EUROPEAN UNION (ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION FOR CONSUMER DISPUTES) REGULATIONS 2015
Source: Iris Oifigiúl 2015-08-04

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paragraphs: These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes) Regulations 2015.
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paragraphs: (1) In these Regulations—
(a) enables information to be stored in a way that is accessible for future reference for a period of time adequate to the purposes of the information, and
(b) allows the unchanged reproduction of the stored information;
(a) a natural person,
(b) or a legal person, whether—
(i) privately owned,
(ii) publicly owned, or
(iii) partly privately owned and partly publicly owned,
(2) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations and which is also used in the Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive.
(3) Save where the Directive states otherwise, where any provision of the Directive conflicts with a provision laid down in another legal act of the European Union which relates to out-of-court redress procedures initiated by a consumer against a trader, the provision of the Directive shall prevail.
(4) The Directive shall be without prejudice to Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters3 .
(5) Article 13 of the Directive shall be without prejudice to provisions of consumer information on out-of-court redress procedures contained in other legal acts of the European Union which shall apply to that Article.
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paragraphs: (1) Subject to paragraph (2), these Regulations shall apply to procedures for the out-of-court resolution of domestic and cross-border disputes concerning contractual obligations stemming from sales contracts or service contracts between a trader established in the European Union and a consumer resident in the European Union through the intervention of an ADR entity which proposes or imposes a solution or brings the parties together with the aim of facilitating an amicable solution.
(2) These Regulations shall not apply to:
(a) procedures before dispute resolution entities where the natural persons in charge of dispute resolution are employed or remunerated exclusively by the individual trader;
(b) procedures before consumer complaint-handling systems operated by the trader;
(c) non-economic services of general interest;
(d) disputes between traders;
(e) direct negotiation between the consumer and the trader;
(f) attempts made by a judge to settle a dispute in the course of a judicial proceeding concerning that dispute;
(g) procedures initiated by a trader against a consumer;
(h) health services provided by health professionals to patients to assess, maintain or restore their state of health, including the prescription, dispensation and provision of medicinal products and medical devices; and
(i) public providers of further or higher education.
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paragraphs: (1) For the purpose of these Regulations, an ADR entity is established—
(a) if operated by a natural person, at the place where he or she carries out ADR activities,
(b) if the entity is operated by a legal person or an association of natural or legal persons, at the place where that legal person or association of natural or legal persons carries out ADR activities or has its statutory seat, or
(c) if it is operated by an authority or other public body, at the place where that authority or other public body has its seat.
(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, a trader shall be treated as being established—
(a) if the trader is a natural person, where he or she has his or her place of business, or
(b) if the trader is a company or other legal person or association of natural or legal persons, where it has its statutory seat, central administration or place of business, including a branch, agency or any other establishment.
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paragraphs: (1) The Commission is designated as the competent authority in the State for the purposes of these Regulations and the Directive.
(2) The Commission shall encourage relevant consumer organisations and business associations to make publicly available on their websites, and by any other means they consider appropriate, the list of ADR entities referred to in Article 20(4) of the Directive.
(3) The Commission shall ensure appropriate dissemination of information on how consumers can access ADR procedures for resolving disputes to which these Regulations apply.
(4) The Commission shall take measures to encourage consumer organisations and professional organisations to—
(a) raise awareness of ADR entities and their procedures,
(b) promote the use of ADR by traders and consumers, and
(c) provide consumers with information about competent ADR entities when they receive complaints from consumers.
(5) Where a network of ADR entities facilitating the resolution of cross-border disputes exists in a sector-specific area within the Union, the Commission shall encourage ADR entities that deal with disputes in that area to become a member of that network.
(6)(a) The Commission shall encourage ADR entities to provide training for natural persons in charge of ADR procedures for the purposes of Regulation 11(2)(a).
(b) If such training is provided, the Commission shall monitor the training schemes established by the ADR entities on the basis of information communicated to it in accordance with Regulation 10(3)(g).
(7) By 9 July 2018, and every 4 years thereafter, the Commission shall publish and send to the European Commission a report on the development and functioning of ADR entities listed in accordance with Regulation 8.
(8) The report referred to in paragraph (7) shall—
(a) identify best practices of ADR entities,
(b) identify the shortcomings, supported by statistics, that hinder the functioning of such ADR entities for both domestic and cross-border disputes, where appropriate, and
(c) make recommendations on how to improve the effective and efficient functioning of such ADR entities, where appropriate.
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paragraphs: (1) The European Consumer Centre Ireland shall, with regard to disputes arising from cross-border sales or service contracts, provide consumers with information and assistance to access ADR entities operating in another Member State which is competent to deal with a consumer’s cross-border dispute.
(2) The European Consumer Centre Ireland—
(a) shall make the list of ADR entities referred to in Article 20(4) of the Directive publicly available by providing a link to the relevant European Commission website on its website, and
(b) in so far as is possible, make the list referred to in paragraph (a) available on a durable medium at its premises.
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paragraphs: (1) A dispute resolution entity established in the State which intends to qualify as an ADR entity under these Regulations and be listed in accordance with Regulation 8 shall notify the Commission of the information specified in Schedule 1.
(2) The notification referred to in paragraph (1) shall be submitted in a form and manner specified by the Commission.
(3) Where a dispute resolution entity has made a notification under paragraph (1), the Commission shall assess whether—
(a) it qualifies as an ADR entity falling within the scope of these Regulations, and
(b) it complies with the quality requirements set out in Part 3 of these Regulations,
(4) As soon as reasonably practicable, the Commission shall notify the dispute resolution entity in writing of its assessment under paragraph (3).