Case C-346/23, Banco de Santander (Representation of individual consumers): Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 16 January 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Supremo – Spain) – Banco Santander SA, successor to Banco Banif SA v Asociación de Consumidores y Usuarios de Servicios Generales – Auge, on behalf of its members Andrea y Alberto (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Markets in financial instruments – Directive 2004/39/EC – Article 52(2) – Action brought in the interests of consumers – Consumer organisations having a legitimate interest in protecting consumers – Standing to bring legal proceedings to defend the individual interests of their members – Loss of standing in the case of investments in high-value financial products – Exemption from court fees and from the obligation to pay the costs incurred by the opposing party – Procedural autonomy – Principle of effectiveness)
Date: 2025-01-16
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: consumer movement, financial instrument, investment, judicial proceedings, legal aid, legal expenses, right of action








C_202501393EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/1393


10.3.2025






Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 16 January 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Supremo – Spain) – Banco Santander SA, successor to Banco Banif SA v Asociación de Consumidores y Usuarios de Servicios Generales – Auge, on behalf of its members Andrea y Alberto


(Case C-346/23,
                (1)
Banco de Santander (Representation of individual consumers))

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Markets in financial instruments - Directive 2004/39/EC - Article 52(2) - Action brought in the interests of consumers - Consumer organisations having a legitimate interest in protecting consumers - Standing to bring legal proceedings to defend the individual interests of their members - Loss of standing in the case of investments in high-value financial products - Exemption from court fees and from the obligation to pay the costs incurred by the opposing party - Procedural autonomy - Principle of effectiveness)
(C/2025/1393)
Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Tribunal Supremo

Parties to the main proceedings


Appellant: Banco Santander SA, successor to Banco Banif SA

Respondent: Asociación de Consumidores y Usuarios de Servicios Generales – Auge, on behalf of its members Andrea y Alberto

Operative part of the judgment

Article 52(2) of Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on markets in financial instruments amending Council Directives 85/611/EEC and 93/6/EEC and Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 93/22/EEC
must be interpreted as






—


precluding national case-law which, where the Member State concerned has granted consumer organisations standing to bring legal proceedings in order to defend the individual interests of a number of their members, makes such standing to bring proceedings subject to restrictions relating to the financial means of those members, the monetary value and the type of financial products in which those members have invested and the complexity of those products;










—


not precluding, in principle, such criteria from being taken into consideration in order to decide whether those organisations are entitled to legal aid.






(1)  
            OJ C 329, 18.9.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/1393/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)