- The Timeshare Directive
- The Package Travel Directive
I. The Timeshare Directive
Directive 94/47/EC
of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 October 1994 on the protection of purchasers in respect of certain aspects of contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis
- Art. 3(1) provides for the production of a brochure which is to include information specified in the annex of the directive
- Any advertisment should indicate the availability of the prospectus, Art. 3(3)
- Art. 3(2): content of the brochure forms an integral part of the contract
- Art. 4, indent 1: the contract must be in writing
- Art. 4, indent 2 stipulates language requirements
- Art. 5 gives the consumer a right to cancel the contract at no cost, apart from the legal costs incurred in making the contract
- The right of withdrawal is generally to be exercised within 10 calendar days from the conclusion of the contract; however, if specific information is not reproduced
in the contract, the withdrawal period may be extent to three months plus 10 days (Art. 5)
- Art. 6 prohibits advance payments before the expiry of the withdrawal period
- Art. 7 addresses linked transactions: any associated credit agreement is cancelled automatically if consumer exercizes his right to withdrawal
- Art. 9 seeks to safeguard against unfavourable choice of law clauses
- Art. 8 and 12 address the waiver of rights on the part of the consumer and minimum harmonization
Consultation Process on a Revision of the Timeshare Directive
On 1 June 2006, the Commission launched a public consultation on the review of the Directive. The consultation process resulted in a
Commmission proposal for a revision
of the directive on 7 June 2007. Since then, the process has stalled.
II. The Package Travel Directive
Council
Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours
- Note that the definition of 'consumer' in Art. 2 varies from that of other directives in that it is not limited to private purposes
- Information must not be misleading, Art. 3(1)
- Minimum information to be contained in brochures – Brochure is binding to
organiser/retailer, Art. 3(2)
- Minimum information to be given to consumer (visa requirements, time schedules, local
representative etc, Art. 4(1)
- Minimum form requirements and minimum information to be contained in the contract, Art. 4(2)
- Transfer of booked package must be possible, Art. 4(3)
- Price deviations only under special circumstances, Art. 4(4)
- In case of alteration of package: right of the consumer to either withdraw and receive
compensation for non-performance or accept substitute package, Art. 4(5) and (6)
- In case of grave problems after departure: alternative arrangements or home transport, Art. 4(7)
- Under Art. 5, the organiser/retailer ist liable for the proper performance and for damages
- In cases of complaint, organiser must take prompt efforts to find solution (Art 6)
- Security in case of insolvency, Art 7
Important Case Law
- In Club-Tour
the European Court of Justice held that the package travel directive applies to tailor-made holidays despite the term 'pre-arranged combination'.
- In AFS Finland,
the Court clarified that the package travel directive does not apply to long-term student exchange programs.
- In Simone Leitner
the Court argued that Art. 5 of the directive includes damages for non-material damage, such as the loss of enjoyment of the holiday.
- The requirements for insolvency security under Art. 7 were specified by the ECJ in
Dillenkofer,
Rechberger
and Verein für Konsumenteninformation/Österreichische Kreditversicherungs AG.
The Commission's Report on the Implementation of the
Package Travel Directive identifies multiple difficulties in the interpretation of the directive.
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