On Monday, 29 July, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) decided that the ‘Brussels Ia’ Regulation on jurisdiction was valid in the case between a German consumer and a travel company based in Munich (Case C-774/22).
The plaintiff, a consumer living in Nuremberg, entered into a contract for a trip abroad with FTI Touristik, a tour operator headquartered in Munich.
“Considering himself to have been inadequately informed of the entry conditions and necessary visas, the consumer brought an action for damages against FTI Touristik before the Local Court, Nuremberg”, explains the court’s press release.
For its part, FTI Touristik “contends that that court does not have territorial jurisdiction”, which prompted the Nuremberg court to refer the matter to the CJEU.
The CJEU declares that the ‘Brussels Ia’ Regulation is applicable “even in the case where the consumer and the tour operator are domiciled in the same Member State, whereas the destination of the trip is located abroad”. That element is thus sufficient for the regulation to be applicable.
According to the Court [of Justice], this regulation “thus ensures that the consumer, as the weaker party, can bring an action against the stronger party before an easily accessible court”.
See the judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/d6a (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)