{ "attribution": { "source": "legal.exploreworldai.com", "canonical": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=eu:c-872-24", "cite_as": "NovaCopilot, legal.exploreworldai.com (https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=eu:c-872-24)", "license": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/revision", "version": "legal-2026-10-10", "fingerprint": "ewai:eu:1cb91d", "proof": "sha256:f83c341206402b2d5768f8296f656964c07c0ca13743d9a1ea96064522c0d073", "jurisdiction": "eu", "lang": "en", "publisher": "NovaCopilot by ExploreWorld Legal", "terms": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/om" }, "brand_source": "Source: NovaCopilot", "item": { "schema_version": "1.0.0", "id": "eu:c-872-24", "jurisdiction": "eu", "lang": "en", "brand_source": "Source: NovaCopilot", "brand": { "product": "NovaCopilot", "platform": "ExploreWorldAI", "infrastructure": "ExploreWorld Legal", "infrastructure_url": "legal.exploreworldai.com", "legal_entity": "Valkiv Ventures AB", "permanent_url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/novacopilot", "source": "Source: NovaCopilot", "powered_by": "Powered by NovaCopilot", "license": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/licensvillkor" }, "sections": [ { "title": "Provisional text", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Eighth Chamber)", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "8 October 2026 ( * )", "paragraphs": [ "para_4", "para_5", "para_6" ] }, { "title": "Digi România SA", "paragraphs": [ "para_8", "para_9", "para_10" ] }, { "title": "Investcapital Ltd", "paragraphs": [ "para_12", "para_13", "para_14", "para_15", "para_16", "para_17", "para_18", "para_19", "para_20", "para_21", "para_22", "para_23" ] }, { "title": "Judgment", "paragraphs": [ "para_25", "para_26" ] }, { "title": "Legal context", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "European Union law", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "Directive 93/13", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "3         The eighth and nineteenth recitals of Directive 93/13 state:", "paragraphs": [ "para_31", "para_32", "para_33", "para_34" ] }, { "title": "5         Article 2 of that directive provides:", "paragraphs": [ "para_36", "para_37", "para_38", "para_39" ] }, { "title": "6         Article 3 of that directive provides:", "paragraphs": [ "para_41", "para_42", "para_43" ] }, { "title": "7         Under Article 4(2) of Directive 93/13:", "paragraphs": [ "para_45" ] }, { "title": "8         Article 6(1) of that directive reads as follows:", "paragraphs": [ "para_47" ] }, { "title": "9         Article 7(1) of that directive states:", "paragraphs": [ "para_49" ] }, { "title": "10       Under Article 8 of that directive:", "paragraphs": [ "para_51", "para_52" ] }, { "title": "Directive 2002/22", "paragraphs": [ "para_54", "para_55" ] }, { "title": "13       In its original version, Article 20(1) of Directive 2002/22 read as follows:", "paragraphs": [ "para_57" ] }, { "title": "Directive 2018/1972", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "14       Recital 258 of Directive 2018/1972 states:", "paragraphs": [ "para_60" ] }, { "title": "The VAT Directive", "paragraphs": [ "para_62", "para_63", "para_64", "para_65", "para_66" ] }, { "title": "Romanian law", "paragraphs": [ "para_68", "para_69", "para_70", "para_71" ] }, { "title": "17       Paragraph 1(i) of the annex to that law provides:", "paragraphs": [ "para_73" ] }, { "title": "The disputes in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "Case C ‑ 872 /24", "paragraphs": [ "para_76", "para_77", "para_78" ] }, { "title": "Case C ‑ 909 /24", "paragraphs": [ "para_80", "para_81", "para_82", "para_83", "para_84", "para_85", "para_86", "para_87", "para_88", "para_89", "para_90", "para_91", "para_92", "para_93", "para_94", "para_95", "para_96", "para_97", "para_98", "para_99" ] }, { "title": "Consideration of the questions referred", "paragraphs": [] }, { "title": "The first to fourth questions", "paragraphs": [ "para_102", "para_103", "para_104", "para_105", "para_106", "para_107", "para_108", "para_109", "para_110", "para_111", "para_112", "para_113", "para_114", "para_115", "para_116", "para_117", "para_118", "para_119", "para_120", "para_121", "para_122", "para_123", "para_124" ] }, { "title": "The fifth question", "paragraphs": [ "para_126", "para_127", "para_128", "para_129", "para_130", "para_131", "para_132", "para_133", "para_134" ] }, { "title": "The sixth and seventh questions", "paragraphs": [ "para_136", "para_137", "para_138", "para_139", "para_140", "para_141" ] }, { "title": "Costs", "paragraphs": [ "para_143" ] }, { "title": "On those grounds, the Court (Eighth Chamber) hereby rules:", "paragraphs": [ "para_145", "para_146", "para_147", "para_148", "para_149", "para_150", "para_151", "para_152" ] } ], "paragraphs": [ { "text": "Provisional text", "paragraph_id": "para_1" }, { "text": "JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Eighth Chamber)", "paragraph_id": "para_2" }, { "text": "8 October 2026 ( * )", "paragraph_id": "para_3" }, { "text": "( Reference for a preliminary ruling – Consumer protection – Directive 93/13/EEC – Unfair terms in consumer contracts – Article 3(1) and (3) and point 1(e) of the annex – Concept of ‘unfair term’ – Term which has the object or effect of requiring a consumer who fails to fulfil his or her obligation …", "paragraph_id": "para_4" }, { "text": "In Joined Cases C‑872/24 and C‑909/24,", "paragraph_id": "para_5" }, { "text": "TWO REQUESTS for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the Tribunalul Arad (Regional Court, Arad, Romania), by decision of 16 November 2024, received by the Court on 16 December 2024 (Case C‑872/24), and by decision of 5 November 2024, received by the Court on 16 December 2024 (Case C‑909/24), in the proceedings", "paragraph_id": "para_6" }, { "text": "Digi România SA", "paragraph_id": "para_7" }, { "text": "v", "paragraph_id": "para_8" }, { "text": "VK (C‑872/24),", "paragraph_id": "para_9" }, { "text": "and", "paragraph_id": "para_10" }, { "text": "Investcapital Ltd", "paragraph_id": "para_11" }, { "text": "v", "paragraph_id": "para_12" }, { "text": "PN (C‑909/24),", "paragraph_id": "para_13" }, { "text": "THE COURT (Eighth Chamber),", "paragraph_id": "para_14" }, { "text": "composed of S. Rodin, acting as President of the Chamber, N. Piçarra (Rapporteur) and O. Spineanu-Matei, Judges,", "paragraph_id": "para_15" }, { "text": "Advocate General: D. Spielmann,", "paragraph_id": "para_16" }, { "text": "Registrar: V. Di Bucci,", "paragraph_id": "para_17" }, { "text": "having regard to the written procedure,", "paragraph_id": "para_18" }, { "text": "after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:", "paragraph_id": "para_19" }, { "text": "–        Investcapital Ltd, by Y. Beşleagă, A. Stoica and V. Stoica, avocaţi,", "paragraph_id": "para_20" }, { "text": "–        the European Commission, by A. Boitoş and P. Kienapfel, acting as Agents,", "paragraph_id": "para_21" }, { "text": "having decided, after hearing the Advocate General, to proceed to judgment without an Opinion,", "paragraph_id": "para_22" }, { "text": "gives the following", "paragraph_id": "para_23" }, { "text": "Judgment", "paragraph_id": "para_24" }, { "text": "1         These requests for a preliminary ruling concern the interpretation of Article 56 TFEU, paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 3 and Article 4(2) of Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts (OJ 1993 L 95, p. 29), and point 1(e) of the annex to that directive, …", "paragraph_id": "para_25" }, { "text": "2         The requests have been made in proceedings between Digi România SA, an undertaking governed by Romanian law, and VK, a consumer (Case C‑872/24), and Investcapital Ltd, an undertaking governed by Romanian law, and PN, a consumer (Case C‑909/24), concerning the amounts claimed by those undertakings on the basis of terms in contracts for the provision of electronic communications services concluded with those consumers.", "paragraph_id": "para_26" }, { "text": "Legal context", "paragraph_id": "para_27" }, { "text": "European Union law", "paragraph_id": "para_28" }, { "text": "Directive 93/13", "paragraph_id": "para_29" }, { "text": "3         The eighth and nineteenth recitals of Directive 93/13 state:", "paragraph_id": "para_30" }, { "text": "‘Whereas the two Community programmes for a consumer protection and information policy … underlined the importance of safeguarding consumers in the matter of unfair terms of contract; … this protection ought to be provided by laws and regulations which are either harmonized at Community level or adopted directly at that level;", "paragraph_id": "para_31" }, { "text": "…", "paragraph_id": "para_32" }, { "text": "Whereas, for the purposes of this Directive, assessment of unfair character shall not be made of terms which describe the main subject matter of the contract nor the quality/price ratio of the goods or services supplied; … the main subject matter of the contract and the price/quality ratio may nevertheless be taken into account in assessing the fairness of other terms; …’", "paragraph_id": "para_33" }, { "text": "4         Article 1(1) of the directive states that its purpose is to approximate the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to unfair terms in contracts concluded between a seller or supplier and a consumer.", "paragraph_id": "para_34" }, { "text": "5         Article 2 of that directive provides:", "paragraph_id": "para_35" }, { "text": "‘For the purpose of this Directive:", "paragraph_id": "para_36" }, { "text": "…", "paragraph_id": "para_37" }, { "text": "(b)      “consumer” means any natural person who, in contracts covered by this Directive, is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business or profession;", "paragraph_id": "para_38" }, { "text": "(c)      “seller or supplier” means any natural or legal person who, in contracts covered by this Directive, is acting for purposes relating to his trade, business or profession, whether publicly owned or privately owned.’", "paragraph_id": "para_39" }, { "text": "6         Article 3 of that directive provides:", "paragraph_id": "para_40" }, { "text": "‘1.      A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.", "paragraph_id": "para_41" }, { "text": "…", "paragraph_id": "para_42" }, { "text": "3.      The Annex shall contain an indicative and non-exhaustive list of the terms which may be regarded as unfair.’", "paragraph_id": "para_43" }, { "text": "7         Under Article 4(2) of Directive 93/13:", "paragraph_id": "para_44" }, { "text": "‘Assessment of the unfair nature of the terms shall relate neither to the definition of the main subject matter of the contract nor to the adequacy of the price and remuneration, on the one hand, as against the services or goods supplies in exchange, on the other, in so far as these terms are in plain intelligible language.’", "paragraph_id": "para_45" }, { "text": "8         Article 6(1) of that directive reads as follows:", "paragraph_id": "para_46" }, { "text": "‘Member States shall lay down that unfair terms used in a contract concluded with a consumer by a seller or supplier shall, as provided for under their national law, not be binding on the consumer and that the contract shall continue to bind the parties upon those terms if it is capable of continuing in existence without the unfair terms.’", "paragraph_id": "para_47" }, { "text": "9         Article 7(1) of that directive states:", "paragraph_id": "para_48" }, { "text": "‘Member States shall ensure that, in the interests of consumers and of competitors, adequate and effective means exist to prevent the continued use of unfair terms in contracts concluded with consumers by sellers or suppliers.’", "paragraph_id": "para_49" }, { "text": "10       Under Article 8 of that directive:", "paragraph_id": "para_50" }, { "text": "‘Member States may adopt or retain the most stringent provisions compatible with the Treaty in the area covered by this Directive, to ensure a maximum degree of protection for the consumer.’", "paragraph_id": "para_51" }, { "text": "11       Point 1(e) of the annex to Directive 93/13, entitled ‘Terms referred to in Article 3(3)’, refers, in particular, to those terms which have the object or effect of ‘requiring any consumer who fails to fulfil his [or her] obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation’.", "paragraph_id": "para_52" }, { "text": "Directive 2002/22", "paragraph_id": "para_53" }, { "text": "12       Recital 30 of Directive 2002/22, which was repealed with effect from 21 December 2020, in accordance with Article 125 of Directive 2018/1972, stated that:", "paragraph_id": "para_54" }, { "text": "‘… In addition to the provisions of this Directive, the requirements of existing Community consumer protection legislation relating to contracts, in particular [Directive 93/13] and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts [(OJ 1997 L 144 p. 19)], apply to consumer transactions relating to electronic networks and services. …’", "paragraph_id": "para_55" }, { "text": "13       In its original version, Article 20(1) of Directive 2002/22 read as follows:", "paragraph_id": "para_56" }, { "text": "‘Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 shall apply without prejudice to Community rules on consumer protection, in particular Directives [97/7] and [93/13], and national rules which comply with Community law.’", "paragraph_id": "para_57" }, { "text": "Directive 2018/1972", "paragraph_id": "para_58" }, { "text": "14       Recital 258 of Directive 2018/1972 states:", "paragraph_id": "para_59" }, { "text": "‘… In addition to this Directive, the requirements of existing Union consumer protection law relating to contracts, in particular [Directive 93/13] and Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council [of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and …", "paragraph_id": "para_60" }, { "text": "The VAT Directive", "paragraph_id": "para_61" }, { "text": "15       Under Article 2(1) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (OJ 2006 L 347, p. 1; ‘the VAT Directive’), states:", "paragraph_id": "para_62" }, { "text": "‘The following transactions shall be subject to VAT:", "paragraph_id": "para_63" }, { "text": "…", "paragraph_id": "para_64" }, { "text": "(c)      the supply of services for consideration within the territory of a Member State by a taxable person acting as such;", "paragraph_id": "para_65" }, { "text": "…’", "paragraph_id": "para_66" }, { "text": "Romanian law", "paragraph_id": "para_67" }, { "text": "16       Article 4 of Legea nr. 193/2000 privind clauzele abuzive din contractele încheiate între profesioniști și consumatori (Law No 193/2000 on unfair terms in contracts concluded between sellers or suppliers and consumers) of 6 November 2000 (republished in Monitorul Oficial al României , Part I, No 543 of 3 August 2012), which transposed Directive 93/13 into Romanian law, provides:", "paragraph_id": "para_68" }, { "text": "‘(1)      A contract term which has not been directly negotiated with the consumer is regarded as being unfair if, considered in isolation or together with other provisions of the contract, it causes, to the detriment of the consumer and contrary to the requirements of good faith, a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations.", "paragraph_id": "para_69" }, { "text": "…", "paragraph_id": "para_70" }, { "text": "(4)      The Annex, which is an integral part of this Law, contains, by way of example, a list of terms regarded as unfair.’", "paragraph_id": "para_71" }, { "text": "17       Paragraph 1(i) of the annex to that law provides:", "paragraph_id": "para_72" }, { "text": "‘Contractual terms which require a consumer who fails to perform his or her contractual obligations to pay compensation in an amount disproportionate to the damage suffered by the seller or supplier shall be regarded as unfair terms’.", "paragraph_id": "para_73" }, { "text": "The disputes in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling", "paragraph_id": "para_74" }, { "text": "Case C ‑ 872 /24", "paragraph_id": "para_75" }, { "text": "18       On 5 September 2013, VK concluded a contract with Digi România for the provision of electronic communications services relating to mobile telephony and internet access, which was extended by an amendment dated 27 June 2016. As VK had failed to pay the monthly instalments due, Digi România i …", "paragraph_id": "para_76" }, { "text": "19       Digi România brought proceedings before the Judecătoria Arad (Court of First Instance, Arad, Romania) against VK seeking recovery of the amount due in respect of unpaid invoices, as well as compensation of RON 289.92 (approximately EUR 57.98) for the activation of the service and use of the unlimited Optim package.", "paragraph_id": "para_77" }, { "text": "20       By judgment of 21 March 2024, the Judecătoria Arad (Court of First Instance, Arad) partially dismissed that claim. That court declared unfair the contractual term providing for penalties for late payment of 0.2% of the principal debt per day of delay, on the ground that it imposed on the co …", "paragraph_id": "para_78" }, { "text": "Case C ‑ 909 /24", "paragraph_id": "para_79" }, { "text": "21       Between 23 November and 8 December 2017, PN concluded four contracts with Orange România S.A. for the provision of electronic communications services relating to mobile telephony and internet access. Since PN did not pay the monthly instalments due, Orange România invoked the automatic term …", "paragraph_id": "para_80" }, { "text": "22       Following the assignment by Orange România to Investcapital, on 30 March 2022, of the claim held against PN under the contracts referred to in the previous paragraph, Investcapital brought proceedings against PN before the Judecătoria Arad (Court of First Instance, Arad), seeking recovery of the amounts corresponding to that claim, plus statutory interest from the date the case was brought before that court.", "paragraph_id": "para_81" }, { "text": "23       By judgment of 22 February 2024, the Judecătoria Arad (Court of First Instance, Arad) declared, for reasons identical to those set out in its judgment of 21 March 2024, referred to in paragraph 20 of the present judgment, that the contractual term imposing penalties for late payment of 0.5% …", "paragraph_id": "para_82" }, { "text": "24       Hearing the appeals brought by Investcapital and Digi România against, respectively, the judgments delivered on 22 February and 21 March 2024, the Tribunalul Arad (Regional Court, Arad, Romania), which is the referring court, considers it necessary, in the first place, to determine whether …", "paragraph_id": "para_83" }, { "text": "25       In the second place, as regards the term in the contracts for the provision of electronic communications services concluded in Case C‑909/24, under which the consumer, in the event of early termination of the contract for a reason attributable to him or her, is required to pay damages corre …", "paragraph_id": "para_84" }, { "text": "26       In those circumstances, the Tribunalul Arad (Regional Court, Arad) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling in Case C‑872/24:", "paragraph_id": "para_85" }, { "text": "‘(1)      Does the fact that a national rule – which imposes a certain limitation on default interest in respect of legal relationships that do not arise from the operation of a business – has a different normative content with regard to legal relationships that arise from the operation of a busines …", "paragraph_id": "para_86" }, { "text": "(2)      Do the interpretation and application of the provisions of Article 3(3) of Directive [93/13,] (and in particular [point 1(e)] of the [a]nnex to that directive), imply, in the context of the analysis of the potentially unfair nature of a penalty clause that sets the amount of default interes …", "paragraph_id": "para_87" }, { "text": "–        an obligation on the part of the court to refer to the amount of that interest calculated for one year, that is to say, at the rate of 73% per annum, with the result that the determination of the unfair nature of those penalties can be made exclusively by means of a comparative analysis of those penalties against the amount of statutory interest that would be applicable if the parties had not themselves set a specific amount of default interest,", "paragraph_id": "para_88" }, { "text": "or alternatively", "paragraph_id": "para_89" }, { "text": "–        is the court also obliged to take into account the actual period of time for which the penalty payment of 0.2% is demanded, that is to say, the number of days relating to that demand, and to take into account in its assessment the actual amount demanded by way of penalty payment in relation to the amount of the principal charge?", "paragraph_id": "para_90" }, { "text": "(3)      In the context of the analysis of the potentially unfair nature of a penalty clause that sets the amount of default interest payable by a consumer for non-payment on the due date of invoiced amounts for electronic communications services (mobile telephony and internet provision) at 0.2% for …", "paragraph_id": "para_91" }, { "text": "(4)      Can a specifically determined quantum of penalties for late payment be regarded as unfair in so far as it exceeds the amount of the principal charge payable by a consumer?’", "paragraph_id": "para_92" }, { "text": "27       In Case C‑909/24, the Tribunalul Arad (Regional Court, Arad) decided to stay proceedings and refer to the Court four questions for a preliminary ruling identical to those referred in Case C‑872/24, as well as the following fifth to seventh questions for a preliminary ruling:", "paragraph_id": "para_93" }, { "text": "‘(5)      Can the classification made by the [Court in its judgment of 22 November 2018, MEO – Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia (C‑295/17, EU:C:2018:942)] of the predetermined amount received by an economic operator where a contract for the provision of services with a minimum commitment period …", "paragraph_id": "para_94" }, { "text": "(6)      If the answer to [the preceding] question is that the interpretation given by [the Court] in the judgment cited is autonomous in nature and, therefore, that interpretation is applicable only in relation to the VAT directives, does – and, if so, to what extent – the interpretation of the pro …", "paragraph_id": "para_95" }, { "text": "–        in relation to the quantum of that amount and on the basis of its assessment as disproportionate to the damage suffered by the communications service provider, or respectively", "paragraph_id": "para_96" }, { "text": "–        on the basis of the finding that a legal imbalance exists between the rights and obligations of the parties as a result of the fact that it is only the consumer, and not also the communications services provider, that is liable for such a penalty, in a context in which the same contract req …", "paragraph_id": "para_97" }, { "text": "(7)      In the context of the examination in the previous question, what is the relevance of the fact that a consumer who has concluded a contract for electronic communications services (mobile telephony and internet provision) for a minimum period of 24 months has benefited from certain offers of …", "paragraph_id": "para_98" }, { "text": "28       By decision of the President of the Court of 7 February 2025, Cases C‑872/24 and C‑909/24 were joined for the purposes of the written and oral parts of the procedure and the judgment.", "paragraph_id": "para_99" }, { "text": "Consideration of the questions referred", "paragraph_id": "para_100" }, { "text": "The first to fourth questions", "paragraph_id": "para_101" }, { "text": "29       As a preliminary point, it must be observed that, under the procedure laid down by Article 267 TFEU, providing for cooperation between referring courts and the Court of Justice, it is for the latter to provide the referring court with an answer which will be of use to it and enable it to de …", "paragraph_id": "para_102" }, { "text": "30       In the present case, the referring court rightly considers that the contractual terms at issue providing for penalties for late payment may be examined in the light of Article 3(3) of Directive 93/13, in particular point 1(e) of the annex to that directive, in order to determine whether the …", "paragraph_id": "para_103" }, { "text": "31       In those circumstances, it must be held that, by its first to fourth questions, the referring court asks, in essence, whether Article 3(3) of Directive 93/13 and point 1(e) of the annex thereto, read in conjunction with Article 1(1), Article 2(b) and (c), Article 6(1) and Article 7(1) of th …", "paragraph_id": "para_104" }, { "text": "32       In the first place, as the Court has already pointed out, Directive 93/13 is a general directive on consumer protection. In accordance with Article 1(1) thereof, read in the light of the eighth recital of that directive, that directive is intended to apply to unfair terms in contracts concl …", "paragraph_id": "para_105" }, { "text": "33       Consequently, Directive 93/13 applies to contracts for electronic communications services such as those at issue in the main proceedings, concluded between a seller or supplier and a consumer, without the existence of national legislation specific to that sector providing for no cap on late …", "paragraph_id": "para_106" }, { "text": "34       That conclusion is, moreover, confirmed both by Article 20(1) of Directive 2002/22, read in the light of recital 30 thereof, and by recital 258 of Directive 2018/1972, from which it expressly follows that the provisions of Directive 93/13 apply to transactions relating to electronic communications networks and services entered into by consumers.", "paragraph_id": "para_107" }, { "text": "35       Under Article 3(1) of Directive 93/13, a term in a contract concluded between a consumer and a seller or supplier is to be regarded as unfair if it has not been individually negotiated and, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations arising under that contract, to the detriment of the consumer.", "paragraph_id": "para_108" }, { "text": "36       The annex to which Article 3(3) of that Directive refers contains an indicative and non-exhaustive list of the contractual terms which may be regarded as unfair, including, under point 1(e) of that annex, those which have the object or effect of requiring any consumer who fails to fulfil his or her obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation.", "paragraph_id": "para_109" }, { "text": "37       In that regard, the Court emphasised that the amount of such compensation must be proportionate to the nature of the consumer’s failure to fulfil obligations (see, to that effect, order of 24 October 2019, Topaz , C‑211/17, EU:C:2019:906, paragraphs 58 and 59).", "paragraph_id": "para_110" }, { "text": "38       Furthermore, in order to assess whether the level of the default interest rate fixed by a clause establishing penalties for late payment is appropriate for securing the attainment of the objectives which it pursues without going beyond what is necessary for that purpose, the competent court …", "paragraph_id": "para_111" }, { "text": "39       In that regard, it should be added that the Member States may, on the basis of Article 8 of Directive 93/13 – which allows them to adopt or retain, in the area covered by that directive, the most stringent provisions compatible with the Treaty, to ensure a maximum degree of protection for t …", "paragraph_id": "para_112" }, { "text": "40       Where the Member States thus extend the protection provided for in Article 3(1) and (3) of Directive 93/13 and in the annex thereto by declaring, as a general rule, that the standard terms listed in point 1 of that annex are unfair, no further examination of the contractual term at issue in …", "paragraph_id": "para_113" }, { "text": "41       It is apparent from the order for reference that Article 4(4) of Law No 193/2000 and the annex to that law are intended to establish a national list of terms to be classified as unfair (see, to that effect, judgment of 26 February 2015, Matei , C‑143/13, EU:C:2015:127, paragraph 61). The st …", "paragraph_id": "para_114" }, { "text": "42       Therefore, in accordance with the case-law cited in paragraph 40 of the present judgment, contractual terms at issue in the main proceedings which impose default interest on a consumer who fails to fulfil his or her obligations do not require further examination in accordance with the crite …", "paragraph_id": "para_115" }, { "text": "43       In the second place, as regards determining whether a court of a Member State may, where it finds that a contractual term imposing penalties for late payment is unfair, without however capping the amount of those penalties, reduce that amount on the basis of Directive 93/13, it follows from …", "paragraph_id": "para_116" }, { "text": "44       The Court has inferred from the wording of Article 6(1) of that directive that national courts are required to exclude the application of an unfair contractual term in order that it does not produce binding effects with regard to the consumer, unless the latter objects, without being author …", "paragraph_id": "para_117" }, { "text": "45       That interpretation is borne out by the objective and overall scheme of Directive 93/13. Given the importance of the public interest underlying the protection afforded to consumers, who are in a weak position vis-à-vis the seller or supplier as regards both bargaining power and the level of …", "paragraph_id": "para_118" }, { "text": "46       If it were open to the national court to revise the content of unfair terms included in such contracts, such a power would be liable to compromise attainment of the long-term objective of Article 7, since it would weaken the dissuasive effect on sellers or suppliers of the straightforward n …", "paragraph_id": "para_119" }, { "text": "47       It follows that Article 6(1) of Directive 93/13, read in conjunction with Article 7(1) thereof, must be interpreted as meaning that it does not allow the national court, in the case where it has established that a clause imposing late-payment penalties contained in a contract concluded betw …", "paragraph_id": "para_120" }, { "text": "48       In the light of the foregoing, the answer to the first to fourth questions referred is that Article 3(3) of Directive 93/13 and point 1(e) of the annex thereto, read in conjunction with Article 1(1), Article 2(b) and (c), Article 6(1) and Article 7(1) of that directive, must be interpreted as meaning that:", "paragraph_id": "para_121" }, { "text": "–        a term in a contract for the provision of electronic communications services concluded between a seller or supplier and a consumer which imposes on the consumer penalties for late payment of a certain amount falls within the scope of that directive and may be declared unfair, even if the national legislation applicable to that sector of activity, unlike that governing other sectors of economic activity, does not impose any limitation on the amount of those penalties;", "paragraph_id": "para_122" }, { "text": "–        where national law expressly classifies as unfair a contractual term the object or effect of which is to impose on a consumer who fails to fulfil his or her obligations compensation of a disproportionately high amount, terms which are materially equivalent, having regard, in particular, to …", "paragraph_id": "para_123" }, { "text": "–        the national court must exclude the application of such terms without being able to reduce the amount of the penalties for late payment which they lay down.", "paragraph_id": "para_124" }, { "text": "The fifth question", "paragraph_id": "para_125" }, { "text": "49       By its fifth question, the referring court asks, in essence, whether Article 4(2) of Directive 93/13 must be interpreted as precluding an assessment of the unfairness of a contractual term requiring the consumer, in the event of early termination of a contract for the provision of services …", "paragraph_id": "para_126" }, { "text": "50       Under Article 4(2) of Directive 93/13, read in conjunction with the nineteenth recital thereof, the assessment of whether contractual terms are unfair does not, in particular, relate to the definition of the main subject matter of the contract, in so far as those terms are in plain intelligible language.", "paragraph_id": "para_127" }, { "text": "51       That provision thus provides for an exception to the substantive review of unfair terms provided for in the system of consumer protection put in place by that directive and, as such, must be interpreted strictly (see, to that effect, judgment of 12 January 2023, D.V. (Lawyers’ fees – Principle of an hourly rate) , C‑395/21, EU:C:2023:14, paragraph 30).", "paragraph_id": "para_128" }, { "text": "52       Contractual terms falling within the concept of the ‘main subject matter of the contract’, within the meaning of Article 4(2) of Directive 93/13, must be understood as being those that lay down the essential obligations of the contract and, as such, characterise it. By contrast, terms ancil …", "paragraph_id": "para_129" }, { "text": "53       In the present case, it is apparent from the documents before the Court that the contractual term at issue in Case C‑909/24 does not determine the essential terms of the contract, namely the provision of electronic communications services and the price which the consumer must pay in return …", "paragraph_id": "para_130" }, { "text": "54       The unfairness of that term may therefore be assessed in the light of Directive 93/13. In that regard, it is irrelevant that the Court, in its judgment of 22 November 2018, MEO – Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia (C‑295/17, EU:C:2018:942, paragraph 57) characterised, for the purposes of …", "paragraph_id": "para_131" }, { "text": "55       Such a conclusion is supported by the distinct objectives pursued by Directive 93/13 and the VAT Directive. The objective of Directive 93/13 is to safeguard the public interest constituted by the protection of consumers against unfair terms included in contracts which they enter into with s …", "paragraph_id": "para_132" }, { "text": "56       Given that, in accordance with the objective of Directive 93/13 referred to in the preceding paragraph, the provisions of Romanian law referred to in paragraph 41 of the present judgment expressly classify as unfair any term which requires the consumer who has failed to perform his or her c …", "paragraph_id": "para_133" }, { "text": "57       In the light of the foregoing, the answer to the fifth question is that Article 4(2) of Directive 93/13 must be interpreted as not precluding an assessment of the unfairness of a contractual term requiring the consumer, in the event of early termination of a contract for the provision of se …", "paragraph_id": "para_134" }, { "text": "The sixth and seventh questions", "paragraph_id": "para_135" }, { "text": "58       As has been recalled in paragraph 29 of the present judgment, in the procedure laid down in Article 267 TFEU providing for cooperation between the courts of the Member States and the Court of Justice, the Court may find it necessary to consider rules of EU law to which the national court has not referred in its question and the taking into consideration of which may render the interpretation of rules of that law referred to in that question superfluous.", "paragraph_id": "para_136" }, { "text": "59       That is the case here, given that taking into account the provision in point 1(e) of the annex to Directive 93/13, which is not referred to in the wording of the sixth question, in order to provide the referring court with a useful answer enabling it to resolve the dispute before it, render …", "paragraph_id": "para_137" }, { "text": "60       In those circumstances, it must be understood that, by its sixth and seventh questions, which may be examined together, the referring court asks, in essence, whether Article 3(1) and (3) of Directive 93/13, read in conjunction with point 1(e) of the annex to that directive, must be interpre …", "paragraph_id": "para_138" }, { "text": "61       As set out in paragraphs 37 to 41 of the present judgment, while it follows from a combined reading of Article 3(3) of Directive 93/13 and point 1(e) of the annex thereto that the contractual term requiring a consumer who fails to fulfil his or her obligation to pay the seller or supplier d …", "paragraph_id": "para_139" }, { "text": "62       It is therefore in accordance with that rule, as the referring court expressly acknowledges, that the unfairness of the contractual term at issue in Case C‑909/24 must be assessed, subject to the conditions set out in paragraph 42 of the present judgment.", "paragraph_id": "para_140" }, { "text": "63       In the light of the foregoing, the answer to the sixth and seventh questions is that Article 3(1) and (3) of Directive 93/13, read in conjunction with point 1(e) of the annex thereto, must be interpreted as allowing a contractual term in a contract for electronic communications services con …", "paragraph_id": "para_141" }, { "text": "Costs", "paragraph_id": "para_142" }, { "text": "64       Since these proceedings are, for the parties to the main proceedings, a step in the action pending before the referring court, the decision on costs is a matter for that court. Costs incurred in submitting observations to the Court, other than the costs of those parties, are not recoverable.", "paragraph_id": "para_143" }, { "text": "On those grounds, the Court (Eighth Chamber) hereby rules:", "paragraph_id": "para_144" }, { "text": "1.       Article 3(3) and point 1(e) of the annex to Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts, read in conjunction with Article 1(1), Article 2(b) and (c), Article 6(1) and Article 7(1) of that directive, must be interpreted as meaning that", "paragraph_id": "para_145" }, { "text": "–         a term in a contract for the provision of electronic communications services concluded between a seller or supplier and a consumer which imposes on the consumer penalties for late payment of a certain amount falls within the scope of that directive and may be declared unfair, even if the n …", "paragraph_id": "para_146" }, { "text": "–         where national law expressly classifies as unfair a contractual term the object or effect of which is to impose on a consumer who fails to fulfil his or her obligations compensation of a disproportionately high amount, terms which are materially equivalent, having regard, in particular, to …", "paragraph_id": "para_147" }, { "text": "–         the national court must exclude the application of such terms without being able to reduce the amount of the penalties for late payment which they lay down.", "paragraph_id": "para_148" }, { "text": "2.       Article 4(2) of Directive 93/13 must be interpreted as not precluding an assessment of the unfairness of a contractual term requiring the consumer, in the event of early termination of a contract for the provision of services providing for a minimum commitment period for a reason attributab …", "paragraph_id": "para_149" }, { "text": "3.       Article 3(1) and (3) of Directive 93/13, read in conjunction with point 1(e) of the annex thereto, must be interpreted as meaning that it allows a contractual term in a contract for electronic communications services concluded for a minimum period of 24 months to be declared unfair, where, …", "paragraph_id": "para_150" }, { "text": "[Signatures]", "paragraph_id": "para_151" }, { "text": "*       Language of the case: Romanian.", "paragraph_id": "para_152" } ], "word_count": 8373, "cites": [ "C-909/24", "C-295/17", "C-758/24", "C-759/24", "C-365/23", "C-211/17", "C-415/11", "C-139/22", "C-143/13", "C-531/22", "C-658/23", "C-488/11", "C-395/21", "C-335/21", "C-96/16", "C-94/17", "C-433/24" ], "cited_by": [], "sha256": "002d429d8c5ccb7be55aff6a3494088e79245e9dfef7392037a1973e3d8f18e1", "source_url": "https://publications.europa.eu/resource/celex/62024CJ0872", "fetched_at": "2026-10-09T12:33:30.877+00:00", "canonical": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/ai/judgments/eu/c-872-24", "risk_graph": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/risk?id=eu:c-872-24", "relations_graph": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/relations?id=eu:c-872-24", "changes": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/eu-praxis/changes", "agent": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/eu-praxis/agent?id=eu:c-872-24" }, "hash": "sha256:f83c341206402b2d5768f8296f656964c07c0ca13743d9a1ea96064522c0d073", "version": "legal-2026-10-10", "expires": "2026-10-11T00:00:00.000Z", "dependency": { "index_version": "legal-2026-10-10+legal-2026-10-10+2026-10-10T10:51:11", "content_hash": "sha256:f83c341206402b2d5768f8296f656964c07c0ca13743d9a1ea96064522c0d073", "revalidate_after": "2026-10-10T12:03:36.448Z", "max_copy_age_seconds": 3600, "policy": "revalidate-required; attribution-preferred", "changelog": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/dependency", "verify": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/verify", "stale_copy_invalid": true }, "canonical": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=eu:c-872-24", "follow": [ { "rel": "risk", "href": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/risk?id=eu:c-872-24" }, { "rel": "relations", "href": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/relations?id=eu:c-872-24" }, { "rel": "agent", "href": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/eu-praxis/agent?id=eu:c-872-24" }, { "rel": "obligations", "href": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/obligation-chain" }, { "rel": "changes", "href": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/whats-new?jurisdiction=eu" } ], "disclaimer": "Source reference with official identifier. 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