A dispatch by the Secretary for Economy and Finance was published in Series II of the Official Gazette no. 24 on 12 June 2019, advising the revision of Section 1 Objective of the Regulations of Consumer Arbitration Centre that consumer dispute no greater than MOP100,000 value is accepted by the Arbitration Centre, this is a further step to safeguard consumer rights.

The establishment of the Arbitration Centre is based on the principle of voluntary arbitration of both parties, it aims to solve consumer dispute which is less comprehensive and involves small amount of money in the territory of Macao so as to safeguard the right to claim of consumers, and ensure that consumers are compensated reasonably, thus reducing the economic cost and time of both parties trying to resolve small claims.

600 cases processed at the Arbitration Centre

The Arbitration Centre sets the amount of small claims dispute according to that of the Court of First Instance. Over 600 cases has been processed since the establishment of the Arbitration Centre in 1998, the Regulations of Consumer Arbitration Centre has also been revised several times and performance pledge has been made to enhance the efficiency of the service provided at the Centre.

The recently amended Law of Judicial Organization has raised the amount of the limit of civil cases at the Court of First Instance to MOP100,000, taking into account the increased consumption power of local citizens in recent years and Macao as a shopping and tourism city, it is necessary for the Arbitration Centre to make relevant adjustment. In a dispatch by the Secretary for Economy and Finance, the limit of case value is raised from MOP50,000 to MOP100,000 for a consumer dispute to be settled in the Arbitration Centre.

Continuous improvement in measures and service

To enhance the service quality of the Arbitration Centre, a dispatch by the Secretary for Economy and Finance was published in earlier 2018 for the approval of the Centre to adopt the use of long-distance transmission technology, such as video conference, to facilitate cross-border mediation and hearing. Cross-border mediation and arbitration is now available between the Consumer Council and various consumer organizations in Guangdong Province, more consumer associations are expected to join this project in the future to offer convenient and proper service to tourists in order to boost confidence of tourists and promote the proper image of Macao as a shopping city