ABSTRACT
Consumer protection in contracts concluded with credit institutions has received considerable attention from the national courts of various European countries in recent years. Unsurprisingly, the matter peaked after the wake of the global crisis of 2008 when consumers struggled with loan repayments in general. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has played a leading role in the interpretation of the main European legal instrument governing standard terms, namely the Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts. We base our analysis on its judgment of 15 June 2023 critically pointing to the fact that it is detached from its social, legal, and economic background. The CJEU’s attempt to bring one solution to fit all is irreconcilable with other national approaches and its fundamental reference to the principle of nemo auditor propriam turpitudinem allegans is neither clear nor appropriate in our opinion when taking into consideration its uncodified nature in many national jurisdictions.
Gomez-Pomar, Fernando and Beldowski, Jaroslaw Mariusz, Consumer Mortgage Loan Agreements in Foreign Currencies – Does One Solution Fit all? (October 15, 2024), European Banking Institute Working Paper Series No 183.
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