The court expressed doubts whether such legal services agreements, concluded by an attorney-at-law with a natural person who is acting for purposes outside his trade, business or profession, should be considered as consumer contracts. The court referred to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling, related to interpretation of Directive 93/13/EEC. Case number C-537/13 was assigned in these proceedings before the CJEU.
After the CJEU adopted its judgement, the national court, based on the guidance of the CJEU, came to a conclusion that standard form contracts for legal services, concluded by an attorney-at-law with a natural person acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business or profession, must be considered as consumer contracts. This means that a national court is under obligation to evaluate ex officio any provisions of such legal services agreements in the light of rules against unfair terms in the consumer contracts.