Rules on jurisdiction
The Court has stated that the right to an effective remedy applies to the rules of jurisdiction as well as to the rules of procedure (419). While Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (420) on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters contains protective rules for consumers in relation to cross-border proceedings (421), a similar protection may not exist under national rules on jurisdiction in domestic cases. Jurisdiction rules, directly or indirectly (422), obliging consumers to bring their cases or defend themselves in courts that are some distance away from their place of residence may discourage consumers from using remedies, in particular insofar as physical presence is required in the proceedings at issue (423). Here national courts have to examine whether the distance to the court generates overly high travel costs for the consumer such as to deter him/her from entering an appearance in the proceedings brought against him/her (424). However, the fact that a certain case has to be heard not by the local court, but by a higher level court, which is further away and may require higher fees does not automatically imply an infringement of Article 7(1) UCTD (425). Furthermore, consumer organisations bringing collective proceedings are not in the same position as individual consumers regarding jurisdiction rules (426).
Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.