The Role of the Committee of the Abusive Terms in Protecting the Electronic Consumer

Abstract

It is known that the consumer electronically contracting is subject to several conditions or terms prepared in advance by the electronic supplier, and the electronic consumer only has to accept or reject them completely as he is the weak party in the contractual relationship and these conditions are often embodied in abusive  terms, whether the latter are expressed in a language that the consumer understands or ignores.

The Algerian legislator has intervened in order to enshrine the consumer’s protection from abusive conditions. It established the committee of abusive terms according to the executive decree No. 306/06 of September 10, 2006, which defines the basic elements of contracts concluded between economic agents and consumers and the terms considered to be abusive. This committee searches for any abusive term or condition that leads to a breach of the contractual balance between the consumer and the electronic supplier, and this is what we will try to clarify through this research paper, as we seek to define both the organization of this committee and its rules of operation and the extent of its effectiveness in protecting the contracting consumer electronically as an advisory body that does not bear any deterrent character against the electronic resource.

The existence of such committees aims at proposing the removal or modification of the abusive conditions that cause an imbalance in the relationship between the contracting parties. They also work to help other parties active in the field of consumer protection by providing  them with appropriate opinions and suggestions.