The ‘Ex Officio’ Doctrine of the CJEU Revisited: On the Active Role of the Courts in Unfair Contract Terms Law – Critical Remarks on the Lintner Ruling (C-551/17) of the CJEU

The article searches for answers to whether the ex officio doc- trine as revised in the Lintner ruling of the CJEU in 2019 in response to the difficulties of Member State courts in marrying the requirements of the effective enforcement of Directive 93/13/EEC with the limits set by national civil procedural law may serve as an effective tool in providing justice to consumers. In this context, the paper will analyse the following aspects: a) What policies guide the CJEU in its answers provided to the questions referred to it by Member State courts on the obligation to act of their own motion and why no significant steps have been made in turning the ex officio doctrine into an effective judicial tool? b) Whose job is it to develop procedural rules acknowledging the procedural weakness of the consumer vis-à-vis business entities? c) What type of social justice promotes the ex officio doctrine under the Lintner ruling? d) Can the EU develop procedural rules to enhance the enforcement of Directive 93/13/EEC? After the presentation in Section 1 of the ex officio doctrine followed by a historical review of the case law of the CJEU on the obligation of the Member State courts to assess the contract term fairness of their own motion, the paper will present in Section 2 the Lintner ruling. In Section 3 the author will assess the Lintner ruling along with the questions presented above and discuss whether the answers provided by the CJEU are as ground breaking as they may seem and whether the ‘investigative’ powers conferred by this ruling onto Member State judges may enhance in practice the effectiveness of judicial enforcement

Az európai magánjog hatása a versenyképességre

Absztrakt: A tanulmány az európai magánjogi jogegységesítésnek a piaci versenyképességre gyakorolt esetleges hatásait vizsgálja összehasonlító-jogi és piaci érvek mentén. Arra keres választ, hogy az európai uniós tagállami jogi sajátosságok a szerződésen kívüli felelősség területén mennyire hatnak piacra-jutási korlátként, mennyire valósak ezek versenytorzító hatásai, illetve milyen mértékben működik a jogszabályverseny ezen a területen, használhatják-e a magánjogi felelősségi rendszert befektetés és kereskedelemösztönző eszközként a tagállamok. Ezek függvényében tesz ajánlásokat arra vonatkozóan, hogy üzleti szempontok mentén mennyire érdemes az európai lágy jog (DCFR) mércéi alapján átalakítani a nemzeti jogot, vagy inkább megmaradni a nemzeti értékek mentén, ha az előnyös a közép-kelet európai térségben, valamint az Európai Unióban zajló nemzeti jogfejlődési folyamatokhoz képest. E kérdéskör annál is inkább aktuális mert térségünk több országa, köztük Magyarország is polgári törvénykönyve reformján dolgozik. ----- Abstract: The paper discusses along comparative law and market considerations the effects of European unification of private law via soft law instruments (DCFR) on Member States’ competitiveness. The research debates the potential effects of tort liability as market entry obstacle due to legal diversty at national level, the effects of legal diversity on the level playing field Internal Market wide and the role of regulatory competition in tort liability as market generating incentive in hands of Member States. Based on its findings the paper warns on the pitfalls of using the DCFR as model for reforming national civil codes in the Member States. The topic of research is justified by the ongoing civil law reform projects in the Central-Eastern European Member States of the EU, including Hungary

WHY LEGAL TRANSPLANTS INSTEAD OF MORE ADAPTATION WITHIN THE PROCESS OF LEGAL APPROXIMATION IN THE CENTRAL-EASTERN EUROPEAN MEMBER STATES OF THE EU AND THE CANDIDATE COUNTRIES?

The paper discusses the strategy of the EU in designing and implementing the legal approximation process in the candidate countries, on one hand, and the possibilities and constraints of the candidate countries in framing this process under their domestic conditions, within the European context. It questions, whether could have been feasible other alternative strategic solutions both for the EU and the candidates for achieving a less costly and more effective functional compatibility between the conditionalities of the candidates and the integration mechanisms of the EU?At the very heart of the problem there are the function of law, in general, and the function of legal approximation or other methods of legal unification of market regulations, in changing market conditions. In this context the analysis defends a strong case for the interdisciplinary research of the ‘effectiveness’ of the legal-institutional approximation process highlighting the limits of market regulations in generating convergence of the market conditions and institutional culture

Essential cases on damage

Bibliogr. išnašoseThe increasing Europeanisation of the law of delict/torts has produced textbooks, casebooks, monographs, and also sets of model rules of a genuinely European character. A major gap still existing today relates to the experiences gathered in the national legal systems over the past decades. The present work attempts to fill this gap for one key element of tort law: the notion of damage. It thus does what the previous volume in the ‘Digest of European Tort Law’ series did for another key element, ie natural causation. Once again, the publication contains a selection of the most important cases decided in 26 states across Europe as well as by the European Court of Justice. For each case the facts and the relevant court decision are presented, and the decision is analysed within the wider context of the development of the respective legal system. In addition, the editors provide comparative analyses of the case law reported in this volume concerning all the specific problems raised under the heading of damage. The publication also looks into how key cases would be resolved under the European model rules drafted in the field of tort law; and it also highlights cases from earlier periods of legal history. The editors believe that the material gathered here may provide guidance for an organic convergence of the national legal systems in Europe. It constitutes the basis of an acquis commun that is infinitely richer (though also much more complex) than the rather bland and abstract concepts contained in national codifications, European legislation, and the modern model rulesMykolo Romerio universitetasPrivatinės teisės katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Essential cases on misconduct

Bibliografija išnašoseThe various national European legal systems offer a broad range of responses to the question of what can be regarded as wrongful behaviour or fault. The present work systematically examines these two important prerequisites for tortious liability under the combined heading of ‘misconduct’. Unlike current textbooks, national casebooks and monographs, it builds on the experiences gathered in the national legal systems over the past decades and thereby fills a major gap which still exists today. It thus does what the previous volumes in the ‘Digest of European Tort Law’ series did for other key elements of tort law, namely natural causation and damage. Once again, the publication contains a selection of the most important cases from 28 states across Europe as well as cases handed down by European Union courts; it also highlights cases from earlier periods of legal history. For each case, the facts and the relevant court decision are presented and these are then accompanied by an analytical commentary. In addition, the editors provide comparative analyses of the cases reported and a special report is dedicated to how key decisions would be resolved under model European rules on tort law. The editors believe that the material gathered here may provide guidance for an organic convergence of the national legal systems in Europe. It constitutes the basis of an acquis commun that is infinitely richer (though also much more complex) than the rather bland and abstract concepts contained in national codifications, European legislation and modern model rulesMykolo Romerio universitetasPrivatinės teisės katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta