Case law

  • Case Details
    • National ID: Decision no. 227/2012
    • Member State: Greece
    • Common Name:link
    • Decision type: Court decision in appeal
    • Decision date: 01/01/2012
    • Court: Court of Appeal of Athens
    • Subject:
    • Plaintiff: 1. Unknown, 2. Unknown, 3. Unknown
    • Defendant: Unknown
    • Keywords: Distance Selling Directive, scope of the Directive
  • Directive Articles
    Distance Selling Directive, link
  • Headnote
    The rules of Joint Ministerial Decision Z1-178 / 13.02.2001 (which implemented EU Directive 97/7/EC) deal with transactions made with payment cards. In particular, these rules relate to the harmonization with the provisions of Recommendation 97/489/EC of 30 July 1997 on trade made by electronic payment instruments and in particular in connection with the relations of the issuer and the holder and to the adaptation of Joint Ministerial Decision F1-983 / 1991 towards Directive 98/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 amending Directive 87/102/EEC on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning consumer credit.
  • Facts
    One of the plaintiffs (the opponent-borrower), who was the contracting party to the loan contract, claimed infringement of the terms of the contract by the defendant (a banking institute), with respect to the calculation of interest, according to the standards of EU Directive 97/7/EC (which was incorporated into national law by Joint Ministerial Decision Z1- 178/ 13.2.2001). The defendant granted the loan for the purchase of business equipment, with an interest that was calculated on the basis of 360 days, but terminated the contract for overdue debts. The plaintiffs, i.e. the borrower and both guarantors to the loan contract, filed an appeal against the payment order (no. 4821/2006) and decisions no. 7607/2007 and 167/2010 of Court of first Instance of Athens, requesting the annulment of the payment order that was issued against them.
  • Legal issue
    The court ruled that the defendant-bank legally applied its 360-days interest payments and that the Court of First Instance, which also upheld the 360-days interest as lawful, applied the law correctly. The Court noted that any reference to the ATHIBOR interbank borrowing rate provided for in existing legal acts within the meaning of Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) 1103/1997 is automatically replaced by a reference to the EURIBOR rate at which account shall be taken of the actual days and the 360-day year, adjusted at the ratio of 365 to 360, if not provided for or if no reference to another applicable interest rate is agreed or specified. Besides, following the decision of the Monetary Policy Council of the Bank of Greece, which entered into force on 10 March 2000, according to which the basis of calculation of interest in monetary policy operations is the actual days, the Executive Committee of the Union of Greek Banks, in its meeting of 15 / 19.4.2000, proceeded with the adoption of the 360-day trading year as a basis for the calculation of interest as of 1.1.2001.

  • Decision

    Where do the provisions of EU Directive 97/7/EC (which was incorporated into national law by Joint Ministerial Decision 178 Z1- / 13.2.2001) apply?

    Full text: Full text

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  • Result
    The court rejected the plaintiffs’ grounds as essentially unfounded (plaintiffs’ appeal was dismissed).