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| European Court of Justice |
The European Court of Justice said on Thursday that many travelers in Europe due to coronavirus restrictions "may be entitled to at least a partial refund of their money."
The European Court of Justice considered the matter, after a court in Germany asked for its opinion, according to the Associated Press.
The Munich Court is considering the case of two people who bought an organized trip, on a two-week vacation on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, starting from March 13, 2020, at a time when the pandemic hit Europe.
The two people are seeking to reduce the price by 70 percent, due to the restrictions imposed there after two days and their early return.
The EU court said that when the restrictions were imposed on March 15, beaches were closed, a curfew was imposed and the two people were only allowed to leave their hotel room to eat.
On March 18, they were told to "be ready to leave at any moment," and two days later they had to return to Germany. The tour operator refused the requested reduction, on the grounds that it could not be held responsible for a "general risk to life".
But the European Union court concluded that “the traveler is entitled to a reduction in the price of his package, as the non-conformity of the travel services included in the package came due to the restrictions that were imposed at the travel destination to combat the spread of an infectious disease, such as Covid-19.”
And she considered that "it does not matter if similar restrictions are imposed in the place of residence of the traveler or in other countries."
The German court will now have to assess whether the restrictions in the specific case at hand "could constitute failures of performance or improper performance" of the contract by the tour operator.
European Court of Justice
It is the highest court of the European Union. And its mission according to Article 19, condition 1, text 2 of the EUV Constitution: “to take care of the rights in the issuance and implementation of treaties” between member states. The European Supreme Court, along with the Court of the European Union and the Court of Public Service of the European Union, constitute the judicial system of the European Union, the political system in the European Union and its judicial adjudication. It is not right to confuse the European Supreme Court with the European Supreme Court for Human Rights EGMR of the Council of Europe.
its function and competencies
The functions of the European Supreme Court are formulated in Article 19 of the Treaty on European Union in Articles No. 251 to No. 281 and in the Common Law of the European Supreme Court. This includes, in particular, the unification of interpretations of laws in the European Union and in the European Atomic Energy Council. In 1989, it was decided to establish the European Court (as a preliminary arbitral tribunal) to reduce the burden on the European Supreme Court (according to the Treaty of Lisbon).
Since 2005, the Public Service Court has been established as a competent judicial body in addition to the European Supreme Court to adjudicate disputes between the European Union and its employees. As for the European Supreme Court, it is also the first court to receive complaints from public bodies and legal bodies as a judicial means to decide on rulings issued by the European Court.
The European Supreme Court also hears - apart from special cases - the claims of Member States against the European Commission in the case of appeal.
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