Rechtsprechung

  • Rechtssachenbeschreibung
    • Nationale Kennung: Supreme Court, Judgement 3 Ob 179/20z
    • Mitgliedstaat: Österreich
    • Gebräuchliche Bezeichnung:N/A
    • Art des Beschlusses: Beschluss des Obersten Gerichts
    • Beschlussdatum: 25/02/2021
    • Gericht: Supreme Court
    • Betreff:
    • Kläger:
    • Beklagter:
    • Schlagworte: B2C, unfair terms, consumer rights
  • Artikel der Richtlinie
    Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 3 Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 6
  • Leitsatz

    ECLI:AT:OGH0002:2021:0030OB00179.20Z.0225.000

     

    The effectiveness of a choice of law clause does not have to be examined in any case if the other clauses to be examined in the proceedings are inadmissible under Austrian law.

  • Sachverhalt

    Association proceedings (§ 28 KSchG = Consumer Protection Act) against an online trading platform based in Germany. The latter also sells vouchers to consumers in Austria via its German-language website and also sells its goods and services ("experience gift boxes") in Austria.

    The defendant itself does not have to provide the services or delivery of goods specified in the vouchers, but only to ensure that the voucher grants a claim to the provision of services by partner companies (so-called "experience partners").

    In this respect, the defendant uses a choice of law clause in its general terms and conditions that only informs very briefly and at the end that mandatory provisions of the state in which the consumer has his habitual residence continue to apply.

  • Rechtsfrage

    The question was whether a choice of law clause had to be examined as to its validity if the remaining clauses to be examined in the proceedings were invalid anyway according to the mandatory applicable national (here: Austrian or German) law.

    In addition, various general terms and conditions clauses of the defendant were examined and annulled.

  • Entscheidung

    The validity of a choice of law clause does not have to be examined if the clauses of general terms and conditions to be examined in the proceedings beyond that are invalid anyway according to the national provisions that are mandatory for the consumer (here: Austrian law). It, therefore, does not matter whether the reference to (here) German law in the clause was valid or not. The Supreme Court relies in particular on the European Court of Justice's decision C-191/15, VKI/Amazon, as well as on its own earlier decisions. It thus once again confirms its established case law.

    Volltext: Volltext

  • Verbundene Rechtssachen

    Keine Ergebnisse verfügbar

  • Rechtsliteratur

    Keine Ergebnisse verfügbar

  • Ergebnis

    The Supreme Court confirmed the statement of the second instance and added that the effectiveness of a choice of law clause does not need to be examined in more detail in any case if the clauses to be examined are inadmissible under Austrian law.