Nóra Baczó and János István Vizsnyiczai v Raiffeisen Bank Zrt.
Date: 2015-02-12
32. It must be recalled in this respect that, although it is not the task of the Court, in preliminary ruling proceedings, to rule upon the compatibility of provisions of national law or a national practice with the legal rules of the European Union, the Court has repeatedly held that it has jurisdiction to give the national court full guidance on the interpretation of EU law in order to enable it to determine the issue of compatibility for the purposes of the case before it (see judgment in Pannon Gép Centrum , C‑368/09, EU:C:2010:441, paragraph 28 and the case-law cited).
41. According to the settled case-law of the Court, in the absence of EU rules governing the matter, it is for the domestic legal system of each Member State, in accordance with the principle of the procedural autonomy of the Member States, to designate the courts and tribunals having jurisdiction and to lay down the detailed procedural rules governing actions for safeguarding rights which individuals derive from EU law (judgment in Agrokonsulting-04 , C‑93/12, EU:C:2013:432, paragraph 35 and the case-law cited).
42. On that basis, as is apparent from well-established case-law, the detailed procedural rules governing actions for safeguarding an individual’s rights under EU law must be no less favourable than those governing similar domestic actions (principle of equivalence) and must not render practically impossible or excessively difficult the exercise of rights conferred by EU law (principle of effectiveness) (see, to that effect, judgments in Impact , C‑268/06, EU:C:2008:223, paragraph 46 and the case-law cited, and Asociación de Consumidores Independientes de Castilla y León , C‑413/12, EU:C:2013:800, paragraph 30).
44. However, it must be emphasised that it is solely for the national court, which has direct knowledge of the detailed procedural rules applicable, to ascertain whether the actions concerned are similar as regards their purpose, cause of action and essential characteristics (see judgments in Asturcom Telecomunicaciones , EU:C:2009:615, paragraph 50, and Agrokonsulting-04 , EU:C:2013:432, paragraph 39).
45. Even assuming that the actions by consumers for a declaration of invalidity of contractual terms on grounds based in particular or exclusively on the rules deriving from Directive 93/13 and actions by consumers seeking a declaration of invalidity of contractual terms on grounds based exclusively on national law are similar, it is necessary to examine whether the procedural rules for the actions based on EU law are less favourable than those based exclusively on national law.
46. In that connection, it must be held that the jurisdiction of the county courts to hear actions which are brought on grounds based on EU law does not necessarily constitute a procedural rule which may be classified as ‘unfavourable’. The designation of those courts, which are less numerous and hierarchically superior to the local courts, may facilitate a more homogeneous and specialised administration of justice in cases concerning the rules arising from Directive 93/13.
49. As regards, second, the principle of effectiveness, the Court has already held that every case in which the question arises whether a national procedural provision makes the application of EU law impossible or excessively difficult must be analysed by reference to the role of that provision in the procedure, its progress and its special features, before the various national bodies (judgment in Pohotovost’ , C‑470/12, EU:C:2014:101, paragraph 51).
51. In that connection, it must be recalled that since the procedural rules relating to the structure of internal legal remedies and the number of instances of jurisdiction pursue a general interest in the sound administration of justice and foreseeability, they must prevail over individual interests, meaning that they cannot be adapted to suit the specific financial situation of a party (judgment in Asociación de Consumidores Independientes de Castilla y León , EU:C:2013:800, paragraph 38).
52. Observance of the principle of effectiveness requires that the organisation of the internal remedies must not, however, make it impossible or excessively difficult to exercise the rights individuals enjoy under EU law (judgment in Asociación de Consumidores Independientes de Castilla y León , EU:C:2013:800, paragraph 39).
55. However, it is necessary to take into consideration the mechanisms provided by the national procedural rules aiming to compensate for the consumer’s financial difficulties, such as legal aid, which may help to offset the additional costs in relation to the costs of the proceedings involved in the local court declining to hear the case in favour of the county court and related to both the imposition of higher tax and the need to have recourse to a lawyer (see judgment in Asociación de Consumidores Independientes de Castilla y León , EU:C:2013:800, paragraph 42 and the case-law cited).
57. However, it must be held that there is nothing in the documents submitted to the Court to indicate that a proper running of the proceedings requires that the consumer, in his capacity as applicant, be present at all stages (see, to that effect, judgment in Asociación de Consumidores Independientes de Castilla y León , EU:C:2013:800, paragraph 41) .