PUBLIC POLICY AND SOCIAL INTEREST NORMS IN THE CONSUMER PROTECTION CODE: DISREGARD OF LEGAL PERSONALITY AND COLLECTIVE ACTIONS

Abstract

This article examines the public order, social interest, and economic nature of Brazil’s Consumer Defense Code (CDC) and shows how such characterization legitimizes broadened judicial protection capable of reaching metaindividual rights (diffuse, collective, and homogeneous individual rights). It explores the CDC’s piercing of the corporate veil (Article 28 and § 5) — the minor theory — including reverse piercing and ex officio application, contrasting it with the major theory under Article 50 of the Civil Code. Next, it analyzes the class action system (Articles 81–104 of the CDC and Law 7,347/1985), highlighting its role in procedural rationalization and effectiveness. The case study REsp 279.273/SP illustrates the convergence of these instruments: the Public Prosecutor’s legitimacy, the equation of victims to consumers (Article 17 CDC), and the autonomy of Article 28 § 5, which prevents frustration of compensation in mass litigation. The conclusion is that the interplay between collective relief and veil piercing embodies the consumer microsystem’s vocation to ensure balance, effective remedies, and the realization of fundamental rights in the consumer market.