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Prövning ex officio i konsumenttvister - Om EU-domstolens modifikation av dispositionsprincipen och principen om domens negativa rättskraft

Victor, Ossian LU (2024) JURM02 20242
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
The EU has long worked to establish robust consumer protection to address the perceived imbalance between consumers and businesses. This inequality is particularly apparent in legal proceedings, where the EU has identified signifi-cant obstacles faced by consumers. However, the EU lacks the authority to legislate procedural rules, leaving procedural autonomy to its member states. The procedural systems of the member states share common procedural prin-ciples. These principles can sometimes prevent national courts from actively intervening in consumer proceedings, which can hinder the effective enforce-ment of EU consumer law. This creates a potential conflict between national procedural principles and the overarching goal of ensuring... (More)
The EU has long worked to establish robust consumer protection to address the perceived imbalance between consumers and businesses. This inequality is particularly apparent in legal proceedings, where the EU has identified signifi-cant obstacles faced by consumers. However, the EU lacks the authority to legislate procedural rules, leaving procedural autonomy to its member states. The procedural systems of the member states share common procedural prin-ciples. These principles can sometimes prevent national courts from actively intervening in consumer proceedings, which can hinder the effective enforce-ment of EU consumer law. This creates a potential conflict between national procedural principles and the overarching goal of ensuring effective consumer rights enforcement.

To address this, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has in-troduced obligations for national courts to examine EU consumer law ex offi-cio. This obligation forces national courts to deviate from key principles such as party disposition and the finality of judgments. In doing so, the CJEU has implicitly weighed these principles against the need for effective enforcement, often prioritizing consumer protection over procedural formalism. The result-ing judgments have revealed a fundamental tension between procedural tradi-tions and the enforcement of consumer protection across the EU.

The obligation to examine consumer law ex officio remains one of the most debated and unresolved issues in EU consumer law. Its exact scope and im-plications are ambiguous, leading to uncertainty and reducing legal predictabil-ity. Furthermore, the interpretation of this obligation has encroached on the procedural autonomy of member states, raising questions about the balance of power between EU institutions and national systems. A more balanced ap-proach might involve rejecting national procedural rules only where they fail to guarantee effective consumer rights enforcement, allowing member states to adapt their systems while respecting their procedural traditions. Such an ap-proach would better align with the principle of procedural autonomy and sup-port solutions tailored to national contexts.

This thesis adopts a legal dogmatic method to identify the current legal framework based on EU law sources. A legal analytical method is then ap-plied to critically evaluate the existing rules and their implications. After out-lining relevant procedural and EU legal principles, the thesis conducts a case study of the CJEU's jurisprudence on the ex officio obligation in consumer law, highlighting the practical and theoretical challenges posed by its applica-tion. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
EU har länge arbetat för att skapa ett starkt konsumentskydd på grund av den ojämlikheten som förmodas föreligga mellan konsument och näringsidkare. Denna ojämlikhet är framstående i rättsprocesser, där EU identifierat att kon-sumenten möter flera särskilda hinder. EU har som utgångspunkt inte någon befogenhet att lagstifta om processuella regler. Medlemsländerna har nationell processuell autonomi och får tillämpa sina nationella processordningar när de tillämpar EU-rätten. EU-medlemsländernas nationella processordningar grun-dar sig till stor utsträckning på samma processuella principer. Enligt dessa principer kan de nationella domstolarna förhindrade från att ingripa i konsu-mentens processföring för att tillse att EU-konsumenträttens... (More)
EU har länge arbetat för att skapa ett starkt konsumentskydd på grund av den ojämlikheten som förmodas föreligga mellan konsument och näringsidkare. Denna ojämlikhet är framstående i rättsprocesser, där EU identifierat att kon-sumenten möter flera särskilda hinder. EU har som utgångspunkt inte någon befogenhet att lagstifta om processuella regler. Medlemsländerna har nationell processuell autonomi och får tillämpa sina nationella processordningar när de tillämpar EU-rätten. EU-medlemsländernas nationella processordningar grun-dar sig till stor utsträckning på samma processuella principer. Enligt dessa principer kan de nationella domstolarna förhindrade från att ingripa i konsu-mentens processföring för att tillse att EU-konsumenträttens genomslag. På så vis föreligger en spänning mellan de nationella processuella principerna och konsumenträttens effektiva genomslag.

För att främja konsumenträttens effektiva genomslag har EU-domstolen uttol-kat skyldigheter för de nationella domstolarna att ex officio pröva EU-rättslig konsumenträtt. Genom skyldigheten till prövning ex officio tvingas de nation-ella domstolarna göra avsteg från dispositionsprincipen och principen om do-mens negativa rättskraft. Detta har EU-domstolen beaktat och har implicit varit tvungen att göra avvägningar mellan principerna och konsumenträttens effek-tiva genomslag. Avvägningarna är mycket lika de som gjordes i samband med principernas införande och i stor utsträckning har EU-domstolen gett konsu-menträttens genomslag företräde framför en formalistisk tillämpning av prin-ciperna.

Frågan hur skyldigheten till prövning ex officio ska behandlas är idag en av den mest kontroversiella och ouppklarade frågan i hela den EU-rättsliga kon-sumenträtten. Det föreligger generellt en låg medvetenhet om skyldighetens omfattning och dess exakta innebörd är oklar och komplicerad, vilket är till nackdel för förutsebarheten. Uttolkningen av skyldigheten till prövning ex officio av konsumenträtten har även inneburit ingrepp i medlemsländernas processuella autonomi. En lämpligare lösning hade kunnat vara att endast un-derkänna de nationella processordningarna i den mån de inte säkerställer kon-sumenträttens effektiva genomslag och överlämna åt medlemsländerna att an-passa sina nationella processordningar. Denna lösning hade på ett bättre sätt respekterat medlemsländernas processuella autonomi och möjliggjort för pro-cessuella lösningar som är bättre anpassade för de nationella processordning-arna.

I uppsatsen tillämpas en rättsdogmatisk metod för att fastställa gällande rätt baserat på de EU-rättsliga rättskällorna. Den gällande rätten analyseras däref-ter genom en rättsanalytisk metod för att analysera och kritisera den gällande rätten. Efter en genomgång av relevanta processrättsliga och EU-rättsliga ut-gångspunkter genomförs en rättsfallsstudie av EU-domstolens praxis gällande skyldigheten till prövning ex officio av konsumenträtt. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Victor, Ossian LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Ex officio review in consumer disputes - On the Court of Justice of the European Union's modification of the principle of party disposition and res judicata
course
JURM02 20242
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
EU-rätt, processrätt, konsumenträtt
language
Swedish
id
9179623
date added to LUP
2025-01-21 14:55:27
date last changed
2025-01-21 14:55:27
@misc{9179623,
  abstract     = {{The EU has long worked to establish robust consumer protection to address the perceived imbalance between consumers and businesses. This inequality is particularly apparent in legal proceedings, where the EU has identified signifi-cant obstacles faced by consumers. However, the EU lacks the authority to legislate procedural rules, leaving procedural autonomy to its member states. The procedural systems of the member states share common procedural prin-ciples. These principles can sometimes prevent national courts from actively intervening in consumer proceedings, which can hinder the effective enforce-ment of EU consumer law. This creates a potential conflict between national procedural principles and the overarching goal of ensuring effective consumer rights enforcement.

To address this, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has in-troduced obligations for national courts to examine EU consumer law ex offi-cio. This obligation forces national courts to deviate from key principles such as party disposition and the finality of judgments. In doing so, the CJEU has implicitly weighed these principles against the need for effective enforcement, often prioritizing consumer protection over procedural formalism. The result-ing judgments have revealed a fundamental tension between procedural tradi-tions and the enforcement of consumer protection across the EU.

The obligation to examine consumer law ex officio remains one of the most debated and unresolved issues in EU consumer law. Its exact scope and im-plications are ambiguous, leading to uncertainty and reducing legal predictabil-ity. Furthermore, the interpretation of this obligation has encroached on the procedural autonomy of member states, raising questions about the balance of power between EU institutions and national systems. A more balanced ap-proach might involve rejecting national procedural rules only where they fail to guarantee effective consumer rights enforcement, allowing member states to adapt their systems while respecting their procedural traditions. Such an ap-proach would better align with the principle of procedural autonomy and sup-port solutions tailored to national contexts.

This thesis adopts a legal dogmatic method to identify the current legal framework based on EU law sources. A legal analytical method is then ap-plied to critically evaluate the existing rules and their implications. After out-lining relevant procedural and EU legal principles, the thesis conducts a case study of the CJEU's jurisprudence on the ex officio obligation in consumer law, highlighting the practical and theoretical challenges posed by its applica-tion.}},
  author       = {{Victor, Ossian}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Prövning ex officio i konsumenttvister - Om EU-domstolens modifikation av dispositionsprincipen och principen om domens negativa rättskraft}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}