PRESS RELEASE No 23/02
12 March 2002
Judgment of the Court in Case C-168/00
Simone Leitner v TUI Deutschland GmbH & Co KG
TOURISTS WHO HAVE SUFFERED FROM THE IMPROPER PERFORMANCE OF A PACKAGE
TRAVEL CONTRACT MAY CLAIM COMPENSATION FOR THE NON-MATERIAL DAMAGE CAUSED
BY LOSS OF ENJOYMENT OF THEIR HOLIDAYS
The Leitner family booked a package holiday (all-inclusive stay) with TUI
at club in Turkey for two weeks in July 1997.
A few days into their stay at the holiday village, Simone Leitner, the child
of the family, born in 1987, showed symptoms of salmonella poisoning caused
by the food served in the club. The illness lasted throughout their whole stay
and beyond, completely ruining the holidays for the whole family.
Simone Leitner brought an action for damages against TUI, the organisers of
the package holiday, before the Austrian courts for compensation for the damage
suffered during her stay in Turkey.
The court of first instance awarded the claimant damages only for the physical
pain and suffering caused by the food poisoning and dismissed the remainder
of the application, based on the damage caused by loss of enjoyment of the
holidays - a different kind of non-material damage - because there is
no express provision in Austrian law for compensation for damage of that kind.
Simone Leitner appealed to the Landesgericht Linz which made a reference to
the Court of Justice of the European Communities for a preliminary ruling.
The Austrian court seeks to ascertain whether the 1990 Community directive
on package travel, package holidays and package tours is to be interpreted
as conferring, in principle, on consumers a right to compensation for non-material
damage resulting from the non-performance or improper performance of the services
constituting a package holiday.
That community directive requires the Member States to enact in their own
laws a series of measures in favour of consumers (tourists), including the right
to compensation for damage caused by the non-performance or improper performance
of the package holiday contract. It doesnot, however, specify which kinds of
damage are covered, but refers to "damage other than personal injury".
Accordingly, the question arises whether non-material damage caused by "spoiled
holidays" must also be compensated.
The Court points out that it is the purpose of the directive to eliminate
the disparities between the national laws and practices of the various Member
States in the area of package holidays.
The Court finds that in the field of package holidays, the existence in some
Member States but not in others of an obligation to provide compensation for
non-material damage would cause significant distortions of competition, given
that non-material damage is a frequent occurrence in that field.
Furthermore, the Court notes that the directive is designed to protect consumers
and that, in connection with tourist holidays, compensation for non-material
damage arising from the loss of enjoyment of the holiday is of particular importance
to consumers.
According to the Court, the directive implicitly recognises the existence
of a right to compensation for damage other than personal injury, including
non-material damage.
The Court concludes that the Community directive confers, in principle,
on consumers a right to compensation for non-material damage resulting from
the non-performance or improper performance of the services constituting a package
holiday.
|
Available in German, English, Finnish, French, Greek and Italian. For the full text of the judgment, please consult our Internet page For further information please contact Fionnuala Connolly: Tel: (00 352) 4303 3355; Fax: (00 352) 4303 2731 |