EU Court of Justice: The causes for reimbursements can be introduced only in three cities: banning the "forum of the Consumer" or the cities where the airlines have branches. It can be quoted or used only where the company has its registered office or in the cities of departure or arrival of the flight
An important decision of the EU Court of Justice, puts an end to a long-standing dispute about the jurisdiction for the reimbursement cases for the delays of air flights. For European judges, in fact, all disputes must be initiated where the airline has its registered office or in the cities of departure or arrival of the flight, but not where the company has branches.
The EU Court recalled that the European regulation on passengers' rights does not contain rules that define the issue, therefore the principles of judicial competence must be applied. By virtue of these criteria, therefore, "the competent jurisdiction could be located in the place of departure or in the place of arrival of the flight concerned, according to the rule of special jurisdiction based on the place of performance of the obligation" of the service provided, "or in the place where the airline has its registered office '.
In the case up to the maximum case law of the EU, therefore, the passenger of the Ryanair Porto-Barcelona flight should not have turned to the Girona court in Spain, where the Irish company has a branch, but to that of Porto in Portugal or to that of Barcelona in Spain, or of Dublin in Ireland. Moreover, the judges of the court based in Luxembourg point out, special jurisdiction in favor of the consumer (consumer domicile) is not applicable.
For Giovanni D'Agata, president of the "Rights Desk", this is an important decision that clarifies, hopefully definitively, a significant point for the purposes of protecting the rights of travelers who have suffered and who will suffer the consequences of inconvenience and damages resulting from cancellations and delays of air flights, contributing to the certainty of the right to be able to act to be reimbursed or otherwise indemnified.