Modern civil law includes many types of transactions. One of them is a public contract described in Art. 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. It has some properties that are useful for every person to know, taking into account changes in his regulation.
Legislative regulation
Art. 426 of the Civil Code sets the definition and characteristics of a public contract. In addition, many other regulations apply. These are separate laws, for example, on the protection of consumer rights or regulating certain sectors of the economy (electricity, housing and communal services). In addition to laws, there are various decrees, instructions, and orders of authorities that affect public contracts in one way or another.
Distributed publication of model contracts. On their basis, entrepreneurs or commercial organizations are required to enter into agreements with customers.
Contract definition
According to Art. 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a public contract is an agreement proposed by a person engaged in entrepreneurial activity: sale of goods, provision of services, other activities. A feature of this design is the obligation to provide a product or service to any person who applies. It is forbidden to give preference. An exception to the last rule is established either by law or by another normative act.
What is the peculiarity of transactions
In Art. 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the establishment of equal conditions means, in particular, the establishment of the same price, conditions of service, quality of goods, etc.
Refusal to complete a transaction is not allowed, except for its impossibility. For example, the seller no longer has the right product. The inability to conduct business may be due to other factors. In particular, the company’s work has been suspended, it has been deprived of a license or access has been revoked. Although Art. 426 of the Civil Code does not refer to these circumstances, it follows from other provisions of the current legislation.
If an organization or an entrepreneur refuses a transaction without a legal basis, the consumer has the right to appeal to the court. Upon satisfaction of the claim, the defendant shall be obligated to conclude the contract on the conditions specified in the judicial act. Usually for this purpose, an agreement is proposed, which is proposed by the defendant.
What is preference?
Legal preference, according to Art. 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation with comments related both to the status of a person and to the specifics of a product or service. For example, the laws on the status of members of the Russian parliament on the organization of the provision of communication services have separate exemptions.
The law may provide preferential terms for transactions, for example, for those who have the status of a veteran in accordance with federal and regional laws.
However, there are exceptions of a different nature. The air carrier has the right to refuse the service to the passenger included in the special list. For example, celebrities who make scandals. A simple citizen also has a chance to be on such a list.
Equality of conditions
As an example, the tariffs of transport organizations for the transportation of passengers, goods, and the provision of public utilities are given. All customers have truly equal conditions. According to Art. 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, companies are not entitled to anyone not only refuse, but also otherwise restrict access to services.
The law established that equality affects, first of all, consumers of one category. For example, pensioners who use housing and communal services have the right to receive a subsidy in the form of assistance from the state. Citizens of working age have a similar opportunity, but access to it is determined by the size of their income.
Reciprocity of rights and duties
Article 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is designed, at first glance, with emphasis on the obligations of the seller or contractor. However, if we analyze the regulations governing the provision of many services, citizens also have responsibilities. In particular, this applies to the rules of trade through the Internet, the organization of remote trade in goods.
Serious restrictions are placed on the rules for trading in individual goods. For example, it is forbidden to take medicines previously sold to citizens back. Restrictions are set on the arms trade.
Connection of utility services provided on an ongoing basis obliges the consumer to fulfill a number of conditions. The applicant must submit a package of documents, bring the object of connection to the required level of compliance. The procedure for obtaining regulated strictly enough. Violation of the conditions leads to sanctions (fines, penalties, damages).
Thus, Article 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is written taking into account the norms of the Civil Code and an array of other acts. It is not enough to refer only to the code in lawsuits.
Protecting the rights and interests of participants
The legislator understands that consumers, especially citizens, are in a more vulnerable position than their counterparties. A good example is the services provided by natural monopolies (energy, gas companies, etc.).
And norms are adopted that would balance their situation, give consumers more tools to protect their rights. Utility companies are limited in the amount of damages claimed, despite the statements of citizens. I must say that the Russian standards on the collection of fees for the consumption of unaccounted electricity are much milder than in other countries.
The right to apply to various supervisory bodies - Rospotrebnadzor, Rostekhnadzor, FAS.
Their complaints are dealt with much faster than by court. The culprit is assigned a fine and an obligation to perform certain actions. However, the precepts of the authorities do not have the force of a court decision, and in a significant part of the cases one has to go to court.
In some cases, even contacting supervisors cannot help. For example, a client turned to a hotel for an overnight stay, but he was refused it, although not all rooms were occupied. The complaint will take too long.
Infringement of rights
Article 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on a public contract provides more recently with additional requirements for the conditions of its validity:
- services or goods should not be provided on preferential terms;
- terms of provision must meet the requirements of the law (rules of provision approved by the authorities, compliance of the proposed version of the contract with the standard form).
Violation of at least one of the clauses invalidates the contract.
Finally
Public contracts are a way of regulating relations between businessmen and consumers. The law obliges the seller to offer his goods on equal terms to all, without exception, and prohibits refusing to refuse customers if there are no objective reasons for this (goods and services have ended).
In addition, regulations have been adopted detailing the provision of services and the sale of goods. Requirements affect both consumers and sellers.