Court of Justice (First Chamber) 3 October 2013, C‑32/12 (Soledad Duarte Hueros v Autociba SA and Automóviles Citroën España SA.)

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In a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU, the Court of Justice (First Chamber) held that Directive 1999/44/EC precludes national procedural legislation that prevents a court from granting of its own motion an appropriate price reduction where a consumer seeks only rescission of a sale contract and rescission is unavailable because the lack of conformity is minor. The Court found that Spanish procedural rules—binding courts to the relief sought, prohibiting amendment of claims during proceedings, and barring fresh actions on grounds of res judicata—rendered the consumer protection afforded by Article 3(5) of the Directive excessively difficult to enforce, in violation of the principle of effectiveness. The referring court was directed to apply interpretative methods available under domestic law to ensure the full effectiveness of Article 3(5) of Directive 1999/44.AI