German Minister of Consumer Protection Stefanie Hubig, a member of the Social Democratic Party, is pushing to quickly implement a solution to confirm agreements reached over the phone, as agreed upon in the coalition contract between the Union and the SPD. According to Hubig, the main goal of the confirmation solution is to better protect older consumers from unexpected contract signings, particularly in the case of long-term subscription agreements.
Hubig emphasized that consumers should only be bound to such contracts if they have explicitly confirmed them in writing. The minister stated, “We will tackle this quickly.” The coalition contract stipulates that the government will comprehensively protect consumers and introduce a general confirmation solution for telephone-arranged long-term debt relationships.
In addition, Hubig plans to address the growing issue of domestic violence by introducing electronic monitoring devices, mandatory anti-violence training and changes to the custody law. “The extent of domestic violence in Germany is shocking. We want to counteract with a package of measures” the Minister of Justice told the Rheinische Post.
The plan is to empower family courts to order electronic monitoring devices, similar to the Spanish model, to protect victims of domestic violence. “Both the perpetrator and the victim will wear a GPS device. If the perpetrator gets too close to the victim, an alarm will be triggered, both for the victim and for the monitoring station” the Minister explained. The corresponding bill is expected to be introduced this year.
Furthermore, the government plans to make anti-violence training mandatory and adapt the parental rights law. “Family courts will have to take domestic violence into account when making decisions about parental rights and visitation rights” the Minister emphasized. “It cannot be the case that a violent ex-partner is granted parental rights or visitation rights as if nothing had happened” Hubig said.