Official Journal of the European Union

Series C

C/2023/485

(Case C-821/21, (1) Club La Costa and Others)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Judicial cooperation in civil matters - Jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters - Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 - Special jurisdiction - Jurisdiction over consumer contracts - Article 18(1) - Concept of ‘other party to a contract’ - Article 63 - Domicile of a legal person - Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 - Law applicable to contractual obligations - Choice of applicable law - Article 3 - Freedom of choice - Article 6 - Consumer contracts - Limits - Contract concluded with a consumer concerning timeshare rights in tourist accommodation by a means of a points scheme)

(C/2023/485)

Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: NM

Defendants: Club La Costa (UK) plc, sucursal en España, CLC Resort Management Ltd, Midmark 2 Ltd, CLC Resort Development Ltd, European Resorts & Hotels SL

Operative part of the judgment

1.Article 18(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters

must be interpreted as meaning that the expression ‘other party to a contract’, in that provision, must be understood as referring only to the natural or legal person who is a party to the contract in question and not to other persons, not parties to that contract, even if they are connected with that person.

2.Article 63(1) and (2) of Regulation No 1215/2012

must be interpreted as meaning that the determination, in accordance with that provision, of the domicile of the ‘other party to a contract’, within the meaning of Article 18(1) of that regulation, does not constitute a limitation of the choice which the consumer may make under that Article 18(1). In that regard, the clarifications provided in Article 63(2) concerning the concept of ‘statutory seat’ constitute autonomous definitions.

3.Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I)

must be interpreted as not precluding a choice-of-law clause in the general terms and conditions of a contract or in a separate document to which that contract refers and which has been provided to the consumer, provided that that clause informs the consumer that he or she enjoys, in any event, under Article 6(2) of that regulation, the protection afforded to him or her by the mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which he or she has his or her habitual residence.

4.Article 6(1) of Regulation No 593/2008

must be interpreted as meaning that where a consumer contract fulfils the requirements set out in that provision and in the absence of a valid choice of law applicable to that contract, that law must be determined in accordance with that provision, which may be relied on by both parties to that contract, including the professional, notwithstanding the fact that the law applicable to the contract in accordance with Articles 3 and 4 of that regulation may be more favourable to the consumer.

(1) Language of the case: Spanish.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/485/oj

ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)

* * *

C/2023/485

Language of the case: Spanish

ECLI:EU:C:2025:140