ALIGNMENT OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION IN BIH WITH EU LAW

This paper analyzes possible approaches and directions for the subsequent alignment of the legal framework for consumer protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina with EU acquis after the adoption of the Consumer Protection Law of BiH in 2006, in which most of the implemented directives have undergone significant changes to date, with some even being repealed with the adoption of entirely new consumer directives aimed at modernizing the existing structures of EU secondary consumer law. The chronic inconsistency of consumer law in Bosnia and Herzegovina, compared to the EU’s secondary consumer law, negatively affects the current level of protection for the rights and obligations of consumers and traders in consumer contracts within the single economic area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this context, the trade of goods with a digital element and digital services in the EU’s single digital market requires completely different approaches to the affirmation and development of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s digital market, with the aim of ensuring a high and unified level of consumer protection, as well as creating a legal and institutional infrastructure that will enable more effective implementation of consumer policies and the use of entirely new legal instruments in resolving consumer disputes.“ The objectives of this study are focused on analyzing the current legal framework for consumer protection in BiH, which needs to be amended and aligned with EU secondary consumer law through the implementation of newly adopted consumer directives. These directives introduce entirely new legal concepts, methods of contract formation, types of consumer contracts, and ways to protect consumer rights, which also implies presenting appropriate proposals for legislative interventions and improving the existing legal framework for consumer protection in the BiH market, and its further alignment with the EU acquis in fulfilling the obligations arising from the Stabilization and Association Agreement between BiH and the EU.