Open AccessCONSUMER PROTECTION LEGISLATION AND PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
Author(s) -
Jan L. Neels
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
obiter (port elizabeth. online)/obiter (port elizabeth)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2709-555X
pISSN - 1682-5853
DOI - 10.17159/obiter.v31i1.12380
Subject(s) - legislator , legislation , conflict of laws , scope (computer science) , consumer protection , context (archaeology) , business , private law , choice of law , law and economics , law , political science , public law , economics , computer science , paleontology , biology , programming language
Although South African private international law is primarily based on bilateral and multilateral reference rules, the legislator in recent consumer protection legislation rather employs unilateral conflict rules by the identification of rules of immediate application and in the form of scope rules. The relevant provisions in the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 and the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 are discussed, together with the role that the traditional conflict rules still play. A new rule of private international law for consumer contracts is proposed; in this regard the principle of preferential treatmentwill play a role in the context of alternative reference rules.