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PARALLEL TEXTS
Una clausola standardizzata contenuta in contratti conclusi con i consumatori rimane soggetta al controllo del suo carattere abusivo, anche allorché si limita a riprodurre una normativa nazionale applicabile ad un’altra categoria di contratti
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-36_en.htm
Italiano tratto da: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-36_it.htm
Data documento: 21-03-2013
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A standard term in consumer contracts remains subject to review for unfairness even if it does no more than reproduce national legislation applicable to a different category of contracts
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Una clausola standardizzata contenuta in contratti conclusi con i consumatori rimane soggetta al controllo del suo carattere abusivo, anche allorché si limita a riprodurre una normativa nazionale applicabile ad un’altra categoria di contratti
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It is for the national court to assess in each individual case whether such a term allowing a supplier of gas unilaterally to alter the price satisfies the requirements of good faith, balance and transparency
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Spetta al giudice nazionale valutare, in ciascun caso concreto, se una simile clausola che consente al fornitore di gas di adeguare unilateralmente il prezzo soddisfi i requisiti di buona fede, equilibrio e trasparenza
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The Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen (consumer association for North Rhine-Westphalia) is challenging before the German courts a standard contractual term by which RWE, a German undertaking supplying natural gas, reserves the right unilaterally to amend the price charged to its customers if they are on a special tariff (Sonderkunden).
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La Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen (associazione dei consumatori della Renania Settentrionale-Vestfalia) contesta dinanzi ai giudici tedeschi una clausola contrattuale standardizzata con cui la RWE, impresa tedesca di approvvigionamento di gas naturale, si riserva il diritto di modificare unilateralmente il prezzo ai propri clienti soggetti a tariffa speciale (Sonderkunden).
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Instead of opting for the standard tariff which German gas suppliers are obliged to offer consumers, those customers entered into contracts on the basis of freedom of contract.
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Anziché aver optato per la tariffa standard che i fornitori di gas tedeschi sono tenuti ad offrire ai consumatori, tali clienti hanno stipulato un contratto in regime di libertà contrattuale.
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Since it regards that term as unfair, the association, acting on behalf of 25 consumers, seeks reimbursement of the additional amounts the consumers paid RWE following four price increases from 2003 to 2005, a total of €16,128.63.
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Ritenendo che tale clausola sia abusiva, l'associazione chiede, per conto di 25 consumatori, il rimborso dei supplementi che questi ultimi hanno versato alla RWE a seguito di quattro aumenti di prezzo tra il 2003 e il 2005, per un importo totale pari a EUR 16 128,63.
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RWE considers inter alia that the disputed term, which forms part of the general terms and conditions applicable to the customers in question, cannot be reviewed for unfairness.
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La RWE ritiene che la clausola controversa, contenuta nelle condizioni generali applicabili ai clienti interessati, non possa essere sottoposta ad un controllo del suo carattere abusivo.
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The term merely refers to the German legislation applicable to standard tariff contracts.
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Infatti, tale clausola faceva semplicemente riferimento alla normativa tedesca applicabile ai contratti che applicavano la tariffa standard.
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That legislation allows the supplier to vary gas prices unilaterally without stating the grounds, conditions or extent of such a variation, while ensuring, however, that customers will be notified of the variation and will be free, if appropriate, to terminate the contract.
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Tale normativa consentiva ai fornitori di variare unilateralmente i prezzi del gas senza indicare il motivo, le condizioni o la portata di una simile modifica, ma garantendo al contempo che i clienti fossero informati di tale modifica e che, eventualmente, fossero liberi di recedere dal contratto.
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Having lost before the lower courts, RWE turned to the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice, Germany), which puts questions to the Court of Justice on the interpretation of the rules of EU law intended to protect consumers against unfair and/or non-transparent standard contractual terms.
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Essendo rimasta soccombente dinanzi ai tribunali di grado inferiore, la RWE ha adito il Bundesgerichtshof (Corte federale di cassazione, Germania), che interroga la Corte di giustizia sull'interpretazione da dare alle disposizioni del diritto dell'Unione dirette a tutelare i consumatori contro le clausole contrattuali standardizzate abusive e/od oscure.
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The German court is uncertain in particular about the scope of the exclusion from review for unfairness of standard terms which merely reproduce mandatory statutory or regulatory provisions.
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Il giudice tedesco, in particolare, si interroga circa la portata dell'esclusione di un controllo del carattere abusivo delle clausole standardizzate che si limitano a riprodurre disposizioni legislative o regolamentari imperative.
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By its judgment of today, the Court of Justice answers that such terms must be subject to review for unfairness if the statutory provisions they reproduce are applicable only to another category of contracts.
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Con la sentenza odierna, la Corte di giustizia risponde dichiarando che siffatte clausole devono essere sottoposte ad un controllo del loro carattere abusivo, allorché le disposizioni legislative che riproducono sono applicabili unicamente ad un'altra categoria di contratti.
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Exclusion of review for unfairness of contractual terms that reflect the provisions of national legislation governing a certain category of contracts is justified by the fact that it can legitimately be assumed that the national legislature struck a balance between all the rights and obligations of the parties to those contracts.
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Infatti, l'esclusione del controllo del carattere abusivo delle clausole contrattuali che riproducono le disposizioni della normativa nazionale disciplinante una determinata categoria di contratti è giustificata dal fatto che si può legittimamente presumere che il legislatore nazionale abbia stabilito un equilibrio tra l’insieme dei diritti e degli obblighi dei contraenti di tali contratti.
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That reasoning does not apply, however, to terms in a different contract.
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Un simile ragionamento, tuttavia, non è applicabile alle clausole di un contratto diverso.
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To exclude a term in such a contract from review for unfairness merely because it reproduces legislation that applies only to another category of contracts would call into question the protection of consumers aimed at by EU law.
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Infatti, escludere il controllo del carattere abusivo di una clausola contenuta in un contratto di questo genere, per il solo fatto che essa riproduce una normativa applicabile unicamente ad un'altra categoria di contratti, metterebbe in discussione la tutela dei consumatori prevista dal diritto dell’Unione.
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As regards the possible unfairness of the disputed term, the Court finds that the EU legislature recognised that, in the context of contracts of indefinite duration such as contracts for the supply of gas, the supplying undertaking has a legitimate interest in altering the charges for its service.
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Per quanto riguarda il carattere eventualmente abusivo della clausola controversa, la Corte rileva che il legislatore dell'Unione ha riconosciuto che, nell'ambito di contratti a durata indeterminata, come i contratti di fornitura di gas, l'impresa di approvvigionamento ha un interesse legittimo a modificare le spese del suo servizio.
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A standard term allowing such a unilateral alteration must however satisfy the requirements of good faith, balance and transparency.
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Una clausola standardizzata, che consenta un simile adeguamento unilaterale, deve tuttavia soddisfare i requisiti di buona fede, equilibrio e trasparenza.
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In this respect, the Court points out that ultimately it is not for it but for the national court to determine in each individual case whether that is so.
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A questo riguardo, la Corte ricorda che, in ultima istanza, non spetta ad essa, bensì al giudice nazionale determinare in ciascun caso concreto se ciò si verifichi.
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When making that assessment the national court must accord fundamental importance to the following criteria:
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Nell’effettuare la suddetta analisi, il giudice nazionale deve accordare una rilevanza essenziale ai seguenti criteri:
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- The contract must set out in transparent fashion the reason for and method of the variation of the charges, so that the consumer can foresee, on the basis of clear, intelligible criteria, the alterations that may be made to them.
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- il contratto deve esporre in modo trasparente il motivo e le modalità di variazione delle spese, di modo che il consumatore possa prevedere, in base a criteri chiari e comprensibili, le modifiche eventuali di tali spese.
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The Court emphasises that the lack of information on the point before the contract is concluded cannot, in principle, be compensated for by the mere fact that consumers will, during the performance of the contract, be informed in good time of a variation of the charges and of their right to terminate the contract if they do not wish to accept the variation.
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A tale proposito, la Corte sottolinea che, in linea di principio, l’assenza di informazioni a tale riguardo prima della conclusione del contratto non può essere compensata dalla mera circostanza che i consumatori, nel corso dell'esecuzione del contratto, vengano informati con un preavviso ragionevole della modifica delle spese e del loro diritto di recedere dal contratto qualora non desiderino accettare detta modifica;
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- The right of termination conferred on the consumer must actually be capable of being exercised in the specific circumstances.
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- la facoltà di recesso conferita al consumatore dev’essere, nelle circostanze concrete, realmente esercitabile.
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That would not be the case if, for reasons connected with the details of the termination procedure or the conditions of the market concerned, the consumer has no real possibility of changing supplier, or if he has not been informed suitably and in good time of the change.
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Così non sarebbe qualora, per ragioni connesse alle modalità dell'esercizio del diritto di recesso o nelle condizioni del mercato rilevante, il consumatore non disponga di una reale possibilità di cambiare fornitore, o nel caso in cui egli non sia stato informato in modo opportuno e in tempo utile della modifica.
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Moreover, the Court dismisses the applications by the German Government and RWE to limit the temporal effects of its judgment in order to limit its financial consequences.
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Inoltre, la Corte respinge le istanze, presentate dal governo tedesco e dalla RWE, di limitare nel tempo gli effetti della sua sentenza, allo scopo di contenerne le conseguenze finanziarie.
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The interpretation of EU law given by the Court in this judgment therefore applies not only to changes to tariffs that take place from now on, but to all changes to tariffs that have taken place since the coming into force of the provisions of EU law interpreted by the judgment.
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Pertanto, l'interpretazione del diritto dell'Unione che la Corte fornisce nella presente sentenza si applica non solo alle modifiche tariffarie che sopravvengono a decorrere da oggi, ma a tutte le modifiche tariffarie successive all'entrata in vigore delle disposizioni del diritto dell'Unione interpretate da tale sentenza.
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It is also necessary that the conditions for bringing before the courts having jurisdiction an action relating to the application of those provisions are satisfied.
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È altresì necessario che le condizioni che consentono di portare dinanzi ai giudici competenti una controversia relativa all'applicazione di tali disposizioni siano soddisfatte.
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The Court observes in this respect that the financial consequences for gas supply undertakings in Germany which have concluded special contracts with consumers cannot be determined on the sole basis of the interpretation of EU law given by the Court in today’s judgment.
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La Corte osserva a questo riguardo che le conseguenze finanziarie, per le imprese di fornitura di gas in Germania che abbiano concluso con i consumatori dei contratti speciali, non possono essere determinate unicamente in base all'interpretazione del diritto dell'Unione che essa fornisce con la sua sentenza odierna.
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It is for the national court to determine in the light of that interpretation whether a particular contractual term is actually unfair in the circumstances of the particular case.
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Infatti, spetta al giudice nazionale pronunciarsi, alla luce di tale interpretazione, sulla qualificazione concreta da dare ad una clausola contrattuale particolare in funzione delle circostanze proprie del caso di specie.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law or the validity of a European Union act.
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Il rinvio pregiudiziale consente ai giudici degli Stati membri, nell'ambito di una controversia della quale sono investiti, di interpellare la Corte in merito all’interpretazione del diritto dell’Unione o alla validità di un atto dell’Unione.
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The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
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La Corte non risolve la controversia nazionale.
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It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised.
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Spetta al giudice nazionale risolvere la causa conformemente alla decisione della Corte. Tale decisione vincola egualmente gli altri giudici nazionali ai quali venga sottoposto un problema simile.
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
A standard term in consumer contracts remains subject to
review for unfairness even if it does no more than reproduce national
legislation applicable to a different category of contracts
It is for the national court to assess in each individual case
whether such a term allowing a supplier of gas unilaterally to alter the price
satisfies the requirements of good faith, balance and transparency
The Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen (consumer
association for North Rhine-Westphalia) is challenging before the German courts
a standard contractual term by which RWE, a German undertaking supplying natural
gas, reserves the right unilaterally to amend the price charged to its customers
if they are on a special tariff (Sonderkunden).
Instead of opting for the standard tariff which German gas
suppliers are obliged to offer consumers, those customers entered into contracts
on the basis of freedom of contract.
Since it regards that term as unfair, the association, acting
on behalf of 25 consumers, seeks reimbursement of the additional amounts the
consumers paid RWE following four price increases from 2003 to 2005, a total of
€16,128.63.
RWE considers inter alia that the disputed term, which forms
part of the general terms and conditions applicable to the customers in
question, cannot be reviewed for unfairness.
The term merely refers to the German legislation applicable to
standard tariff contracts.
That legislation allows the supplier to vary gas prices
unilaterally without stating the grounds, conditions or extent of such a
variation, while ensuring, however, that customers will be notified of the
variation and will be free, if appropriate, to terminate the contract.
Having lost before the lower courts, RWE turned to the
Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice, Germany), which puts questions to
the Court of Justice on the interpretation of the rules of EU law intended to
protect consumers against unfair and/or non-transparent standard contractual
terms.
The German court is uncertain in particular about the scope of
the exclusion from review for unfairness of standard terms which merely
reproduce mandatory statutory or regulatory provisions.
By its judgment of today, the Court of Justice answers that
such terms must be subject to review for unfairness if the statutory provisions
they reproduce are applicable only to another category of contracts.
Exclusion of review for unfairness of contractual terms that
reflect the provisions of national legislation governing a certain category of
contracts is justified by the fact that it can legitimately be assumed that the
national legislature struck a balance between all the rights and obligations of
the parties to those contracts.
That reasoning does not apply, however, to terms in a
different contract.
To exclude a term in such a contract from review for
unfairness merely because it reproduces legislation that applies only to another
category of contracts would call into question the protection of consumers aimed
at by EU law.
As regards the possible unfairness of the disputed term, the
Court finds that the EU legislature recognised that, in the context of contracts
of indefinite duration such as contracts for the supply of gas, the supplying
undertaking has a legitimate interest in altering the charges for its service.
A standard term allowing such a unilateral alteration must
however satisfy the requirements of good faith, balance and transparency.
In this respect, the Court points out that ultimately it is
not for it but for the national court to determine in each individual case
whether that is so.
lWhen making that assessment the national court must accord
fundamental importance to the following criteria:
- The contract must set out in transparent fashion the reason
for and method of the variation of the charges, so that the consumer can
foresee, on the basis of clear, intelligible criteria, the alterations that may
be made to them.
The Court emphasises that the lack of information on the point
before the contract is concluded cannot, in principle, be compensated for by the
mere fact that consumers will, during the performance of the contract, be
informed in good time of a variation of the charges and of their right to
terminate the contract if they do not wish to accept the variation.
- The right of termination conferred on the consumer must
actually be capable of being exercised in the specific circumstances.
That would not be the case if, for reasons connected with the
details of the termination procedure or the conditions of the market concerned,
the consumer has no real possibility of changing supplier, or if he has not been
informed suitably and in good time of the change.
Moreover, the Court dismisses the applications by the German
Government and RWE to limit the temporal effects of its judgment in order to
limit its financial consequences.
The interpretation of EU law given by the Court in this
judgment therefore applies not only to changes to tariffs that take place from
now on, but to all changes to tariffs that have taken place since the coming
into force of the provisions of EU law interpreted by the judgment.
It is also necessary that the conditions for bringing before
the courts having jurisdiction an action relating to the application of those
provisions are satisfied.
The Court observes in this respect that the financial
consequences for gas supply undertakings in Germany which have concluded special
contracts with consumers cannot be determined on the sole basis of the
interpretation of EU law given by the Court in today’s judgment.
It is for the national court to determine in the light of that
interpretation whether a particular contractual term is actually unfair in the
circumstances of the particular case.
NOTE:
A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and
tribunals of the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them,
to refer questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European
Union law or the validity of a European Union act.
The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the
case in accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on
other national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised.
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