Technology has enabled distance communication to reach new heights of convenience and to develop into various means of communication, which gives rise to distance trade. One of the advantages of distance trade is that it is convenient and time-saving as it allows consumers to shop and pay online without time and geographical constraints. Moreover, distance trade greatly decreases the cost that the traders have to take. Therefore, this mode of trade has been growing rapidly all over the world and it has become more popular among city dwellers as they have a fast-paced and busy life. However, as always, there are pros and cons. Compared with the consumers of traditional trade, consumers of distance trade are at a disadvantage as they rely solely on the product information given by the traders. It is very difficult for the consumers to examine the product and to learn anything about the product by other channels, which may lead to the situation where the consumers find the goods or services do not correspond to description. As traders have absolute control over the product information on this aspect, other regions or countries have already set up laws to regulate this mode of trade to ensure consumers not to be in an unfavourable position. Under the legislation, consumers of distance contacts enjoy more rights and protection than consumers of traditional trade. In Macao, however, there are no regulations regarding distance trade or any mechanism that provides special protection to consumers in distance contracts. This has resulted in an unequal position for both parties in trade for a long time. Thus, related studies and legislation have to be done as soon as possible. Distance trade is one of the modes of consumption that the author often uses. 3 Its characteristics and the lack of regulation in Macau sparked the author’s interest in doing a research on this topic. Moreover, the consultation document regarding “Revision of legislation related to the protection of rights and interests of consumers”, which was published by Legal Affairs Bureau, Administration Committee of Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau and Consumer Council of the Macao Special Administrative Region in 2014, indicated that the Macau Government had the intention to regulate distance trade through legislations and this gained support from majority of the people. This thesis consists of four parts: the first part discussed about the concepts and characteristics of distance trade; the second part quoted regulations, applications of legislation and practices from other countries and regions which apply civil law system, including Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and European Union; the third part analyzed in detail the actual consumer protection in Macau and the negative impact due to the lack of regulations; and for the final part, in order to seek for a system that suits Macau to regulate distance trade and to enhance the safety and protection of the consumers in distance contracts, the author combined the analyses and results of the said sections with the regulations such as Macau’s civil and commercial laws on consumer protection and offered a few legislative suggestions.

隨著科技發展進步，使遠距通訊工具的便捷性提高且種類日益繁多。基 於都市人生活節奏急促、繁忙，而遠距交易（包括透過電話、電子郵件、郵 寄、網絡、電視等類似的方式進行締約）的優點之一為方便省時，尤其是讓 消費者不受時間及地域上的限制，可隨時隨地輕鬆透過遠距通訊工具完成商 品選購、交易、支付等消費行為。除此之外，使用遠距通訊工具更能使經營 者所負擔的成本大幅下降。上述種種原因使遠距交易模式逐漸廣受都市人歡 迎，並在世界各地迅速興起。 然而，凡事有利必有弊，遠距交易亦不例外，該等交易模式使遠距交易 的消費者處於較傳統消費者更弱勢的地方：所有涉及經營者及交易標的之資 訊僅由經營者單方面提供，消費者基本上無法檢視商品及難以透過其途徑獲 取資訊，導致可能出現“貨不對辦”的情況。 基於資訊上的壟斷，為修復雙方不平等的地位，域外的國家或地區早已 立法規範該交易模式，且相對於傳統在實體店舖內進行交易的消費者，賦予 了遠距交易的消費者享有更多的權利。惟澳門現行的法律制度下並未有規範 遠距交易，亦沒有設立特別保護遠距交易消費者的機制，使交易雙方長期處 於失衡的狀態，相關的研究及立法不容怠慢。 遠距交易亦是筆者常有使用的消費模式之一，基於該交易模式之特點、 現時澳門法律規範的空白等原因引發了本人濃厚的研究興趣。與此同時，澳 門特別行政區法務局、民政總署及消費者委員會於 2014 年聯合制定的《檢 討消費者權益保護法律制度》的諮詢文件中，亦有提及到政府有意立法規管 遠距交易，獲得大部分市民的支持。 本論文一共包括四大部分：首先，從分析遠距交易的概念及特點作為開 始；其次，援引其他大陸法系的國家或地區（包括中國內地、台灣地區、日 本、韓國、歐盟）相關的法規內容、修法及實務經驗；再次，詳細分析現時 澳門所給予的保護及因立法空白所帶來的不良影響；最後，本文將上述分析 結果與現時澳門對一般消費者的保護及民商法的內容結合，嘗試尋找一套適 合澳門針對遠距交易的規範，以籍此提高遠距交易消費者的安全保障，並提 出若干立法建議。 關鍵字 遠距交易合同，無條件解除權，資訊權，消費者保護