Las Declaraciones Publicitarias Y La Integración De Las Obligaciones Que De Ellas Emanan Al Contenido Del Contrato Con El Consumidor (The Advertising Claims and the Obligations Arising from Them in the Consumer Contract)
The consumer contract has emerged with high relevance as an independent category of the contractual law. Its appearance changed the negocial equilibrium and the empire of the will of the contract parties’ paradigms. These paradigms were the foundation of the contract general theory; theory that was compiled by the Colombians Civil Code in the 1800s. Later, this theory was ratified by our Commercial Code in the 1970s. Indeed, the individualistic ideas weren´t enough to react at the new and fast changes of the market dynamics. The market was far away from the equilibrium between the parties. In fact, it showed asymmetries that could put at risk the concept of the will of the contract parties and the economic and legal interests that were supposed to be protected by the privates’ law contract instrument. Therefore, a new agent appeared (the consumer) and he required a special regulatory regime. Due to this reality, the legislator took care of several issues that were very important to preserve the contract justice and the market equity. Therefore the legislator developed several measures. For instance, one of the most important is the adoption of a catalogue of remedies. These remedies tend to balance the asymmetry of powers in the contracts celebrated with the consumers. The good faith as one of the most important principle of the private law has a transcendental roll in order to protect the consumer interests. This protection is achieved with the development and application of this principle rules. These rules provide contractual remedies trough the integrative function of the content of the contract, in order to accomplish a material contractual justice. From this point of view, the new consumers’ law develops the integrative function of the content of the contract from a new perspective. This law has a new regulation of the publicity, not because it wasn´t possible to apply before as a rule of the good faith principle, but cause it has a positive mandate. The legislator establishes a different treatment for the use of the publicity because it has significant effects in the formation of the consent and the integrative function of the content of the contract. In this article we pretend to approach the analysis of the publicity in the consumer contract. We would try to contribute to the comprehension of this issue from a systemic point of view. This point of view will allow seeing the real benefits of the use of the publicity as an instrument to protect consumers.El contrato con el consumidor contrasto con los paradigmas que sostuvieron el esquema del contrato comun recogido en Codigo Civil y en el Codigo de Comercio colombiano, los cuales se basaron en el principio del individualismo. Este individualismo no resulto acorde a las nuevas dinamicas del mercado que, contrario a la igualdad que se predico en los codigos decimononicos, evidenciaron profundos desequilibrios que inobservados podrian en juego el ideal de la justicia contractual que se pretendia con el instrumento propio de la disposicion de interese patrimoniales: el contrato. Por ello, el legislador se vio en la necesidad de hacer un nuevo tratamiento de las nuevas realidades del mercado, tratamiento que, desde la perspectiva del contrato con el consumidor, genero un importante numero de remedios contractuales propios de este esquema contractual. En este desarrollo los principios medulares de la contratacion privada y, especialmente, el de la buena fe, han cumplido un papel trascendental en la proteccion de los intereses del consumidor, la cual se logra mediante el desarrollo y la aplicacion de sus reglas, que se hacen presentes proveyendo tales remedios contractuales, mediante la funcion integradora del contenido del contrato, en pro del logro de una real y no meramente formal justicia contractual. En el nuevo estatuto del Consumidor se hace expresa la regla de la integracion del contrato, especificamente, en cuanto a lo que tiene que ver con la vinculacion al contrato de las prestaciones contractuales que se pueden generar alrededor de la publicidad en el mercado, dado que la mismas influyen en la formacion del consentimiento y en la integracion del contenido del contrato. Este es precisamente el analisis que se pretende realizar en este escrito desde una perspectiva sistematica que pretenda una compresion cabal del fenomeno, a mas de entender sus verdaderos suportes dogmaticos. Dicho analisis partira desde una perspectiva eminentemente contractual. Sin embargo, no se debe dejar de lado el hecho que la proteccion del consumidor excede mucho mas que un contrato para centrar su atencion en la relacion juridica de consumo. Sin embargo, un adecuado tratamiento del contrato se convierte en un mecanismo mas para salvaguardad los intereses de los consumidores.