The legal system cannot protect anyone from greed

On internet portals, as well as in other media, so-called traps for gullible users are increasingly being published.

A typical ‘trap’ is when it is announced in large letters that ‘for one kuna you can…’, while in small letters in a barely noticeable place a warning is written: ‘the service provider and its employees disclaim any responsibility for any damages arising from the use of the service.’ Various ‘tests’ published on portals, with results arriving via SMS, fall into the category of traps.

On one Croatian portal, we read: ‘The service, the content of the software and the websites, even if the Company is aware of the possibility of damage to the extent that the country does not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability stated in these terms, the Company’s liability is limited to the extent permitted by law in that country. This agreement and your use of the websites and Services will be in accordance with the laws of the Netherlands. Furthermore, you agree that all disputes related to this agreement will be resolved before the courts in Utrecht in the Netherlands.’ After reading these ‘warnings’, two facts should be stated. First, there is no legal system that can effectively protect someone from their own greed. And second, I exclude personal responsibility for having written as a journalist that such advertisements and advertisers are fraudsters and a gang of thieves.

But seriously now. According to the Law on Obligations, the service provider can publish some of its terms, but must also fulfill the prescribed general conditions under which it can publish its terms. Simply put, the quoted terms in this text do not correspond to the general conditions prescribed by the Law on Obligations. In addition to the Law on Obligations as a general regulation, the quoted terms in that article are contrary to the Consumer Protection Act as a specialized regulation. All of this is also contrary to the regulations governing the operation of portals in Croatia, or portals domiciled in Croatia, as they are also legally responsible for the content they publish. So much for the regulations. However, regulations in Croatia are generally not enforced, not to mention what anyone who embarks on litigation in the Croatian judicial system to protect their rights will encounter. And so the circle closes – only the gullible can be warned not to be gullible. (Ivica Grčar)