消費者保護工作為當前多數國家重要施政目標之一,紛紛制定了具公信力、公權力的消費者保護機制與措施,如制定消費者保護法令、成立中央層級的消費者保護組織等,以落實中央及地方消費者保護之工作,保障消費者之權利。而我國亦於二O一二年一月一日將行政院消費者保護組織改制,由原來的行政院消費者保護委員會併入行政院內部業務單位為「行政院消費者保護處」。 而改制後之消費者保護組織正逢一連串之食品安全事件,並藉此檢視及發現,現行消費者保護組織確實存在著許多問題。顯示出不僅是中央與中央、中央與地方間之消費者保護組織與爭議處理平台、溝通協調及執行層面及主管機關之責任歸屬均出現了爭議及漏洞,更甚者,組織改制已存在的消費者保護組織之問題,於組織改制後仍繼續存在。是否有如行政院研究發展考核委員會所預期的除了層級的提升,對消費者保護的工作效能也提升了?是有疑義的。 由於我國之消費者保護組織制度之設計於立法當初均參考國外,故本文之研究主要是以比較法為主。而本文更以日本為我國消費者保護之比較法主要對象,另以美國、瑞典、韓國等國家為次要之比較國家,藉此與我國現行消費者保護組織交互對照並給予建議。 另外,我國現行之消費者保護組織除行政院消費者保護處外,尚包括中央各目的事業主管機關、各地方政府、地方消費者服務中心及消費爭議調解委員會及消費者保護官制度,將一併檢討並給予建議,以期對我國現行消費者保護組織改制之助益。
Consumer protection is one of the most important national policy. In order to completing the central and local consumer protection work to protect the rights of consumer’s, most countries have developed a credible, public power of the consumer protection mechanisms and measures, for example, to legislate for consumer protection laws, to establish consumer protection organizations in central level…etc,. Also in January 1, 2012, Taiwan’s consumer protection organizations had restructured. Original Consumer Protection Commission, Executive Yuan had incorporated inside one of the internal unit of the Executive Yuan –called Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). After the restructuring of the consumer protection organization, DCP coincided with a series of food safety incidents, and discovered that existing consumer protection organizations exist many problems indeed. These problems has protruded the relationship between not only central and central but central and local’s, and there has been controversy and vulnerability of consumer protection organizations and dispute processing platform, communication and coordination, implementation level of accountabilities and it’s authority. Furthermore, before organizational restructuring, there has problems about consumer protection organizations, and the same problems still exist now. So, there is a doubt whether the effectiveness of DCP has improved just like Development and Evaluation Commission, Executive Yuan expected? Because most of the design of the organizational system of consumer protection is taken from foreign, therefore, this paper is based on studying comparative law. In this paper, I use Japan's consumer protection organizations as the major object, also in the United States, Sweden, South Korea and other countries of relatively minor object to comparison of Taiwan’s consumer protection organization (Including various central industry competent authority, local government, local consumer service centers and consumer dispute mediation committee and Consumer Protection Officer system) and give my advice.