Gebr. Weber GmbH v Jürgen Wittmer (C-65/09) and Ingrid Putz v Medianess Electronics GmbH (C-87/09).
Date: 2011-06-16
35. It should be recalled that in proceedings under Article 267 TFEU, which are based on a clear separation of functions between the national courts and the Court of Justice, it is solely for the national court before which the dispute has been brought, and which must assume responsibility for the subsequent judicial decision, to determine in the light of the particular circumstances of the case both the need for a preliminary ruling in order to enable it to deliver judgment and the relevance of the questions which it submits to the Court. Consequently, where the questions referred concern the interpretation of European Union law, the Court is in principle bound to give a ruling (see, inter alia, Case C‑419/04 Conseil général de la Vienne [2006] ECR I-5645, paragraph 19; Case C‑119/05 Lucchini [2007] ECR I-6199, paragraph 43; and Case C‑52/09 TeliaSonera [2011] ECR I-0000, paragraph 15).
36. The Court may refuse to rule on a question referred for a preliminary ruling from a national court only where it is quite obvious that the interpretation of European Union law that is sought bears no relation to the actual facts of the main action or its purpose, where the problem is hypothetical, or where the Court does not have before it the factual or legal material necessary to give a useful answer to the questions submitted to it (see, inter alia, Conseil général de la Vienne , paragraph 20; Lucchini , paragraph 44; and TeliaSonera , paragraph 16).
43. As a preliminary point, it should be borne in mind that, under Article 3(1) of the Directive, the seller is to be liable to the consumer for any lack of conformity in the goods at the time when they are delivered.
44. Article 3(2) of the Directive lists the rights which the consumer may rely on against the seller in cases where the goods delivered are not in conformity. In the first place, the consumer has the right to require the goods to be brought into conformity. If that is not possible, he may subsequently seek a reduction in the price or rescission of the contract.
46. The Court has already had occasion to note that it thus follows from the wording of Article 3 of the Directive, as well as from the related travaux préparatoires, that the European Union legislature intended to make the ‘free of charge’ aspect of the seller’s obligation to bring goods into conformity an essential element of the protection afforded to consumers by that directive. The ‘free of charge’ requirement attaching to the seller’s obligation to bring the goods into conformity, whether by repair or replacement, is intended to protect consumers from the risk of financial burdens which might dissuade them from asserting their rights in the absence of such protection (see Case C‑404/06 Quelle [2008] ECR I‑2685, paragraphs 33 and 34).
50. It is true that the costs of removing goods not in conformity and installing replacement goods are not among those specifically laid down in Article 3(4) of the Directive, which defines the expression ‘free of charge’ as referring to ‘the necessary costs incurred to bring the goods into conformity, particularly the cost of postage, labour and materials’. However, the Court has already held that it follows from the use by the European Union legislature of the adverb ‘particularly’ that that list is illustrative, not exhaustive (see Quelle , paragraph 31). Furthermore, those costs are from this point necessary so that the goods not in conformity can be replaced and are therefore ‘necessary costs incurred to bring the goods into conformity’ within the meaning of Article 3(4).
52. It should also be noted that, pursuant to Article 3(3) of the Directive, the repair and replacement of goods not in conformity is to be completed not only free of charge but also within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer. Those three requirements are the expression of the clear resolve of the European Union legislature to provide effective protection to consumers (see, to that effect, Quelle , paragraph 35).
56. It should be borne in mind, in that context, that such interpretation does not lead to an inequitable outcome. Even assuming that the non-conformity of goods does not result from the fault of the seller, the fact remains that by delivering goods not in conformity the seller fails correctly to perform the obligation which he accepted in the contract of sale, and must therefore bear the consequences of that faulty performance. On the other hand, the consumer, for his part, paid the selling price and therefore correctly performed his contractual obligations (see, to that effect, Quelle , paragraph 41). In addition, the fact that the consumer, confident in the conformity of the goods delivered, installed the defective goods, in good faith, in a manner consistent with their nature and purpose, before the defect became apparent, cannot be held against him as a fault.
58. Moreover, the seller’s financial interests are protected, not only by the two-year time-limit laid down in Article 5(1) of the Directive and by the fact that, under the second subparagraph of Article 3(3) of the Directive, the seller may refuse to replace the goods where that remedy would be disproportionate in that it would impose unreasonable costs on him (see Quelle , paragraph 42) but also by the right of redress, reaffirmed in Article 4 of the Directive, against the person or persons liable in the same contractual chain. The fact that the Directive makes the seller liable to the consumer for any lack of conformity which exists at the time the goods are delivered (see Quelle , paragraph 40) is thus compensated by the fact that the seller can, in accordance with the applicable rules of national legislation, pursue remedies against the producer, a previous seller in the same chain of contracts or any other intermediary.
60. The rights thus conferred on consumers by Article 3 of the Directive, which do not seek to place consumers in a more favourable position than they could claim under the contract of sale, but merely to re-establish the situation which would have prevailed if the seller had delivered goods in conformity at the outset, are, pursuant to Article 7 of the Directive, binding on the seller. Furthermore, as follows from Article 8(2) of the Directive, the protection provided by it is a minimum and, although Member States may adopt more stringent provisions, they may not undermine the guarantees laid down by the European Union legislature (see Quelle, paragraph 36).
72. That choice made by the European Union legislature in the second subparagraph of Article 3(3) of the Directive, as pointed out by the Belgian and Polish Governments and the Commission, derives from the fact that the Directive favours, in the interest of both parties to the contract, the performance thereof by means of the two remedies provided for in the first place, rather than cancellation of the contract or reduction in the selling price. The choice is explained, in addition, by the fact that generally those two last alternative remedies do not ensure the same level of protection for consumers as the bringing into conformity of the goods.
75. In that context, it must be pointed out that Article 3 aims to establish a fair balance between the interests of the consumer and the seller, by guaranteeing the consumer, as the weak party to the contract, complete and effective protection from faulty performance by the seller of his contractual obligations, while enabling account to be taken of economic considerations advanced by the seller.