INTRODUCTION
The purpose of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) on consumer rights (hereinafter referred to as ‘CRD’ or ‘Directive’) is to achieve a high level of consumer protection across the EU and to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by approximating certain aspects of Member States’ laws, regulations and administrative provisions concerning contracts concluded between consumers and traders (2). The purpose of this Guidance Notice (hereinafter referred to as ‘Notice’) is to facilitate the effective application of the Directive. The Notice also aims at increasing awareness of the Directive amongst all interested parties, such as consumers, businesses, the authorities of the Member States, including national courts, and legal practitioners, across the EU. It covers the amendments introduced by Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) as regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules that enter into application from 28 May 2022. Accordingly, a part of this guidance reflects and discusses the rules that have not yet entered into application as of the date of issuance of this Notice. The relevant sections and points are clearly indicated. The Notice reflects the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as ‘CJEU’ or ‘the Court’) on the Directive since its entry into application on 13 June 2014. From its date of application, the Directive replaced Council Directive 85/577/EEC (4) to protect the consumer in respect of contracts negotiated away from business premises and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts. CRD retained certain provisions of the former Directives 85/577/EEC and 97/7/EC. Therefore, the relevant case law of the Court related to the interpretation of those Directives is also referred to in this document where applicable. The Notice does not analyse the application of the Directive in the individual Member States, including the decisions of national courts and other competent bodies. In addition to different information sources available in the Member States, information on the national provisions transposing the Directive, on case law and on legal literature is available in the Consumer Law Database accessible via the E-justice portal (6). This Notice is addressed to the EU Member States and to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as signatories of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (7) (EEA). References to the EU, the Union or the Single Market should therefore be understood as references to the EEA or to the EEA market. This Notice is intended purely as a guidance document – only the text of the EU legislation itself has legal force. Any authoritative reading of the law has to be derived from the text of the Directive and directly from the decisions of the Court. This Notice takes into account rulings of the Court published until October 2021 and cannot prejudge further developments of the Court’s case law. The views expressed in this Notice cannot prejudge the position that the European Commission might take before the Court. The information contained in this Notice is of a general nature and does not specifically address any particular individuals or entities. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the European Commission is responsible for any use that may be made of the following information. As this Notice reflects the state of the art at the time of drafting, the guidance offered may be modified at a later date.
Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07