Chilean Consumer Law & Policy: A Brief Outlook

Chilean consumer law & policy has a short but enthralling story. As compared with other jurisdictions such as EU countries its bedrocks are still in formation, particularly pertaining to its envisaged role in the regulatory spectrum applicable to consumer markets. However, such circumstance has not been a serious obstacle to have carried out several reforms in the last 10 years aimed to widen its scope of action, including a rethinking proposal regarding the policy goals to be addressed by the national consumer agency, the SERNAC.

Considering the above, in this paper we will attempt to present a brief account of the main features of Chilean consumer law, considering current socioeconomic development level of the country, the main pieces of legislation concerned to consumer protection in the Chilean legal framework – notably the Chilean Consumer Protection Act – as well as key elements of the public policy approach in this matter. A few examples of topics such as product liability and sale and purchase of consumer goods are also analyzed in order to allow compare Chilean experience in consumer protection with other jurisdictions.