Draft regulations have been published under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act No. 68 of 2008 (CPA).The draft regulations (the General Regulations) appeared for comment in the Government Gazette as General Notice 1099 on November 23, 2010. The period within which the public has been afforded the opportunity to comment on the General Regulations expires on 31 January 31, 2011. This period is an important part of the exercise of rights by the public pursuant to Section 33 of the Constitution, which guarantees everybody the right to procedurally fair administrative justice.

The General Regulations focus primarily on four areas: franchise agreements; certain advertising practices; auctions; and the labelling of products. There are, in addition to the four focus areas, a number of other minor areas that are visited including: the keeping of records; the rights of hawkers; and the notices and languages to be used by the National Consumer Commission.

Written by Neil Kirby, Director at Werksmans Attorneys