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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2021
In upholding a consumer's right to information, regulations prohibiting misleading or deceptive conduct perform a critical role in supporting consumer welfare and encouraging equity in business and commerce. While Vietnam enacted a Law on Consumer Protection in 2010, its provisions in this area are limited in ambit and application. In order to improve the effectiveness of a consumer's right to information in Vietnam, it is useful to examine the Australia Consumer Law which has a sophisticated regulatory framework in this area. By comparing the laws prohibiting misleading or deceptive conduct in the Vietnamese Law on Consumer Protection and the Australia Consumer Law, this article identifies certain similarities and differences between the two legal systems, thereby clarifying shortcomings that can lead to inadequacies and inefficiencies of this area of the law and providing a platform for law reform in Vietnam.
1 To Uyen, ‘The Right of “God” is still Seriously Violated [Quyen cua “Thuong de” van bi xâm pham nghiêm trong]’ Finance Times (14 Mar 2018) <http://thoibaotaichinhvietnam.vn/pages/nhip-cau-tieu-dung/2018-03-14/quyen-cua-thuong-de-van-bi-xam-pham-nghiem-trong-54865.aspx> accessed 14 March 2018.
2 The Vietnamese Law on Consumer Protection 2010.
3 The Vietnamese Advertising Law 2012.
4 The Vietnamese Law on Measurement 2011.
5 The Vietnamese Law on Quality of Products and Goods 2007.
6 The Vietnamese Competition Law 2015.
7 The Vietnamese Commercial Law 2005.
8 Sua Le Van, ‘Some Provisions of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights - Inadequacies Need to be Improved [Mot so quy dinh cua phap luat ve bao ve quyen loi cua nguoi tieu dung - Bat cap can hoan thien]’ (Ministry of Justice, 2015) <http://moj.gov.vn/qt/tintuc/Pages/nghien-cuu-trao-doi.aspx?ItemID=1901> accessed 15 May 2017.
9 Dainow, Joseph, ‘The Civil Law and the Common Law: Some Points of Comparison’ (1966) 15 American Journal of Comparative Law 419CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 424. The author states that in the civil law system, a code ‘is not a list of special rules for particular situations; it is, rather, a body of general principles carefully arranged and closely integrated. A code achieves the highest level of generalisation based upon a scientific structure of classification’.
10 Le (n 8). Le argues that despite Article 10 of the Law on Quality, which stipulates producer's obligations in more detail than Article 12 of the LCP, there is no reference for an application of this regulation in the LCP. This is just one of many examples of the gaps in the current legal system of consumer protection in Vietnam.
11 Competition and Consumer Law Act 2010 (Cth), sch 2 (‘Australian Consumer Law’).
12 Ramsay, Iain, Consumer Law and Policy: Text and Materials on Regulating Consumer Markets (Bloomsbury Publishing 2012)Google Scholar.
13 Howard Beales, Richard Craswell & Steven Salop, ‘Information Remedies for Consumer Protection’ (1981) 71 The American Economic Review 410.
14 Neil W Averitt & Robert H Lande, ‘Consumer Sovereignty: A Unified Theory of Antitrust and Consumer Protection Law’ (1997) 65 Antitrust Law Journal 713, 716.
15 Geraint Howells, ‘The Potential and Limits of Consumer Empowerment by Information’ (2005) 32 Journal of Law and Society 349.
16 Vietnam Competition Administration, ‘Comparative Research of Consumer Protection Laws of Some Countries - Lessons and Proposal for Vietnam [So sanh Luat bao ve nguoi tieu dung mot so nuoc tren the gioi - bai hoc kinh nghiem va de xuat mot so noi dung co ban quy dinh trong du thao Luat bao ve nguoi tieu dung Vietnam]’ <http://hoibaovenguoitieudung.hungyen.vn/Upload/files/vanban/full%20report_so%20sanh%20mot%20so%20luat%20bv%20ntd%20tren%20the%20gioi%20%20de%20xuat%20cho%20vn.pdf> assessed on 8 July 2021.
17 Hong Tran Quang &Truong Hong Quang, ‘Experiences in Designing Legal Provisions on Product Liability of Some Asean Countries [Kinh nghiem Xay dung Phap luat ve Trach nhiem San pham cua Mot so Nuoc Asean]’ (2010) 7 Law Journal 46.
18 Hanh Le Hong & Truong Hong Quang, ‘The Basic Principles of Product Liability Regulation in the United States and Some Other Countries [Cac Nguyen ly Co ban cua Che dinh Trach nhiem San pham tai Hoa Ky va Mot so Quoc gia tren The gioi]’ (2010) 2 State and Law Journal 35.
19 Loan Dinh Thi My, ‘Improvement of Consumer Protection Law in Vietnam in the Context of International Integration [Hoan thien Phap luat Bao ve Quyen loi Nguoi tieu dung o Viet Nam trong Boi canh Hoi nhap Kinh te Quoc te]’ (Ministry of Commerce 2006).
20 Stephen G Corones et al, ‘Comparative Analysis of Overseas Consumer Policy Frameworks’ (April 2016) <https://eprints.qut.edu.au/95636/1/95636.pdf> assessed on 7 July 2021.
21 Luke R Nottage, Christine Riefa & Kate Tokeley, ‘Comparative Consumer Law Reform and Economic Integration’, in Justin Malbon & Luke Nottage (eds), Consumer Law and Policy in Australia and New Zealand (Federation Press 2013).
22 Ministry of Industry and Trade, ‘Consumer protection: Need to transform towards sustainable development [Cong tac Bao ve Nguoi tieu dung: Can Phat trien Theo huong Ben vung]’ (Paper presented at the ‘Report on Consumer Protection Activities in the Period of 2011-2015’ event in Ha Noi, Vietnam) <http://www.moit.gov.vn/tin-chi-tiet/-/chi-tiet/cong-tac-bao-ve-quyen-loi-nguoi-tieu-dung-can-phat-trien-theo-huong-ben-vung-106470-22.html> assessed on 22 June 2021.
23 Australian Trade Practices Law 1974 (Cth).
24 Productivity Commission, Review of National Competition Policy Reforms (Productivity Commission Inquiry Report No. 33, 28 February 2005) (Australia) <https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/national-competition-policy/report/ncp.pdf> accessed 22 June 2021.
25 World Bank, ‘Worldwide Governance Indicators’ <https://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/Home/Reports> accessed 22 June 2021.
26 Nghia Pham Duy, ‘On the Concept of Legal Culture [Gop phan tim hieu van hoa phap luat]’ (2008) 24 VNU Journal of Science 1, 3.
27 Horst Lucke, ‘Legal History in Australia: The Development of Australian Legal/Historical Scholarship’ (2010) 34 Australian Bar Review 109, 115.
28 Luke Nottage, ‘Consumer Law Reform in Australia: Contemporary and Comparative Constructive Criticism’ (2009) 9 Queensland University Technology Law and Justice Journal 111, 116. Nottage mentioned a key lesson from the economic debacle which is drawn in parallel with the US subprime housing loans debacle that triggered the global crisis, stated by the CEO of the Commonwealth Bank: ‘All of us have to make sure we're lending responsibly to first-home buyers’.
29 Nearly 60 per cent of Australia's trade occurs with Asia: ‘People and Places of the Asia–Pacific’ (Jacaranda Online) <http://www.jaconline.com.au/essentials/downloads/JEH1_ch07.pdf> accessed 22 June 2021.
30 John Kain, Indra Kuruppu & Rowena Billing, ‘Australia's National Competition Policy: Its Evolution and Operation’ (Parliament of Australia, 3 Jun 2003) <https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/ncpebrief> accessed on 22 June 2021.
31 OECD (2018) OECD Peer Reviews of Competition Law and Policy: Vietnam <http://oe.cd.vtn> accessed on 22 June 2021.
32 ANT Consulting Co, ‘Vietnam is Recognized by 69 Countries as a Market Economy: Opportunities to Promote Trade and Investment’ (6 Feb 2018) <http://www.antconsult.vn/news/vietnam-is-recognized-by-69-countries-as-a-market-economy-opportunities-to-promote-trade-and-investment.html> accessed 30 June 2021. This article show that Vietnam has not been recognized by the US and EU as a market economy, as the US and the EU still believe that the Vietnamese economy has not met technical standards.
33 Aubrey L Diamond, ‘Reports of Committees, The Molony Committee, Final report of the Committee on Consumer Protection’ (Cmnd 1781, July 1962 (HMSO, 18s)) <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1963.tb00699.x> accessed on 22 June 2021.
34 David Harland, ‘Misleading or deceptive conduct: The breadth and limitations of the prohibition’ (1991) 4 Journal of Contract Law 107–120.
35 Norbert Reich, ‘Diverse Approaches to Consumer Protection Philosophy’ (1992) 14 Journal of Consumer Policy 257, 261.
36 ‘The Recent Fair-Trading Debate in Australia’ (Australian National University) <http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p98831/mobile/ch09s03.html> accessed on 22 June 2021.
37 The Victorian Fair Trading Act 1999.
38 Rod Sims, ‘The Bite and the Park of Consumer Law (Australia)’ (2012) 50 Law Society Journal 74.
39 Standing Committee of Officials of Consumer Affairs, ‘An Australian Consumer Law: Fair Markets: Confident Consumers’ Treasury’ (2009).
40 Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) sch 2, part 2-1, 2-2.
41 Deloitte Access Economics and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, ‘The Sharing Economy and the Competition and Consumer Act’ (2015) <https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Sharing%20Economy%20-%20Deloitte%20Report%20-%202015.pdf> accessed 17 May 2018.
42 Louise Sylvan, ‘Activating Competition: The Consumer-Competition Interface’ (2004) 12 Competition and Consumer Law Journal 191, 192.
43 Productivity Commission, ‘Review of Australia's Consumer Policy Framework’ (Final Report, 2008) (Australia).
44 Sylvan (n 42) 192.
45 Christine Jolls, Cass R Sunstein & Richard Thaler, ‘A Behavioral Approach to Law and Economics’ (1998) 50 Stanford Law Review 1471; Hanneke A Luth, Behavioural Economics in Consumer Policy: The Economic Analysis of Standard Terms in Consumer Contracts Revisited (Intersentia 2010) 49, 164. Behavioural economics emerged as a theory that combines the study of economics with psychological theory and significantly influenced consumer policy in developed countries, provides supplementary justification for state-based interventions due to its discovery that the consumer usually owes misconception to not being rational as recognized by conventional understanding.
46 Productivity Commission (n 43) 27.
47 ibid.
48 Howard Beales, Richard Craswell & Steven C Salop, ‘The Efficient Regulation of Consumer Information’ (1981) 24 The Journal of Law & Economics 491, 493.
49 Standing Committee of Officials of Consumer Affairs, ‘An Australian Consumer Law: Fair Markets – Confident Consumers’ (Treasury of Australia, 17 February 2009).
50 HJM Boukema, Good law: Towards a Rational Lawmaking Process (Verlag Peter Lang GmbH 1982) 30–31.
51 Vietnam Competition Administration, ‘Meeting: Summing up Consumer Protection Activities in Vietnam in the 2011–2015 period [Hoi nghi tong ket cong tac bao ve nguoi tieu dung Vietnam giai doan 2011-2015]’ (21 Jan 2016) <http://sct.haiduong.gov.vn/Tin-moi/ket-qua-cong-tac-cai-cach-hanh-chinh-nam-2015-cua-so-cong-thuong-Ui2buTVvl6.htm> accessed 30 June 2021.
52 Anh Nguyen Thi Van, ‘Current Legal Framework of Consumer Protection in Vietnam [Thuc trang phap luat Vietnam ve bao ve quyen loi nguoi tieu dung]’ (2010) 11 Law Journal 3, 8.
53 Donald E Chambers & Kenneth R Wedel, Social Policy and Social Programs: A Method for the Practical Public Policy Analyst (4th end, Pearson Education Inc 2005) 56.
54 ibid. Chambers and Wedel enumerate six policy elements that form the cornerstone of every policy and program: (1) mission, goals, and objectives, (2) forms of benefits or services delivered (3) entitlement (eligibility) rules (4) administrative or organizational structure for service delivery (5) financing method (6) interactions among the foregoing elements.
55 ibid 57.
56 ibid 56, 57. Chambers and Wedel enumerate types of basic policy elements of administration and service delivery including centralization, federation, case management, referral agency, indigenous worker staffing, racially oriented agencies, administrative fair hearing, due process protections for clients’ procedural rights and citizen participation.
57 LCP, art 10.
58 Tam Le Minh, ‘Building Up and Improving the Vietnamese Legal System – Issues on Theory and Practice [Xay dung va hoan thien he thong phap luat Viet Nam - Nhung van de ly luan va thuc tien]’ [2003] People's Public Security 212, 213.
59 Resolution on the Process of Selecting, Promulgating and Applying Case Law 2015.
60 John Gillespie & Pip Nicholson, ‘The Diversity and Dynamism of Legal Change in Socialist China and Vietnam’, in John Gillespie & Pip Nicholson (eds), Asian Socialism and Legal Change: The dynamics of Vietnamese and Chinese Reform (ANU Press 2005) 1, 7.
61 The Vietnamese Commercial Law 2005
62 The Vietnamese Competition Law 2018
63 The Vietnamese Advertising Law 2012.
64 Article 156.3 of The Vietnamese Law on Promulgation of Legal Normative Documents 2015 stipulates that ‘if various legal normative documents promulgated by the same agency contain different regulations on the same issue, the one that is promulgated later shall apply’. In accordance with this regulation, it is impossible for courts and governmental bodies to apply different regulatory provisions of many different laws that regulate the same issues relating to consumer protection.
65 Gerard Conway, ‘Conflicts of Competence Norms in EU Law and the Legal Reasoning of the ECJ’ (2010) 11 German Law Journal 966, 986–987. Conway describes this traditional rule as follows: ‘It is important to note that the application of lex specialis excludes lex generalis, otherwise lex specialis might be the first stage of the reasoning but would be eclipsed or superseded by (an interpretation based on) lex generalis’.
66 The Vietnamese Law on Measurement 2011.
67 The Vietnamese Law on Quality of Goods and Services 2007.
68 The Vietnamese Commercial Law 2005.
69 The Vietnamese Commercial Law 2005, art 123.
70 The Vietnamese Commercial Law 2005, art 97.
71 ibid.
72 John Lockhart, ‘The Doctrine of Precedent—Today and Tomorrow’ (1987) 3 Australian Bar Review 1, 1. Lockhart explains that ‘the doctrine of binding precedent in its strictest form (stare decisis according to orthodox theory) means that lower courts are bound to follow the decisions of courts above them in the hierarchy and that superior appellate courts are bound by their own previous decisions’.
73 Colin Lockhart, The Law of Misleading or Deceptive Conduct (4th edn, LexisNexis Butterworths 2014) 95.
74 Stephen G Corones, The Australian Consumer Law (Thomson Reuters Lawbook Co 2011) 95.
75 Dan Svantesson, ‘Some Observations on the Regulation of Misleading or Deceptive Conduct’ (2007) 13 The National Legal Eagle 6, 18.
76 Corones (n 74) 99.
77 Rhone-Poulenc Agrochimie SA v UIM Chemical Services Pty Ltd (1986) 12 FCR 477, 504.
78 Lockhart (n 73) 52.
79 Lockhart (n 73) 95.
80 Commonwealth Bank of Ireland Act v Mehta (1991) ATPR para 41-103.
81 Rhone-Poulenc Agrochimie SA (n 77) 490.
82 Corones (n 74) 100. Corones analyzes the case Miller & Associates Insurance Broking Pty Ltd v BMW Australia Finance Limited [2010] HCA 31.
83 Corones (n 74) 101.
84 Concrete Constructions (NSW) Pty Ltd v Nelson (1990) 169 CLR 594.
85 Corones (n 74) 57. Corones analyzes the cases Taylor v Crossman (No 2) [2012] FCAFC 11; 199 FCR 363; Astra Resources Plc v Full Expose Pty Ltd [2012] FCA 1061 paras 28–31; Weir v Screen [2013] ACTSC 188 paras 86–90.
86 Alexander Bruce, Consumer Protection Law in Australia (1st edn, LexisNexis 2011).
87 Concrete Constructions (NSW) Pty Ltd v. Nelson (n 84).
88 Bruce (n 86) 61.
89 O'Brien v. Smolonogov (1982) 43 ATPR 847.
90 Argy v Blunts [1990] 94 ALR 719, ATPR 51 para 274.
91 Bruce (n 86) 63. Bruce analyzes the case O'Brien v. Smolonogov (1982) 43 ATPR 847 and Argy v Blunts [1990] 94 ALR 719, ATPR 51 para 274.
92 Patrick v Steel Mains Pty Ltd 77 ALR 133; (1987) ATPR para 40–794; Finucane v New South Wales Egg Corporation (1988) 80 ALR 486, Walker v Salomon Smith Barney Securities Pty Ltd [2003] FCA 1099; 140 IR 433, 10 October 2003.
93 Bruce (n 86) 65.
94 Lockhart (n 73) 94.
95 Hornsby Building Information Centre Ltd v Sydney Building Information Centre Ltd [1978] 140 CLR 216 para 228.
96 Johnson Tiles Pty Ltd v Esso Australia Ltd [1999] FCA 477; (1999) ATPR para 41–696; 45 IPR 453.
97 Singtel Optus Pty Ltd v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [2012] FCAFC 20.
98 Hornsby Building Information Centre Ltd v Sydney Building Information Centre Ltd (1978) 140 CLR 216 at 228; 18 ALR 639 at 647 (Stephen J); CLR 234; ALR 651 (Murphy J).
99 Seven Network Ltd v News Interactive Pty Ltd [2004] FCA 1047; 63 IPR 28.
100 Lockhart (n 73) 85. Lockhart analyzes the cases World Series Cricket Pty Ltd v Parish [1977] 16 ALR 181 [201] per Brennan J; Global Sportsman Pty Ltd v Mirror Newspapers Ltd (1984) 2 FCR 82 [88], 55 ALR 25 [30] per Powen CJ, Lockhart and Fitzgerald JJ.
101 Lockhart (n 73). Lockhart refers to the cases Parkdale Custom Built Furniture Pty Ltd v Puxu Pty Ltd [1982] 149 CLR 191; Campell v Backoffice Investment Pty Ltd [2009] HCA 25, 238 CLR 304; 257 ALR 610 para 25 (French CJ); ACCC v TPG Internet Pty Ltd [2013] HCA 54; 304 ALR 186 para 39(French CJ, Crennan, Bell and Keane JJ).
102 Global Sportsman Pty Ltd v Mirror Newspaper Ltd [1984] ATPR para 40–463.
103 Svantesson (n 75) 19.
104 Lockhart (n 73) 89.
105 Lockhart (n 73) 88.
106 Taco Company of Australia Inc. & Anor. v. Taco Bell Pty. Ltd. & Ors. (1982) ATPR para 40-303.
107 McWilliam's Wines Pty Ltd v McDonald's System of Australia Pty Ltd [1980] FCA 188; 49 FLR 455.
108 Lockhart (n 73) 96.
109 Parkdale Custom Built Furniture Pty Ltd v Puxu Ltd (1982) 149 CLR 191.
110 Lockhart (n 73) 97.
111 ibid 100.
112 ibid 100.
113 ibid 101.
114 ibid.
115 (1982) ATPR para 40–303.
116 Svantesson (n 75) 19–20.
117 ibid 19. Svantesson refers to the case Seven Network Ltd v News Interactive Pty Ltd [2004] FCA 1047; 63. IPR 28.
118 ibid 20. Svantesson refers to the case Campomar Sociedad v Nike International Ltd. [2000] HCA 12; 202 CLR 45; 169 ALR 677.
119 .au Domain Administration Ltd v Domain Names Australia Pry Ltd [2004] FCA 424.
120 Telstra Corporation Limited v Singtel Optus Pty Ltd [2020] FCA 1372 (25 Sep 2020).
121 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v TPG Internet Pty Ltd [2013] HCA 54 (12 Dec 2013.
122 Lockhart (n 73) 108.
123 Lockhart (n 73) 113.
124 Andrew Palmer, ‘The Scope of the Similar Fact Rule’ (1994) 16 Adelaide Law Review 161, 161.
125 Bernard Robertson & Amelia Wheatley, ‘Similar Fact Evidence in Civil Proceedings: Proof or Policy’ (2007) 26 University of Queensland Law Journal 99, 102.
126 Hoch v The Queen (1988) 165 CLR 292 (5 Oct 1988).
127 ibid.
128 Lockhart (n 73) 115.
129 Lockhart (n 73) 117. Lockhart refers and analyzes the cases WEA International Inc v Hanimex Corp Ltd [1987] 17 FCR 274, 280; 77 ALR 456, 462 (Gummow J) (Fed Ct); Interlego AG v Croner Trading Pty Ltd [1992] 39 FCR 348, 388; 111 ALR 577, 618 (Gummow J) (Balck CJ and Lockhart agreeing); Netcomm (Aust) Pty Ltd v Dataplex Pty Ltd [1988] 81 ALR 101, 105 (Gummow J) (Fed Ct); QDSV Holdings Pty Ltd v TPC [1995] 59 FCR 301, 311; 131 ALR 493, 502 (Sackville J) (Full Fed Ct); Horgan v Pacific Dunlop Ltd [1988] 83 ALR 403 para 234 (Gummow J) (Fed Ct); Thai World Import and Export Co Ltd v Shuey Shing Pty Ltd [1989] 17 IPR 289, 296; [1990] ATPR para 40–988 (Gummow J) (Fed Ct).
130 Russell Victor Miller, Miller's Australian Competition and Consumer Law Annotated (Thomson Reuters (Professional) Australia Ltd 2017) 1583.
131 ibid 1583.
132 Christian Juebner, ‘Misleading or Deceptive Conduct Claims Practical Hints for Practitioners’ (Victoria Bar) <https://www.vicbar.com.au/file/5691/download?token=hsbloa4Y> accessed on 04 July 2021.
133 Butcher v Lachlan Elder Realty Pty Ltd (2004) 218 CLR 592 para 32.
134 Henjo Investments Pty Ltd v Collins Marrickville Pty Ltd (No 1) 4 (1988) 39 FCR 546, 555.
135 ibid.
136 ibid.
137 Chew, Charles, ‘The scope and limitations of the doctrine of misleading or deceptive conduct in the context of guarantees: some perspectives and uncertainties’ (2006) 3 Macquarie Journal of Business Law 79Google Scholar, 88.
138 Accounting Systems 2000 (Developments) Pty Ltd v CCH Australia Ltd (1993) 42 FCR 488.
139 Butcher v Lachlan Elder Realty Pty Ltd (2004) 218 CLR 592.
140 Google Inc v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [2013] HCA 1; 249 CLR 435.
141 ibid.
142 Lockhart (n 73) 127.
143 Consumer protection regulation in relation to financial services is regulated by The Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act (2001) (Cth).
144 To make regulations more detailed, the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016 (the Information Standard) was made in accordance with the ACL (cl 134, effective 1 July 2016).