Skuteczna ochrona konsumentów a gwarancje procesowe przedsiębiorców
Effective consumer protection and effective judicial protection for Entrepreneurs

Case comment to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Fifth Chamber) of 21 December 2016 in Case C-119/15 Biuro podróży ‘Partner’ sp. z o.o. sp.k. w Dąbrowie Górniczej v. Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów

Summary/Abstract: Subject of the commentary is the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Fifth Chamber) of 21 December 2016 in Case C-119/15, Biuro podróży ‘Partner’ Sp. z o.o, Sp. komandytowa w Dąbrowie Górniczej v Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów. In essence, the court expressed therein its opinion on whether European law (Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts, the Directive 2009/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on injunctions for the protection of consumers’ interests and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union) must be interpreted as precluding the use by another seller or supplier of standard contract terms with content identical to terms which have already been declared unlawful by a judicial decision having legal force. The Court considered if the use, by another entity, of terms which have earlier been entered into the register of unlawful standard contract terms can be considered an unlawful act for which a fine may be imposed. According to the judgment, the mentioned European regulations do not preclude such a possibility, provided – to be verified by Member States’ courts – that the seller or supplier has an effective judicial remedy against the decision declaring the equivalence of the terms when it comes to the question whether (in the light of all relevant circumstances particular to each case) those terms are in fact materially identical, having regard in particular to their harmful effects for consumers. The seller or supplier must also have an effective judicial remedy against the decision fixing the amount of the fine imposed, where applicable

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