Case C-25/23, Princess Holdings: Order of the Court of 5 October 2023 (Ninth Chamber) (request for a preliminary ruling from the Qorti tal-Maġistrati fil-qasam ċivili — Malta) — AL v Princess Holdings (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Article 53(2), Article 94(b) and (c) and Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice — Consumer protection — Unfair terms in consumer contracts — Bills of exchange — Requirement to set out the regulatory context of the main proceedings — Requirement to state the reasons justifying the need for a reply from the Court — Manifest inadmissibility in part — No jurisdiction of the court of enforcement hearing an objection to assess, of its own motion or at the request of the consumer concerned, the unfairness of the terms of the contract concluded by that consumer with a seller or supplier and forming the basis of the issue of the bills of exchange the enforceability of which is in dispute)
Date: 2023-10-05
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: admissibility, consumer protection, jurisdiction, negotiable instrument, unfair terms of contract








C_202300736EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/736


20.11.2023





Order of the Court of 5 October 2023 (Ninth Chamber) (request for a preliminary ruling from the Qorti tal-Maġistrati fil-qasam ċivili — Malta) — AL v Princess Holdings
(Case C-25/23, (1) Princess Holdings)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Article 53(2), Article 94(b) and (c) and Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice - Consumer protection - Unfair terms in consumer contracts - Bills of exchange - Requirement to set out the regulatory context of the main proceedings - Requirement to state the reasons justifying the need for a reply from the Court - Manifest inadmissibility in part - No jurisdiction of the court of enforcement hearing an objection to assess, of its own motion or at the request of the consumer concerned, the unfairness of the terms of the contract concluded by that consumer with a seller or supplier and forming the basis of the issue of the bills of exchange the enforceability of which is in dispute)
(C/2023/736)
Language of the case: Maltese

Referring court

Qorti tal-Maġistrati (Malta) fil-qasam ċivili

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: AL

Defendant: Princess Holdings Ltd

Operative part of the order







1.


The reference for a preliminary ruling made by the Qorti tal-Maġistrati (Malta) fil-qasam ċivili (Court of Magistrates (Malta) sitting as a civil court, Malta) on 14 December 2022 is manifestly inadmissible in so far as it concerns the second and third questions.










2.


Article 6(1) and Article 7(1) of Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts
must be interpreted as precluding a provision of national law, as interpreted by the national courts, which provides that, in proceedings for the enforcement of bills of exchange, the court hearing an objection does not have jurisdiction to assess, of its own motion or at the request of the consumer concerned, the potentially unfair nature of the terms of the contract concluded by that consumer with a seller or supplier and constituting the basis for the issue of the bills of exchange whose enforceability is in dispute.






(1)  Date lodged: 16.1.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/736/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)