Official Journal
of the European Union

C series

C/2025/1075

24.2.2025

Request for a preliminary ruling from the Budapest Környéki Törvényszék (Hungary) lodged on 5 November 2024 – HM and JD v AXA Bank Belgium SA and Others

(Case C-761/24, AXA Bank Belgium and Others)

(C/2025/1075)

Language of the case: Hungarian

Referring court

Budapest Környéki Törvényszék

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: HM and JD

Defendants: AXA Bank Belgium SA, OTP Bank Nyrt. and OTP Faktoring Követeléskezelő Zrt.

Questions referred

Do Articles 6(1) and 7(1) of Council Directive 93/13/EEC (1) on unfair terms in consumer contracts preclude national case-law or an interpretation of domestic law which, in the event that a consumer contract is found to be totally invalid on account of an unfair term applied therein:

—

does not remedy the legal consequences of the invalidity in the legal relationship between the original lender and the consumer as debtor, because national legislation makes it possible for the original lender and a third party to conclude an agreement that results in a change in the parties to the contract;

—

remedies the legal consequences of the invalidity only as between the consumer and the successor in law entering the contractual relationship as a new party as a result of the transfer of the contract, in such a way that the consumer is obliged to make any payment to the new party to the contract rather than to the original lender and, conversely, may only claim from the new party entering the contractual relationship any amount that may have to be reimbursed to that consumer, even though the consumer has not made any payment to that party?

Does national case-law or an interpretation of domestic law, according to which the legal consequences of the invalidity of an unfair consumer contract may be inferred only as between the current parties to that contract, that is to say between the new lender entering the contractual relationship as a consequence of a change in the parties to that relationship and the consumer as debtor, contravene the concept of ‘seller or supplier’ as defined in Article 2(c) of Council Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts?

(1) OJ 1993 L 95, p. 29.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/1075/oj

ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)