National Competition Agency’s Chair briefs Parliament on results, challenges in consumer rights protection after adoption of law

The results and challenges in consumer rights protection after the adoption of the Consumer Protection Law were presented by Irakli Lekvinadze, the Chairman of the Georgian National Competition Agency, in his report to lawmakers on Thursday.

Speaking in detail about the current and completed cases, enforcement mechanisms, and implemented activities in a sitting of the Committee of Human Rights and European Integration, Lekvinadze emphasised that out of 192 applications submitted to the agency, 109 cases had been completed, the fact of violation had been confirmed in 5 cases out of 16, and conditional commitment agreements had been signed in 28 cases out of 49, the Competition Agency said.

There is an active communication with customers and experts in the field, as well as with the business sector, in Tbilisi [Georgia’s capital] and [the country’s other] regions. We are actively coordinating with other agencies and regulatory bodies responsible for the protection of consumer rights in order to effectively ensure a high standard of rights protection”, Lekvinadze said.

As he noted, on June 1, 2022, the agency had launched the European Union-funded Twinning project, within the framework of which, consultations and technical support were being provided by a team of professionals from the competition agencies of Lithuania and Austria.

He said Consumers’ Week had been celebrated in March of this year, adding the agency had also held an international conference on customer rights protection in Tbilisi last year with the support of partner organisations.