Request for a preliminary ruling from the Krajský súd Prešov (Slovakia) lodged on 5 May 2020 – Prima banka Slovensko, a.s. v HD

(Case C-192/20)

Language of the case: Slovak

Referring court

Krajský súd Prešov

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Prima banka Slovensko, a.s.

Defendant: HD

Questions referred

Must Directive 93/13 ¹ on unfair terms in consumer contracts, and in particular Articles 6(1) and 7(1) thereof, in conjunction with the interpretation contained in the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Joined Cases C-96/16 and C-94/17 (ECLI:EU:C:2018:643), be interpreted as precluding legislation such as the protective framework provision contained in Paragraph 54(1) of the Občiansky zákonník (Civil Code), which does not allow the consumer’s position to be worsened by contractual terms in comparison to the statutory provision which provides for the following rights of the creditor in the event of a consumer defaulting on loan repayment:

the creditor’s right to default interest at a rate limited by a government regulation;

the creditor’s right to other penalties which the creditor may impose on the consumer and which, together with default interest, are limited to the amount of the loan principal outstanding;

the creditor’s right to compensation where the damage suffered by the creditor is higher than the default interest, that is, the creditor’s right to unlimited compensation according to the actual damage.

If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative: does the high level of protection of consumer rights under Article 38 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and Articles 4(2) and 169(1) TFEU preclude a consumer from paying, for his or her delay in the performance of contractual obligations, the flat rate costs of the creditor rather than the equivalent of the actual loss suffered by the creditor, even if the actual loss is lower than the flat rate costs?

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¹ Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts (OJ 1993 L 95, p. 2).