European Private Law Monitoring Report n° 1

Rossella Corridori April 17th, 2013

A- A A+

Unfair Commercial Practices (UCP), Common European Sales Law (CESL), Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Investor Protection, Collective Redress, Standardisation of Services, Commitment Decisions, Settlements, Private Rights of Action, Telecommunication, Energy.

	Case-number	Parties	Subject-matter
Judgment of the Court; 21.02.2013	C-472/11	Banif Plus Bank Zrt/Casaba Csipai, Viktória Csipa	Obligation of the national court which has found of its own motion that a contractual term is unfair to inform the parties to the dispute of that fact and to invite each of them to set out its views on that matter.
Judgment of the Court; 14.03.2013	C‑415/11	Mohamed Aziz/Caixa d’Estalvis de Catalunya, Tarragona i Manresa (Catalunyacaixa)	Compatibility of Spanish legislation, which does not allow for grounds of objection based on the unfairness of a clause in mortgage enforcement proceedings and also does not allow the court before which declaratory proceedings have been brought to grant interim relief, with Directive 93/13.
Judgment of the Court; 21.03.2013	C-92/11	RWE Vertrieb AG/Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V	Criteria to determine the unfairness of a standard contractual term by which a supply undertaking reserves the right to vary the charge for the supply of gas, which reproduces a rule of national law applicable to another category of contracts and are not subject to the national legislation concerned.

	Case-number	Parties	Subject-matter
Judgment of the Court; 17. 01.2013	C-206/11	Georg Köck/Schutzverband gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb	Preclusion of a national court from ordering the cessation of a commercial practice not covered by Annex I of Directive 2005/29/EC on the sole ground that the practice has not been the subject of prior authorisation by the competent administrative authority, without itself carrying out an assessment of the unfairness of the practice in question against the criteria set out in Articles 5 to 9 of that directive.

	Case-number	Parties	Subject-matter
Opinion of AG Kokott; 28.02.2013	C-32/12	Soledad Duarte Hueros/Autociba SA und Automóviles Citroën España SA	Ex officio price reduction by the national court in case the consumer seeks only rescission of the contract, which is denied because the lack of conformity is only minor.

	Case-number	Parties	Subject-matter
Judgment of the Court; 31.01.2013	C-394/11	Valeri Hariev Belov/CHEZ Elektro Balgaria AD and Others.	Inadmissibility of questions referred regarding Directive 2000/43/EC as the national equality body cannot be considered as a ‘court or tribunal’ within the meaning of Article 267 TFEU.
Opinion of AG Kokott; 07. 02.2013	C‑476/11	HK Danmark, handelnd für Glennie Kristensen/Experian A/S	Compatibility of age-graded pension contributions with Article 6 (2) of Directive 2000/78.
Opinion of AG Kokott; 07.02.2013	C‑546/11	Dansk Jurist- og Økonomforbund, handelnd für Erik Toftgaard/Indenrigs- og Sundhedsministeriet	Scope of application of the exception under Art. 6 (2) of Directive 2000/78
Judgment of the Court; 28. 02.2013	C‑427/11	Margaret Kenny et al/ Minister for Justice et al	Conditions of the employer’s justification of the prima facie case of indirect gender discrimination in pay in the light of Article 141 EC and Directive 75/117

	Case-number	Parties	Subject-matter
Judgment of the Court; 31.01.2013	C-12/11	Denise McDonagh/Ryanair Ltd	Circumstances such as the closure of part of European airspace as a result of the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano constitute ‘extraordinary circumstances’ within the meaning of that regulation which do not release air carriers from their obligation laid down in Articles 5(1)(b) and 9 of the Regulation No 261/2004 to provide care.
Judgment of the Court; 26.02.2013	C-11/11	Air France SA/ Heinz-Gerke Folkerts, Luz-Tereza Folkerts	Compensation is payable, on the basis of Art. 7 of the Regulation No 261/2004, to a passenger on directly connecting flights who has been delayed at departure for a period below the limits specified in Article 6, but has arrived at the final destination at least three hours later than the scheduled arrival time, given that the compensation in question is not conditional upon there having been a delay at departure.

European Private Law Monitoring Report n° 1

Table of contents

EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE

Case-law in private law matters from January – March 2013

EUROPEAN RESEARCH AGENCY

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

NEWSWIRES

OTHERS

EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE

Case-law in private law matters from January – March 2013

Unfair terms in consumer contracts (Directive 93/13/EEC)

Unfair commercial practices (Directive 2005/29/EC)

Sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees (Directive 1999/44/EC)

Anti-Discrimination law

Air passenger rights (Regulation No 261/2004)

Railway passenger rights (Regulation No 1371/2007)

Insurance law and consumer protection

Liability for breach of competition law provisions

Legal protection

Services Directive 2006/123/EC

EUROPEAN RESEARCH AGENCY

60 ERC projects funded to bring ‘blue sky’ research towards market (Proof of Concept)

Great Interest from ERC grantees in hosting early-career top US talent

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

New proposals on Alternative and Online Dispute Resolution

Stimulating European Judicial Training

Commission aims to improve redress for consumers in cross-border claims

Commission seeks input on improving redress for consumers in cross-border claims

Towards a more coherent enforcement of EU consumer rules

Public Consultation on the European Small Claims Procedure

Digital Agenda: Commission calls on Polish telecom regulator to base deregulation proposal on an up-to-date market assessment

European Commission takes action to protect businesses against marketing scams

EC Consumer Law Compendium

Call for applications regarding the setting up of the Commission expert group on a European insurance contract law

New proposals on Alternative and Online Dispute Resolution (ADR) and (ODR)

Internal energy market: Lithuania called upon to comply with EU internal market rules

Speech: Dialogue structure à la Commission Marché intérieur et protection des consommateurs

February 2013: Flash Consumer Confidence Indicator

Commission welcomes European Parliament Committee support for an optional Common European Sales Law

Preparation of the Energy Council, 22 February 2013

72,000 EU consumers helped by European Consumer Centres in 2012 – Annual Report

Air passengers in Europe: equal rights, unequal access to dispute resolution

Report: The European Online Marketplace

European Small Claims Procedure Report

Public Consultation on the implementation of European Reference Networks (ERN)

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

IMCO Draft Opinion on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Common European Sales Law

JURI Draft Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Common European Sales Law

JURI Amendments on improving access to justice: legal aid in cross-border civil and commercial disputes

Study: Common European Sales Law (February 2013)

JURI: The proposal for a Common European Sales Law: work in progress

Workshop on the Plurilateral Agreement on Services

Study: The Plurilateral Agreement on Services: At the Staring Gate

Services Directive: Still plenty of room for improvement

Faster and more efficient help for disappointed shoppers

National parliaments able to save time thanks to free EP tool for managing amendments

We cannot afford the luxury of having a fragmented market

Making travellers’ lives easier

New EU Rules to ensure rapid redress for disappointed shoppers

IMCO Committee: Draft Opinion on improving access to justice: legal aid in cross-border civil and commercial disputes 2012/2101(IIINI)

REGI Committee: Motion for a Resolution on the Role of EU Cohesion Policy and its actors in implementing the new European Energy Policy

EP Resolution: Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters

EP Resolution: Implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive

ALDE: EU Investment Protection Policy – Seminar

Study: Common European Sales Law (January 2013)

Study: Why is mediation not used more often as a means of Alternative Dispute Resolution?

Study: Current gaps and future perspectives in European Private International Law: Towards a Code on Private International law?

IMCO: Hearing on Services Directive

NEWSWIRES

EuroNews: EU to simply cross-border trade rules

Financial Times: Competition lawsuits plan worries CBI

OTHERS

BEUC

EU updates law on air passengers’ rights

Doctors at a distance: EU healthcare gets technology prescription

EU Consumer Redress – Old myths and recent realities

Unfair Contract Terms in Passenger Contracts – Open Letter to IATA

Future Smart Energy Markets: Protecting and Empowering Consumers – BEUC position paper

BEUC Departments and Teams – Update

IMCO Committee: Draft Opinion on improving access to justice: legal aid in cross-border civil and commercial disputes 2012/2101(IIINI)