Legal Literature

Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 1, 2. Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 3, 1. Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 5 Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 5 Unfair Contract Terms Directive, Article 6, 2. Unfair Contract Terms Directive, ANNEX I

The article discusses the validity of choice-of-law clauses in consumer contracts concluded on Internet. It is clarified that it is possible for the parties to choose the applicable law under Rome I Regulation and further proceeds to the standardised choice-of-law clauses which, in a consumer contract, are usually included in the general terms of service. Examining the application of Directive 1993/13 to these clauses, the author states that they fall under its scope due to the Directive’s horizontal effect and refers to CJEU C-191/15, invoking the principle of transparency. The notorious decision stressed that the unfairness of such a clause may result from a formulation that does not comply with the requirement of being drafted in plain and intelligible language, set out in Article 5 of Directive 93/13. The author concludes that, in consumer contracts, the standardised choice-of-law clauses are reviewed for their clarity and transparency, but not for their unfairness by content, since the latter is precluded by Regulation Rome I.