Banaras Hindu University The Seminar will be organised in the beau ful Campus of Banaras Hindu University, a great

seat of learning, ranks among the top universi es in the country in the eld of academic and research output. Alumni of BHU ac vely par cipated in the freedom movement and a er independence served the country in various capaci es, which they are doing ll today. The university has made its mark both na onally and interna onally in academic and poli cal elds. Nearly twenty thousand students are currently enrolled for dierent degree and research degrees. More than 650 students from 34 countries are also part of its total strength. Law School The Law School is one of the earliest Facul es established in the Banaras Hindu University, when teaching started in 192122 academic session. Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the founder of this university, served for many years as Dean of Law School. The legal luminaries like Sir Ras Behari Ghosh and Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, were the earlier Deans. The founda on stone of present building was laid down by the former Prime Minister of India, Late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri on 28th December, 1964. The Law School has been pioneer in introducing full me three years LL.B course, two years full me LL.M. programme, two years full me special courses of LL.M. in Human Rights and Du es Educa ons and Clinical Legal Educa on and Legal Aid Program to cater the needs of the poor. The Law School has also taken a lead to introduce community oriented courses of law introducing Environment Law, Law and Country and Town Planning, Law and Poverty, Law and Popula on, Law and Animals and Many more which were unheard to most of the Law colleges of India. The Banaras Law School was one of the Six Universi es in India to start CLINICAL LEGAL SERVICES. The model developed by Law School has been judged as the best model by Honorable Mr. Jus ce P. N. Bhagwa , former Chief Jus ce of India. The Law School is publishing a highly reputed law journal in the country on biannual basis. Eminent Indian and foreign scholars contribute research papers for publica on in journal. The law school also publishes a quarterly News Le er. Under the dynamic leadership of the current Dean, Prof. B.C.Nirmal, who has an extensive academic exposure at na onal and interna onal levels, the faculty has decided to organize this Na onal Seminar.

Chief Patron Dr. Lalji Singh (Padmashri), Hon'ble ViceChancellor, BHU. Patrons Prof. B. C. Nirmal, Head & Dean Faculty of Law, BHU & Director, Na onal Seminar Prof. Suresh Mishra, Chair Professor, (Consumer, aairs) and Coordinator, Center for Consumer studies, IIPA, New Delhi Advisory Commi ee: 1. Prof. M. P. Singh, Faculty of Law, BHU 2. Prof. D. P. Verma, Faculty of Law, BHU 3. Prof. B. N. Pandey, Faculty of Law, BHU 4. Prof. D. K. Sharma, Faculty of Law, BHU 5. Prof. R. P. Rai, Faculty of Law, BHU 6. Prof. Ali Mehdi, Faculty of Law, BHU 7. Prof. M. N. Haque, Faculty of Law, BHU Organizing Commi ee: 1. Prof. B.C.Nirmal
Head & Dean and Director, Na onal Seminar

BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF LAW

2. Dr. S. K. Gupta Joint Director 3. Dr. G. P. Sahoo Treasurer 4. Dr. Manoj Kumar Padhy Organizing Sec. 5. Dr. R. K. Singh Joint Organizing Secretary 6. Dr. N. K. Mishra Joint Organizing Secretary Some Important Contacts 1. Transporta on Commi ee: Prof. Sibaram Tripathy (Mob. 09935940424) 2. Accommoda on Commi ee Dr. R.K.Patel (Mob. 9473760774)

National Seminar on

Legal Protection of Consumers in A Global Economy- Recent Approaches and The Way Forward
March 2930, 2014
In Collabora on With The Centre For Consumer Studies, Indian Ins tute Of Public Administra on, New Delhi

ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Dr. Manoj Kumar Padhy (Associate Professor) Organizing Secretary Na onal Seminar on Legal Protec on of Consumers in a Global Economy Recent Approaches and the Way Forward
Faculty of Law, BHU, Varanasi05, INDIA Tel & Fax: 919450545319, 09794949608, 09450285612 & 91542 2369018, Email: drmkpadhy@gmail.com manojlaw2007@redimail.com dean.lawschool.bhu@gmail.com

Banaras Hindu Un Varanasi

Faculty of Law

Venue

iversity,

Concept Note John. F. Kennedy once said Consumers by deni on include us all. They are the largest economic group aec ng and aected by almost every public and private economic decision. Yet they are only important group.whose views are o en not heard. This declara on eventually leads to the interna onal recogni on of the fact that all ci zens regardless of their income or social standing have basic rights as a consumer. In India, the consumer movement is as old as trade and commerce. Now as a result of integra on between the domes c and interna onal market there is a change in the landscape of consumer behavior in terms of products, services, taste and preferences and this may further be strengthened by FDI in retail sector as it has already been cleared by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Consumer has always remained as a game changer for economic ac vi es and therefore treated as the king in changing business scenario. But in reality, he is the vic m of unscrupulous and exploita ve prac ces such as misleading adver sements, selling of defec ve goods, decient services by the service providers, hidden costs of the products, food adultera on and many more. Therefore, the consumer needs awareness and protec on and this can only be ensured by eec ve implementa on of the exis ng legisla on and enactment of new legisla on if required. Further, evalua on of current issues and iden ca on of future challenges is also necessary. So that there can be a planned and strategic approach. The globaliza on, liberaliza on and advent of the ecommerce have made the world a single marketplace. ECommerce, which has the ability to transcend boarders, establishes virtual residence of consumers of products and services at any place in the world. This in turn has raised the issues rela ng to fraud and decep on, privacy, security and the jurisdic on in the cyberspace. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) not only protects the original and crea ve capacity of the owners of IPR who supplies goods and services, but it is also concern with the interest of the consumer of those goods and services directly or indirectly especially in the areas of trademarks and geographical indica ons which protects the consumers in buying quality products and protect them from use of substandard product which may cause health and safety hazards. Thus the proper protec on and enforcement of IPR are important aspects of consumer protec on. As a result of globaliza on and liberaliza on the rural market of India has become one of the largest poten al markets in the world. Thus, there is a vast opportunity for rural marke ng. But it has been observed that the exploita on of consumers is even more severe in the rural areas as the rural consumers are illiterate and ignorant of their rights. This aspect of consumer protec on needs to be highlighted. Adultera on of food substances which are injurious to health, lowering the quality and standard of food substances by removing the nutri ous elements and false and misleading adver sements in the print and electronic media etc. are the other menaces against the consumers which require serious delibera ons. Consumers are also needed to be protected from dishonest service providers in eld of telecom, banking, insurance, electricity, medical and educa on etc. The Consumer Protec on Act, 1986, the key legisla on to protect the interest of the consumers, provides for the establishment of the consumer council and consumer forums for the se lement of consumer disputes. The said Act has been amended in the years 1991, 1993 and 2002 to make the provisions more eec ve. Although the consumer dispute redressal agencies have served the purpose of the said Act to some extent, but in many cases the disposal has not been as quick as expected due to various constraints. Several shortcomings are being no ced while implemen ng this Act. With a view to widening and amplifying the provisions of the said Act, to facilitate faster disposal of cases and to ra onalize the qualica on and selec on of the president and members of the Na onal Commission, State Commission and the District Forum, it has been felt necessary to amend this Act. The Consumer Protec on (Amendment) Bill, 2011 inter alia makes the following provisions namely: a) inser ng the expression unfair contract; b) extending the jurisdic on of a District Forum to any other district; and c) making of a complaint in electronic form also to the district forum etc. The Bill needs to be discussed and

examined before it becomes a law. Apart from the Consumer Protec on Act, 1986, A number of consumer protec on legisla on are being enacted by the parliament from me to me to protect the consumers from various types of unfair, unethical and restric ve trade prac ces. These include Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, Legal Metrology Act, 2009, Drugs and Cosme c Act, 1940, Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objec onable Adver sements) Act, 1954, Cable Television Network (Regula on) Act, 1995 and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 etc. Whether these legisla on achieved their desired goal is an aspect which needs to be examined. The Seminar will focus on following Issues/Subthemes 1. Legal Protec on of Consumers: Na onal and Interna onal Perspec ve 2. Globaliza on, Indian Market and the Consumers 3. Ecommerce and Consumer Protec on in Online Medium 4. Intellectual Property Rights and Consumer Protec on 5. Legal Protec on of Rural Consumers 6. Consumer Protec on Legisla ons and the Problems of their Implementa on 7. Food Safety and Standard 8. False and Misleading Adver sements 9. Consumer Protec on and the Service Sectors Including Telecom, Banking, Insurance, Electricity, Medical and Educa on etc. 10. Media and the Consumer 11. Consumer Awareness, Educa on and the Role of NGOs 12. Consumer Protec on Act, 1986/Consumer Protec on (Amendment) Bill, 2011

Above iden ed issues/subthemes are only illustra ve. Par cipants may select the related topics covered under the main theme. Registra on Fees Up to March 20, 2014: A nominal fee of Rs.800/ is xed for all delegates (Accompanying Guest Rs. 600/). A er March 20, 2014: Rs. 1200/ for all delegates (Accompanying Guest Rs. 1000/). Payment may be made by cheque or Demand Dra in favour of NS Law School BHU payable at Varanasi. Call for Papers Research Papers/Ar cles and Case Studies from academicians, research scholars and students are invited for presenta on in the Na onal Seminar subject to selec on by Academic Program Commi ee. Communica on of acceptance will be sent to selected authors for presenta on. Only par cipants present in the seminar premises will be issued their cer cates. Co authorship is allowed but it is limited to two coauthors. Each coauthor is required to register and pay the registra on fees individually. Guidelines for submission of Papers Text paper should be wri en in hard as well as so (in MS Word, Font: Times New Roman, 12 Font size, 1.5 line spacing & in 02 copies). The abstract (in maximum two hundred words) must reach Organizing Secretary, Na onal Seminar On Legal Protec on of Consumers in a Global Economy Recent Approaches and the Way Forward, Faculty of Law, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi221005 latest by February 28, 2014. The full paper must be submi ed latest by March 15, 2014. The abstract and the full paper must be sent through Email at drmkpadhy@gmail.com or manojlaw2007@redimail.com Accommoda on Faculty of Law will arrange accommoda on for the delegates on rst come rst serve basis subject to availability of rooms.