Max Rampion and Marie-Jeanne Godard, née Rampion v Franfinance SA and K par K SAS.
Date: 2007-10-04
23. In that regard, it should be recalled that in the factual and legislative context which the national court is responsible for defining, and the accuracy of which is not a matter for this Court to determine, the questions submitted by the national court in relation to the interpretation of Community law enjoy a presumption of relevance (see Case C‑300/01 Salzmann [2003] ECR I‑4899, paragraphs 29 and 31, and Joined Cases C‑94/04 and C‑202/04 Cipolla and Others [2006] ECR I‑11421, paragraph 25).
24. The Court may reject a request for a preliminary ruling submitted by a national court only where it is quite obvious that the interpretation of Community 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, Case C‑379/98 PreussenElektra [2001] ECR I‑2099, paragraph 39; Case C‑466/04 Acereda Herrera [2006] ECR I‑5341, paragraph 48; and Cipolla and Others , paragraph 25).
27. Nevertheless, while it is for the Court of Justice, in the system laid down by Article 234 EC providing for cooperation, to provide the referring court with an answer which will be of use to it and enable it to determine the case before it, the Court may have to reformulate the questions referred (see, inter alia, Case C‑88/99 Roquettes Frères  [2000] ECR I‑10465, paragraph 18; Case C‑469/00 Ravil [2003] ECR I‑5053, paragraph 27; and Case C‑286/05 Haug  [2006] ECR I‑4121, paragraph 17).
47. In the first place, as is clear from its wording, the second sentence of Article 11(2) of Directive 87/102 presupposes the existence of a right to pursue remedies as provided for in the first sentence of that provision. In the second place, it would run counter to the aim of Directive 87/102, which consists primarily in ensuring that a minimum standard of consumer protection in matters of consumer credit is complied with in all Member States, if it were permissible to make the right to pursue remedies – which the consumer enjoys against the grantor of credit pursuant to the first sentence of Article 11(2) of the Directive – subject to a formal requirement such as that at issue in the main proceedings.
48. That interpretation is supported by Article 14(1) of Directive 87/102, which states that ‘Member States shall ensure that credit agreements shall not derogate, to the detriment of the consumer, from the provisions of national law implementing or corresponding to this Directive’ and also by Article 14(2) thereof, which states that ‘Member States shall further ensure that the provisions which they adopt in implementation of this directive are not circumvented as a result of the way in which agreements are formulated …’.
59. The Court has repeatedly stated that, as is clear from its preamble, Directive 87/102 was adopted with the dual aim of ensuring both the creation of a common consumer credit market (third to fifth recitals) and the protection of consumers who avail themselves of such credit (sixth, seventh and ninth recitals) (Case C-208/98 Berliner Kindl Brauerei [2000] ECR I-1741, paragraph 20, and Case C-264/02 Cofinoga [2004] ECR I-2157, paragraph 25).
61. At paragraph 26 of Océano Grupo Editorial and Salvat Editores , the Court held that the aim of Article 6 of Directive 93/13, which requires Member States to provide that unfair contract terms are not to be binding on the consumer, could not be achieved if the consumer were himself obliged to raise the unfair nature of such terms. In disputes where the amounts involved are often small, the lawyers’ fees may be higher than the amount at stake, which may deter the consumer from defending himself against the application of an unfair term. While it is true that, in a number of Member States, procedural rules enable individuals to defend themselves in such proceedings, there is a real risk that the consumer, particularly because of a lack of awareness, will not challenge the unfair nature of the term pleaded against him. It follows that effective consumer protection can be attained only if the national courts are given power to evaluate terms of this kind of their own motion.
62. Referring to that paragraph in Océano Grupo Editorial and Salvat Editores , the Court confirmed at paragraph 33 of Cofidis that the power of the court to raise of its own motion the unfair nature of a contract term has been regarded as necessary for ensuring that the consumer enjoys effective protection, in view in particular of the real risk that he may be unaware of his rights or may encounter difficulties in exercising them (see also Case C‑168/05 Mostaza Claro  [2006] ECR I‑10421, paragraph 28).
65. That aim could not be effectively achieved if the consumer were himself obliged to invoke the right to pursue remedies which he enjoys against the grantor of credit in accordance with the provisions of national law transposing Article 11(2) of Directive 87/102, in particular because of the real risk that the consumer may be unaware of his rights or may encounter difficulties in exercising them. As the Advocate General stated at point 107 of his Opinion, the fact that the main proceedings were brought by Mr and Mrs Rampion and that they are represented in those proceedings by a lawyer does not justify a different conclusion, as the issue must be settled independently of the specific circumstances of the case.