Case C-632/21, Diamond Resorts Europe and Others: Judgment of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 14 September 2023 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Juzgado de Primera Instancia e Instrucción no 2 de Granadilla de Abona — Spain) — JF, NS v Diamond Resorts Europe Limited (Sucursal en España), Diamond Resorts Spanish Sales SL, Sunterra Tenerife Sales SL (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 — Law applicable to contractual obligations — Scope — Timeshare contracts — Legal proceedings seeking a declaration that those contracts are void — United Kingdom nationals — Choice of applicable law — Article 3 — Freedom of choice — Article 4(1)(b) and (c) — Applicable law in the absence of a choice made by the parties — Article 6 — Consumer contracts — Limits)
Date: 2023-09-14
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: United Kingdom, consumer protection, contract, judicial cooperation in civil matters in the EU, private international law, time-sharing








C_202300483EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/483


6.11.2023





Judgment of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 14 September 2023 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Juzgado de Primera Instancia e Instrucción no 2 de Granadilla de Abona — Spain) — JF, NS v Diamond Resorts Europe Limited (Sucursal en España), Diamond Resorts Spanish Sales SL, Sunterra Tenerife Sales SL
(Case C-632/21, (1) Diamond Resorts Europe and Others)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Judicial cooperation in civil matters - Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 - Law applicable to contractual obligations - Scope - Timeshare contracts - Legal proceedings seeking a declaration that those contracts are void - United Kingdom nationals - Choice of applicable law - Article 3 - Freedom of choice - Article 4(1)(b) and (c) - Applicable law in the absence of a choice made by the parties - Article 6 - Consumer contracts - Limits)
(C/2023/483)
Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Juzgado de Primera Instancia e Instrucción no 2 de Granadilla de Abona

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: JF, NS

Defendants: Diamond Resorts Europe Limited (Sucursal en España), Diamond Resorts Spanish Sales SL, Sunterra Tenerife Sales SL

Operative part of the judgment







1.


The provisions of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) are applicable, in the context of a dispute before a court of a Member State, to contracts the two parties of which are United Kingdom nationals, to the extent that those contracts have a foreign element.










2.


Article 6(2) of Regulation No 593/2008
must be interpreted as meaning that:






—


where a consumer contract fulfils the requirements laid down in Article 6(1) of that regulation, the parties to that contract may, in accordance with Article 3 of that same regulation, choose the law applicable to that contract, provided, however, that that choice does not result in depriving the consumer concerned of the protection afforded to him or her by provisions that cannot be derogated from by agreement by virtue of the law which, in the absence of choice, would have been applicable on the basis of Article 6(1), which provides that such a contract is to be governed by the law of the country where the consumer has his or her habitual residence;










—


in view of the mandatory and exhaustive nature of that same Article 6(2), it is not possible to derogate from that provision for the benefit of legislation allegedly more favourable to the consumer.










(1)  
            OJ C 64, 7.2.2022.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/483/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)