Research Report: Consumer protection in Ghana research (ENG)

Part One Chapter One 1 Background The earliest known statement on consumer protection made apart from Lord Atkins’ ruling in the celebrated case of Donoghue vs. Stevenson was made by John F. Kennedy in 1962 when he was the President of the United States of America. In his congressional speech which he delivered then he outlined four consumer rights; the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose and the right to be heard.

In his definition of a consumer, John F. Kennedy said ‘consumers by definition include us all.

They are the largest economic group, affecting and effected by almost every public and private economic decision, yet they are the only important whose view are often not heard.’

In his view the basic four rights means; 1. The right to safety-to be protected against the marketing of goods which are hazardous to health or life; 2. The rights to be informed-to be protected against fraudulent, deceitful or grossly misleading information, and to be given the facts one needs to make an informed choice; 3. The right to choose-to be assured access, wherever possible, to a variety of products and services at competitive prices; 4. The right to be heard-to be assured that consumer interests will receive full consideration in the formulation of government policy, and fair and expeditious treatment in its administrative courts.

This speech opened a lot of doors for consumers across the world and eventually became the basis for principles on consumer protection. In 1981 the draft guidelines for consumer protection were submitted to ECOSOC in response of request stated above. Following extensive and detailed discussions and negotiations, the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection were adopted by a consensus resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on the 9th day of April, 1985. It was amended on the 26th day of July, 1999 by the addition of the section on ‘Sustainable Consumption’.

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