by educating consumers who found themselves in a particular legal situation).
There is no doubt that legal education of consumers has implications going beyond the truly important
issue of strengthening the legal awareness of this group of market trading participants. This ascertainment
makes the problem of consumer education a key issue not only for the security of economic trading with
the participation of consumers, but also in general for the development of civilization.

Consumer Cases in the Practice of Legal Clinics

One of the effective instruments of education and consumer rights protection is the activity of university
legal clinics addressed to persons with low incomes who seek legal protection, including consumers who
need support in their relationships with traders.
A characteristic feature of Polish legal counselling analyzed in terms of protection of consumer
interests and raising consumer awareness is the lack of specialized legal clinics (consumer rights clinic)
which exclusively address the needs of consumers. Such narrowly outlined organizational solutions are
used outside legal clinics within the framework of the clinic of the Consumer Federation.36 However, it
must be recognized that this is not a construction of a definitive nature, for the Polish clinical system is
now in progress, and therefore is constantly evolving and adapting to the needs of complicated rules of
the legal order in which people with a low level of legal awareness find it extremely difficult to fit in.
The direction of development of clinics in this matter is certainly set out by the current initiative of the
Ombudsman, who is taking steps to create specialized university consumer rights clinics. In the initial
phase, they are to devote special attention to the issues of the so-called credit traps (in Poland, this
problem affects primarily thousands of borrowers who took advantage of temporarily favourable loans
in foreign currency—in Swiss francs) and insurance services, in which the basic form of creating a legal
relationship with the consumer is common contracts, often imposing unreasonable, onerous terms and
conditions on the policyholder or the insured. A large part of consumer clinics activity is preventive in
nature—relating to the analysis of consumer contracts prior to their conclusion and to the education of
consumers in respect of their rights and obligations. The first clinic is to be established at the Cardinal
Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw.37
This does not mean, however, that Polish legal clinics now do not recognize the importance of consumer
issues. Consumers are among regular customers of the clinics and consumer affairs in the reports of clinical
activity are one of the major types of cases within civil law,38 next to cases of consumer bankruptcy.
Moreover, Polish clinics take compensatory actions complementing system deficiencies resulting
from lack of consumer specialty. This activity is focused in two areas: cooperation with specialized
bodies in the environment and setting in motion adequate modules of consumer education under

36
Consumer Helpline 800 007 707, http://www.federacja-konsumentow.org.pl/story.php?story=745 (last visited February 2, 2011)
(in Polish).
37
Legal Clinics Will Help Consumers, http://www.infor.pl/prawo/nowosci-prawne/250206,galeria,Kliniki-prawne-pomoga-
konsumentom.html##ixzz2nxQff (last visited May 31, 2011) (in Polish).
38
Yearly Reports on the Activity of University Legal Clinics in 2003–2012, http://www.fupp.org.pl/klinika-prawa/publikacje/
raporty (last visited December 22, 2013).
28 Asian Journal of Legal Education 2(1)

programmes of a general nature. In the first case, particularly valuable is the experience of cooperation
with the local consumer ombudsman, in which we see, under the principle of reciprocity, the transfer of
information on the competencies of both entities to consumers visiting the clinics and the ombudsmen,
the ombudsmen conducting consultations for students and the clinics issuing opinions for the needs of
the ombudsmen.39 On the other hand, an instrument of a strictly educational nature is the street law
projects, under which educational modules are prepared on basic consumer rights addressed to young
people in secondary schools.40
Consequently, it can be concluded that the special status of consumer cases in the practice of legal
clinics is only emerging, although certainly current clinical activity in the Polish legal system is widely
used in relation to such claims as well as to other categories of cases of a civil law nature.

The Question of the Effectiveness of Legal Education

of the Consumer—Concluding Remarks
An educated consumer is a consumer not only aware of his rights, but also familiar with and able to apply
redress mechanisms in case of breach thereof. That is why so much attention should be given to the
education of the consumer, including the particularly momentous education—one of a legal nature.
On the ground of EU regulations, consumer education is a key element of knowledge and compliance
with the law as well as of responsible consumption and production, compliant with the principles of
sustainable development. Education and information are an integral part of consumer protection.41 In the
context of this statement, a special relationship between the right to information and education of
consumers is highlighted, within the concept of which (in the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee), not only the provision of information is assumed, but also the preparation of
consumers that will facilitate their use of this information.42
The condition for effective education is therefore the possibility to exercise the right to information
afforded to every man. Educational tasks as regards the consumer will be realized by state bodies (both
on their own initiative and as a result the influence of the EU) as well as international organizations, both
government ones and non-government ones.
Particular importance should also be attributed to university legal clinics operating in different
countries which form part of the measures taken for the protection of various social groups (through the
possibility of obtaining free legal assistance), including those for the protection of the rights of the
consumer. Obtaining legal advice by taking information on how to pursue one’s claims by persons who
are in the situation of the consumer is the realization of the right to information, on the one hand, and a
form of legal education of these persons, on the other.
Only through systemic actions is it possible to protect consumers and the rights that they are entitled
to. Their efficiency will serve us all, as in the words of John F. Kennedy ‘consumers, by definition,
include us all’.

39
Municipal Consumer Rights Ombudsman in Cracow, http://www.law.uj.edu.pl/poradnia/site/main.php?p=wspolpraca&d=15
(last visited December 19, 2013).
40
A. Citko, A. Drozd and F. Kmiciewicz, Street Law as a Form of Legal Education, 9 Clinic 4–10 (2010).
41
See supra note 27 (last visited February 13, 2008).
42
Consumer Education: A Key Factor of Being Responsible Citizen (CES/06/25), http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CES-06-
25_en.htm (last visited March 16, 2006).