rec_68

(68) Out-of-court dispute resolution procedures may constitute a fast and cost-efficient way for end-users to enforce their rights, in particular for consumers and microenterprises and small enterprises as defined in the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36). . Member States should enable the national regulatory authority or another competent authority responsible for, or at least one independent body with proven expertise in dealing with, end-user rights to act as an alternative dispute resolution entity. With respect to such dispute resolutions, those authorities should not be subject to any instructions. As many Member States have established dispute resolution procedures also for end-users other than consumers, to whom Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC (Directive on consumer ADR) (OJ L 165, 18.6.2013, p. 63). does not apply, it is reasonable to maintain the sector-specific dispute resolution procedure for both consumers and, where Member States extend it, also for other end-users, in particular microenterprises and small enterprises. In relation to out-of-court dispute resolution, Member States should be able to maintain or introduce rules that go beyond those laid down by Directive 2013/11/EU in order to ensure a higher level of consumer protection.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-28 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.