美国法上的“冷却期”制度及其借鉴意义

The Cooling-off Period System in American Law and Its Implications

我国修订《中华人民共和国消费者权益保护法》在即,由于反悔权在保障特定交易中对消费者权益保护的重要作用无可替代,不少学者提出增设反悔权制度的建议。反悔权制度作为一项舶来品,在英美法系早有规定。尤其是在美国法上经过数十年的发展,已经成为一项相当成熟的制度。在美国法上,与反悔权相对应的制度被称为"冷却期"制度。虽然美国法上"冷却期"制度在建立之初就遭到非议,但因为其在保护消费者权益、节约成本、督促经营者提供质优价廉商品或服务等方面的优势,而逐渐为美国联邦及绝大多数州立法所接受。另外,美国法对该制度的适用范围予以严格限定,仅在上门交易、远程交易、分期付款交易等特定类型的交易中适用。考察美国法上的冷却期制度对消费者的反悔权制度在我国的移植具有很大的借鉴意义。

Law of People＇s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests will be revised soon,lots of scholars suggested that the cooling-off period system should be given to the consumers.In USA,cooling-off period system has been developed for several decades.Because of the cooling-off period system can protect consumers better and save cost and supervise sellers provide more inexpensive high-quality goods or services,though the cooling-off period system on consumer protection in American law was disputed in the earlier years,it was adopted by American federal laws and most state laws.The scope of the cooling-off period system is limited strictly to some types of trading,like door-to-door sales.We can learn from studying on the cooling-off period system in American law.