Sodna praksa

  • Podatki o zadevi
    • Nacionalna ID: High Court, Judgement II Cp 997/2019
    • Država članica: Slovenija
    • Splošno ime:N/A
    • Vrsta odločbe: Sodna odločba v pritožbenem postopku
    • Datum odločbe: 27/01/2020
    • Sodišče: Višje sodišče v Ljubljani
    • Zadeva:
    • Tožnik:
    • Toženec:
    • Ključne besede: cancellation of contract, Unfair terms, good faith, informed decision, average consumer
  • Členi direktive
    Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 4, 1. Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 4, 2.
  • Uvodna opomba

    ECLI:SI:VSLJ:2020:II.CP.997.2019

    The consumer's decision to enter into a foreign currency loan agreement must be taken with sufficient and appropriate information. In assessing whether the consumer was able to realistically assess the risks arising from this contractual provision on the basis of the information provided, it should be borne in mind that by concluding a foreign currency loan agreement, he (the consumer) introduced an element of risk into the contractual relationship which grossly deviates from a usual credit relationship. The average consumer who comes to the bank to solve their housing problem does not have the necessary economic knowledge to assess this risk and therefore replaces their ignorance with trust in the bank. The Consumer Protection Act does not specify whether the judgement of the unfairness of the main subject of the matter, which is in accordance with Article 4(2) of the Directive 93/13/EGS, is out of the scope of judging the unfairness if it is set out in clear and understandable language. The Higher Court agrees with the opinion of the Supreme Court, which states that this judgement is possible only if the main subject matter was unclear. Even though the contractual term that grants the consumer the credit in CHF and requires it is returned in CHF is grammatically clear and understandable, the bank still has an obligation to present information to the consumer in such a way that the consumer can estimate the actual scope of the contractual term. This obligation was not fulfilled in the present case as the information was completely abstract, unspecified and generalised, and did not go beyond the information that the consumer was able to decipher when reading the written credit agreement and the statement on currency risk.

    Relevance: The judgement presents a rare case where the banks obligation to inform was not fulfilled and explains why it was not fulfilled.

  • Dejstva
    The appellant (the consumer) and the bank concluded a credit agreement in a foreign exchange currency (CHF) in 2007. To secure the obligations from the loan agreement, the parties established a lien on the real estate. Due to the reduced payment of monthly installments, the bank withdrew from the contract in 2016. The consumer is claiming the annulment of the credit agreement and the real estate lien agreement due to the unfairness of the contractual terms, in particular the agreement on the currency of the loan, as the bank’s obligation to inform was not fulfilled.
  • Pravna zadeva
    Did the bank fail to fulfill its obligation to inform, which causes the term of repaying the credit in CHF to be unclear and incomprehensible, as set down in Article 4(1) and 4(2) of the Directive 93/13/EGS?
  • Odločba

    In the present case, the loan repayment agreement (CHF) is an essential element of the contract (the main subject of the contract), which was not agreed upon individually and is therefore not subject to unfairness if it is clear and comprehensible (i.e., if the bank has fulfilled its obligation to inform). On the basis of a repeated evidentiary proceeding, the Court of Second Instance concluded that the bank did not fulfill its obligation to inform. The High Court confirmed that the provision in the credit agreement that granted the credit in CHF and obliged the consumer to return it in CHF was grammatically clear and formally understandable. In the present case, it was essential exactly what information the bank employee provided to the consumer when concluding the contracts in question. The information/explanations were completely abstract, unspecified and generalised, and did not go beyond the information that the consumer was able to decipher when reading the written credit agreement and the statement on currency risk. In conclusion, these explanations did not allow the consumer to realistically assess the risk of concluding a contract in Swiss francs (CHF).

    It was emphasised that in the retrial, the Court of First Instance must assess the unfairness of the contractual provision on the currency of the loan in accordance with the criteria set out by the CJEU in Andriciuc case (assessment of the defendant's good faith and the existence of a significant imbalance between the rights and obligations of the parties). Furthermore, the judgement should (so that it can be examined) also contain reasons for the fulfillment of the bank’s obligation to inform.

    Celotno besedilo: Celotno besedilo

  • Povezane zadeve

    Zadetki niso na voljo

  • Pravna literatura

    Zadetki niso na voljo

  • Zadetek
    The Higher Court granted the appeal and rescinded the judgement in question. Furthermore, it returned the case to the Court of First Instance for a new trial. An appeal is allowed against this decision.