Abstract

In the reviewed judgement, the German Federal Court of Justice examines those provisions of the German national law that have been transposed the EU law. The judgement is at the same time of vital importance for the Polish legal order.

In this case the Court deals with the interpretation of a travel agreement. The line of reasoning of the Federal Court is clear: a contract is concluded by the operator offering a complete service for which an appropriate consideration is received. An important finding – which also proves that established line of caselaw is continued – is that the nature of the performance is determined by how the tour operator’s customer (consumer) could comprehend the offer.

Therefore the more third party services a tour operator offers in order to “attract” customers and gain their confidence as to the complete nature of the service the more liable it could be in case of problems – even if anything happens without its fault.

The legal issue unresolved in the judgement is the question whether a tour operator could sue the German railways (Deutsche Bahn AG) – by recourse – for reimbursement of the costs it had to return to the customers. Those costs undoubtedly constitute a loss for the operator who is by no means responsible for the delay of the train.