Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2013:340
Date: 2013-05-30
Language of the case: Hungarian
Court formation: First Chamber
Subject matter: Consumer protection;Approximation of laws
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Hungary

Summary — Judgment of the Court (First Chamber), 30 May 2013 1. Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Jurisdiction of the Court — Limits — General or hypothetical questions — Question abstract and purely hypothetical in character having regard to the subject-matter of the dispute in the main proceedings — Inadmissibility (Art. 267 TFEU) 2. Consumer protection — Unfair terms in consumer contracts — Directive 93/13 — Aim (Council Directive 93/13, Art. 6(1)) 3. Consumer protection — Unfair terms in consumer contracts — Directive 93/13 — Obligation on the national court to examine of its own motion whether a term in a contract before it is unfair — Scope (Council Directive 93/13) 4. European Union law — Direct effect — National rules of procedure — Conditions under which applicable — Observance of the principles of equivalence and effectiveness 5. Consumer protection — Unfair terms in consumer contracts — Directive 93/13 — National court ruling on appeal — Power of the national court to examine any grounds for invalidity apparent from the elements submitted at first instance and to redefine the legal basis relied upon to establish that those terms are invalid — Obligation for the national court to assess, of its own motion or by redefining the legal basis of the application, whether those terms are unfair in the light of the criteria laid down by the directive (Council Directive 93/13) 6. Consumer protection — Unfair terms in consumer contracts — Directive 93/13 — Finding that a term is unfair — Scope — Obligation for the national court, of its own motion, to draw all the consequences which result from that finding — Obligation on the national court to assess, on the basis of objective criteria, whether the contract can continue in existence without that term (Council Directive 93/13, Art. 6(1)) 7. Consumer protection — Unfair terms in consumer contracts — Directive 93/13 — Finding that a term is unfair — Scope — Obligation for the national court to apply the internal procedural rules in such a way as to draw all the consequences which result from that finding (Council Directive 93/13) 1. See the text of the decision. (see para. 24) 2. See the text of the decision. (see paras 25, 46) 3. See the text of the decision. (see paras 26-28, 40-42, 51) 4. See the text of the decision. (see paras 29, 30, 32) 5. Directive 93/13 on unfair terms in consumer contracts must be interpreted as meaning that where a national court, dealing with an appeal concerning the validity of terms in a contract concluded between a seller or supplier and a consumer on the basis of a form prepared in advance by that seller or supplier, has the power, under its internal procedural rules, to examine any grounds for invalidity clearly apparent from the elements submitted at first instance and, if necessary, to redefine, depending on the facts determined, the legal basis relied upon to establish that those terms are invalid, it must assess, of its own motion or by redefining the legal basis of the application, whether those terms are unfair in the light of the criteria in that directive. (see para. 38, operative part 1) 6. Article 6(1) of Directive 93/13 on unfair terms in consumer contracts must be interpreted as meaning that a national court which has established that a contractual term is unfair is required, first, without waiting for the consumer to make an application in that regard, to draw all the consequences which, under national law, result from that finding in order to satisfy itself that that consumer is not bound by that term and, secondly, to assess, in principle on the basis of objective criteria, whether the contract concerned can continue in existence without that term. (see para. 48, operative part 2) 7. Directive 93/13 on unfair terms in consumer contracts must be interpreted as meaning that a national court which has, of its own motion, established that a contractual term is unfair must, as far as possible, apply its internal procedural rules in such a way as to draw all the consequences which, under national law, result from a finding that the term at issue is unfair, in order to satisfy itself that the consumer is not bound by that term. (see para. 53, operative part 3)