Due Diligence
Due Diligence
If your business manufactures, distributes, sells or supplies goods you have to comply with the law. Many consumer protection laws include ‘strict liability’ offences where it does not matter that the person accused did not intend to break the law. In order to create a balance of fairness, specific due diligence defences are normally included in strict liability consumer protection laws.
To use this defence a person must prove that they took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid an offence being committed.
Any due diligence system should be written down so that it can be followed and any issues raised should be coordinated in one department or section, or by one person who has overall responsibility for the system.
Depending on the sensitivity of the product and brand value concepts are designed accordingly. This risk-based approaches need a lot of knowledge, experience and common sense. A good communication and building trust between the partners are the key of success.
In the end an alignment between stakeholders requirements/expectations and consumer protection law is the result of a good partnership.
Working with others experts to offer new solutions, like SVHC testing (REACH Compliance), to offer added value to the customer.
