Three instances of negotiation procedures in the Federal Republic of Germany

The report deals with three types of negotiation procedures: the product information system, the voluntary right of rescission in direct selling contracts, and the widespread phenomenon of standard form recommendations. In order to facilitate a comparison each analysis is structured in an identical way: (a) presentation of the contents in their relation to legal rules; (b) motives behind their establishment; (c) description of the procedure; (d) evaluation of the monitoring of the codes and of the sanctions for non-compliance. The product information system is an example of the common initiative of business interests, consumer organizations, and the German government in developing a scheme which enables the consumer to compare the quality of products. The system may be characterized by the absence of legal rules, self-administration of the negotiation procedure, and equal bargaining power of business and consumer organizations. The voluntary right of rescission represents the unilateral initiative of the direct selling organizations in the light of foreseeable regulation. Consumer organizations are integrated in the process of implementation to legitimate the voluntary code. Standard form recommendations represent a type of negotiation where the bargaining power of the consumer organization and of the administrative control authority may be regarded as a product of legal intervention. Negotiation between the parties involved takes place to implement the Standard Form Contracts Act. In its conclusion the report supports the position of those who are rather sceptical as to whether negotiation is an appropriate means to improve consumer protection. On the other hand the somewhat negative experiences can be used to delineate a set of conditions required for negotiations to be a useful tool in consumer protection.