CELEX: C2002/233/23
Language: en
Date: 2002-09-28 00:00:00
Title: Case C-264/02: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Tribunal d'Instance de Vienne by judgment of that Court of 5 July 2002 in the case of S.A. Cofinoga Mérignac against Sylvain Sachithanathan

28.9.2002                 EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                        C 233/15
Thus, the criticisms made by the Court of First Instance                     —       If not, on a proper construction of those directives is the
concerning the ineffectiveness of the legal remedies conferred                       court to uphold the interpretation of its law according to
on individuals by the Community legal order are without any                          which it is authorised to set aside a provision of its
foundation in law.                                                                   national law which prohibits the consumer or the court
                                                                                     of its own motion from raising a plea of illegality
                                                                                     vitiating the formation or extension of a consumer credit
( 1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1162/2001 of 14 June 2001                         agreement after a time-limit which derogates from the
     establishing measures for the recovery of the stock of hake in                  general law, in so far as it constitutes an exceptional
     ICES sub-areas III, IV, V, VI and VII and ICES divisions VIII a, b, d,          restriction on the right of action of the consumer and
     e and associated conditions for the control of activities of fishing            undermines the effectiveness of consumer protection?
     vessels (OJ 2001 L 159, p. 4).
                                                                             (1 ) Council Directive 87/102/EEC of 22 December 1986 for the
                                                                                  approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative pro-
                                                                                  visions of the Member States concerning consumer credit (OJ
                                                                                  L 42, 12.2.1987, p. 48).
                                                                             (2 ) Council Directive 90/88/EEC of 22 February 1990 amending
                                                                                  Directive 87/102/EEC for the approximation of the laws, regu-
                                                                                  lations and administrative provisions of the Member States
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Tribunal d’In-                          concerning consumer credit (OJ L 61, 10.3.1990, p. 14).
stance de Vienne by judgment of that Court of 5 July
2002 in the case of S.A. Cofinoga Mérignac against Sylvain
                             Sachithanathan
                            (Case C-264/02)
                            (2002/C 233/23)                                  Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Corte Suprema
                                                                             di Cassazione by order of that Court of 11 April 2002 in
                                                                                the appeal brought by Frahuil SA against Assitalia SpA
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
European Communities by judgment of the Tribunal d’Instance                                            (Case C-265/02)
de Vienne of 5 July 2002, received at the Court Registry on
18 July 2002, for a preliminary ruling in the case of S.A.                                             (2002/C 233/24)
Cofinoga Mérignac against Sylvain Sachithanathan on the
following questions:
—      On a proper construction of Council Directive 87/102/                 Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
       EC ( 1) of 22 December 1986 and Council Directive 90/                 European Communities by order of the Corte Suprema di
       88/EC ( 2) of 22 February 1990 must the national court                Cassazione (Supreme Court of Cassation) of 11 April 2002,
       uphold the interpretation of its law which requires lenders           received at the Court Registry on 18 July 2002, for a
       of consumer credit to inform the consumer-borrower in                 preliminary ruling in the appeal brought by Frahuil SA against
       writing of the current annual percentage charge before                Assitalia SpA on the following question:
       each extension of an agreement for credit renewable in
       instalments at an interest rate that is stipulated to be              ‘Is Article 5(1) of the Brussels Convention of 27 September
       variable?                                                             1968, as amended by the Convention of 9 October 1978 on
                                                                             the accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the
—      On a proper construction of those directives must the                 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, by the
       national court uphold the interpretation of its law                   Convention of 25 October 1982 on the accession of the
       which requires lenders of consumer credit to inform the               Hellenic Republic, by the Convention of 26 May 1989 on the
       consumer of the clause concerning the variation of that               accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese
       annual percentage charge before the extension of that                 Republic and by the Convention of 29 November 1996 on the
       agreement?                                                            accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland
                                                                             and the Kingdom of Sweden, to be interpreted as subsuming
                                                                             under the expression “matters relating to a contract” the
—      On a proper construction of those directives is the
                                                                             obligation which a guarantor who paid customs duties under
       national court to uphold the interpretation of its law
                                                                             a guarantee obtained by the forwarding agent seeks to enforce
       which authorises it to allow, without any time-limit, a
                                                                             in legal proceedings by way of subrogation to the financial
       plea of illegality vitiating the formation or extension of a
                                                                             authorities and by way of recourse against the third-party
       consumer credit agreement, such as that arising from
                                                                             debtor who is the owner of the imported goods but was
       failure to state the annual percentage charge, raised by
                                                                             unconnected with the guarantee?’
       the consumer or by the court of its own motion, in a
       dispute arising from an action for payment brought by
       the lender?