d1e2036-1-1__para
The Court has consistently held that national courts are under an obligation to assess unfair contract terms of their own motion (ex officio) (62), i.e. even if the unfairness of contract terms is not raised by the consumer. The obligation stems from Article 6(1) of the UCTD, which provides that unfair terms are not to be binding on the consumer, as well as from the principle of effectiveness which requires that national implementing measures do not make it in practice impossible or excessively difficult to exercise the rights conferred on consumers by EU law (63). The requirement of an ex officio control has been justified by the consideration that the system of protection established by the UCTD is based on the idea that the consumer is in a weak position vis-à-vis the trader as regards both the bargaining power and level of knowledge, which leads to the consumer agreeing to terms drawn up in advance by the trader without being able to influence the content of those terms (64). Therefore, there is a real risk that consumers, particularly because of a lack of awareness, will not rely on the legal rule that is intended to protect them.
Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.