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Armenia has launched work to introduce consumer education in schools, including through specialized school clubs and the incorporation of consumer-related topics into the national curriculum and textbooks.
Shushan Sargsyan, nominated by the Civil Contract faction for membership in the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, spoke about the initiative during parliamentary debates on her candidacy.
Sargsyan has headed the Commission’s Legal Department since 2018.
“Work has begun in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports to introduce a consumer education component in schools of the Republic of Armenia,” Sargsyan said.
According to her, one of the planned initiatives is the establishment of consumer clubs in schools, while another is the inclusion of a consumer education component in the general education curriculum, followed by the incorporation of relevant content into textbooks.
Sargsyan emphasized the importance of continuously conducting awareness-raising and educational activities, noting that these are necessary to foster a consumer culture based on awareness of one's rights, responsibility and informed decision-making.
Addressing further steps to protect consumer rights, the nominee said it was necessary to develop mechanisms for protecting individual rights and securing compensation.
Among the possible measures, she highlighted the establishment of a consumer dispute mediation mechanism, strengthening the capacity of non-governmental organizations, and improving digital tools.
Sargsyan also presented the work of the “Consumer Assistant” platform. According to her, it connects consumers, businesses, non-governmental organizations operating in the sector, and law firms that provide free assistance in resolving individual disputes.
Another area of future work is the development of digital tools to detect competition violations in public procurement.
“The entire analysis and detection process is carried out largely using human resources, while the range of digital tools remains limited,” Sargsyan said.
She said it was necessary to equip the electronic procurement system with tools and algorithms capable of analyzing large volumes of information and identifying problematic behavioral patterns and circumstances that may indicate possible links between entities. These could subsequently be examined as risk factors.
Summarizing the work carried out in previous years, Sargsyan also addressed the protection of the interests of citizens purchasing apartments in newly constructed buildings.
According to her, a review identified cases in which contracts included only provisions concerning the apartments themselves, without addressing the building's shared infrastructure, adjacent areas, or common-use spaces. The Commission proposed making this information an integral part of the contract and requiring any subsequent changes to be agreed upon with buyers.
“It was proposed to establish a specific period during which the developer would be required to remedy, free of charge, any problems that emerge during the post-construction phase,” Sargsyan said.
According to her, a significant portion of the proposals has been incorporated into a draft legislative package currently under development, while the remaining proposals are still under discussion. Around 20 administrative proceedings have been initiated concerning consumer rights protection in the sector, three of which have been concluded, while 17 remain ongoing.