Consultation Paper on Alternative Dispute Resolution - Law Reform ...

usually settled at a meeting with the department under which the matter falls.
The parties are not entitled to be present at the meeting.
(2) Denmark
8.64 Similarly in Denmark, the Consumer Complaints Board deals with
complaints from private consumers concerning goods, labour or services
provided by businesses. 102 A complaint is dealt with on the basis of written
documentation, and oral statements may not be made by the parties during
meetings of the Board. A complaint may be referred to the Board only if it has
already been addressed to the business concerned. The Consumer Complaints
Board consists of a chairman and members representing the interests of
consumers and trade and industry. The chairman must be a judge and may not
have any specific affiliation to consumer or trade and industry organisations.
Decisions are not binding or enforceable. When the Board has made a decision,
the matter may be brought to court by either party. If the Board‘s decision is not
complied with, the secretariat may bring the matter to court at the request and
on behalf of the consumer. As with the Swedish system, decisions are not
binding. If a decision is not complied with by a business, the case may be
brought before the civil courts. Such cases are subject to special regulations
under which the consumer may receive legal aid. Under a special scheme, a
decision may also be brought to court by the Danish Consumer Council. An
innovation in this area is a list published on the Internet listing businesses that
have not complied with Consumer Complaints Board decisions. However, if the
business wants the case brought to court, its name may not be published until
final judgment is pronounced in the case.
(3) Norway
8.65 In its 2008 Report already referred to, ECC Dublin recommended the
redress system for consumers in Norway as a model for best practice in
Ireland. 103 The Norwegian model is a hybrid system which means that a
102 See http://www.forbrug.dk/english/complaints-board/about-the-consumercomplaints-board/.
In the Netherlands, the Foundation for Consumer Complaints
Boards (Stichting Geschillencommissies voor Consumentenklachten) groups over
41 consumer complaint boards in various economic areas, which are made up of
independent arbitrators and technical experts. Decisions of the complaints boards
are binding and final. See
http://www.ser.nl/~/media/Files/Internet/Consumentenvoorwaarden/Engels/Prese
ntation_De_Geschillencommissie.ashx.
103 See The development of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Ireland: An
analysis of complaints, best practice and future recommendations (ECC
Ireland, 2008) Available at
285