نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 دانشیار گروه حقوق خصوصی دانشکده حقوق و علوم سیاسی دانشگاه مازندران، بابلسر، ایران.
2 دانشجوی دکتری حقوق خصوصی، دانشکده حقوق و علوم سیاسی، دانشگاه مازندران، بابلسر، ایران.
کلیدواژهها
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
Undoubtedly, access to information related to goods and services constitutes one of the fundamental rights of the consumer. In today's world, where goods have become increasingly complex due to the significant growth of industry and technology, it is no longer possible to properly identify the characteristics, disadvantages, or method of use of a product through traditional means. This transformation has disrupted the informational balance between the contracting parties, leaving one party—typically the consumer—in an unequal position with regard to knowledge.Under such circumstances, to restore this balance, it becomes necessary to impose a duty of disclosure upon the informed party, namely the seller or the producer. For this reason, a theory known as "the duty to provide information in contracts" has emerged in legal literature. According to this theory, the party possessing greater knowledge and information regarding the subject matter of the contract is obliged to share that knowledge with the uninformed party. This duty responds to the needs of today's consumer-oriented society, in which the buyer must be informed of essential information concerning the goods or services.In Iranian law, this duty has not been explicitly and independently recognized; however, by examining certain existing laws and principles, traces of such a duty may be inferred. In English law, there is likewise no general duty of disclosure, but custom or trade usage may serve as an important basis for the formation of such an obligation. In contrast, the new French Civil Code explicitly addresses this matter and attaches such importance to the provision of material information that its omission may lead to the annulment of the contract. In the French legal system, this duty is not only binding but also constitutes a mandatory obligation (ordre public) that cannot be waived even by agreement of the parties.Breach of this duty by the informed party may entail significant legal consequences, the most important of which are the relative nullity of the contract (pursuant to Article 1131 of the French Civil Code) and the imposition of damages as a sanction against the breaching party. These sanctions differ across the legal systems of Iran and England. Moreover, in Iranian law, depending on the circumstances, such breach may lead to the nullity of the contract (due to mistake as to the subject matter) or its rescission based on the right to rescind for latent defect and fraudulent misrepresentation. In English law, likewise, assuming the existence of fraudulent misrepresentation, it may render the contract voidable. For this reason, in most legal systems, disclosure to the consumer has been recognized as a fundamental obligation of the supplier, encompassing such matters as the method of using the goods, warnings concerning risks, hidden defects, and even the provision of necessary advice.
کلیدواژهها English