The University of Barcelona and the Government of Catalonia create a pioneering chair on consumer protection

From left to right, Mercè Segarra, vice-rector for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Transfer; Mariló Gramunt, director of the Chair; Joan Guàrdia, rector of the UB; Albert Melià, director of the Catalan Consumer Agency; Andreu Olesti Rayo, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Xavier Lacasta, head of UB Chairs.
From left to right, Mercè Segarra, vice-rector for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Transfer; Mariló Gramunt, director of the Chair; Joan Guàrdia, rector of the UB; Albert Melià, director of the Catalan Consumer Agency; Andreu Olesti Rayo, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Xavier Lacasta, head of UB Chairs.
News | Institutional
(31/01/2024)
The UB ACdC Chair in Consumer Studies and Alternative Dispute Resolution was presented today at the University of Barcelona. The collaboration between the University and the Catalan Consumer Agency, a public body of the Department of Business and Employment, will give consumer law the academic and research relevance that it already has in everyday reality. In this regard, Mariló Gramunt, lecturer at the UB Faculty of Law and director of the Chair, explained that "the main objectives of the Chair are to promote research in the field of consumer law and alternative mechanisms for resolving consumer disputes, to train professionals in this area and to promote citizens' knowledge of consumer rights and obligations".
From left to right, Mercè Segarra, vice-rector for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Transfer; Mariló Gramunt, director of the Chair; Joan Guàrdia, rector of the UB; Albert Melià, director of the Catalan Consumer Agency; Andreu Olesti Rayo, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Xavier Lacasta, head of UB Chairs.
From left to right, Mercè Segarra, vice-rector for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Transfer; Mariló Gramunt, director of the Chair; Joan Guàrdia, rector of the UB; Albert Melià, director of the Catalan Consumer Agency; Andreu Olesti Rayo, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Xavier Lacasta, head of UB Chairs.
News | Institutional
31/01/2024
The UB ACdC Chair in Consumer Studies and Alternative Dispute Resolution was presented today at the University of Barcelona. The collaboration between the University and the Catalan Consumer Agency, a public body of the Department of Business and Employment, will give consumer law the academic and research relevance that it already has in everyday reality. In this regard, Mariló Gramunt, lecturer at the UB Faculty of Law and director of the Chair, explained that "the main objectives of the Chair are to promote research in the field of consumer law and alternative mechanisms for resolving consumer disputes, to train professionals in this area and to promote citizens' knowledge of consumer rights and obligations".
For his part, the director of the Catalan Consumer Agency, Albert Melià, stressed that the creation of this chair responds to "two of the Government's strategic lines of action in this legislature: on the one hand, to promote the creation and management of knowledge in the field of consumer affairs and, on the other, to promote the tools of extrajudicial resolution of conflicts that allow citizens to find solutions to their consumer claims in an agile, effective and free way, and at the same time contribute to decongesting the judicial process".

The rector of the UB, Joan Guàrdia, has highly valued the creation of this chair: "This collaboration that we are initiating with the Catalan Consumer Agency is highly useful, as 100% of the population are consumers". "As conflict is inherent to human nature, also in the field of consumption, we must always find a way to resolve disputes in an orderly manner. This chair will be instrumental in that respect", he said.

The chair will be a university and social point of reference in the field of consumer affairs, both for consumers and businesses. The proliferation of professionals in the sector will increase knowledge of the mechanisms available to resolve disputes arising from contracts between businesses and consumers. In this sense, mediation and arbitration are agile, effective and easily accessible instruments that allow consumers’ rights and make consumers aware of their obligations. This is why it is important that all actors involved in consumer law are well trained and informed, and that they can respond to the needs that arise in this area.

​​​​​​​In this sense, mediation and arbitration are agile, effective and easily accessible instruments that allow for the consumers’ rights and make the consumers aware of the obligations they assume. For this reason, it is important that all actors involved in consumer law are well trained and informed, and can respond to the needs that arise in this area.  
 

Multimedia gallery

Presentation of the chair in the boardroom.