{"id":5032,"date":"2023-07-30T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2023-07-30T06:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.weisenheimer.law\/?p=5032"},"modified":"2023-08-01T20:16:54","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T18:16:54","slug":"general-conditions-of-carriage-in-austria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.weisenheimer.law\/en\/general-conditions-of-carriage-in-austria\/","title":{"rendered":"General Conditions of Carriage in Austria"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Besides the handling of Passenger Claims and the challenges related thereto, airlines are often confronted with complaints from consumer protection organizations regarding their General Conditions of Carriage (GCC). In Austria, especially the Verein f\u00fcr Konsumenteninformation<\/em> (\u201cVKI<\/a>\u201d), is very active in this regard and routinousely examines General Terms and Conditions of several companies, including GCC used by airlines that are active in Austria.<\/p>\n

If an airline\u00b4s GCC contains clauses that the VKI deems to be unlawful, it will request the airline to sign a cease and desist declaration preventing it from using these specific clauses and to pay a contractual penalty to the VKI for every breach.<\/p>\n

If the airline refuses to sign such declarations, the VKI files a lawsuit demanding the stop of the use of certain clauses and the publishing of the ruling against the airline in Austria\u00b4s most read newspaper at the airline\u00b4s expense.<\/p>\n

During its proceedings, the competent court assesses every clause of the challenged GCC based on the following criteria:<\/p>\n

Unusual clauses that are surprising and disadvantageous<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a7 864a of the Austrian Civil Code states that in General Terms and Conditions (like GCC) clauses of an unusual content that are surprising and disadvantageous for the other party are not regarded to be part of contracts based on these GTC.<\/p>\n

However, such clauses can be valid if the party using them in its General Terms and Conditions has specifically notified the other party of their use.<\/p>\n

Grossly disadvantageous clauses<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a7 879 (3) of the Austrian Civil Code states that clauses contained in General Terms and Conditions which do not specify one of the main services to be provided by either party shall be void if they are grossly disadvantageous for one party.<\/p>\n

Austrian courts interpret the exception set forth regarding main services very narrowly, which leads to the provision being applicable to basically all clauses that do not concern the individual description of the type, scope and quality of the main services. The assessment whether a clause is grossly disadvantageous is, in general, being made by comparison with the codified provisions of Austrian civil law together with a balancing of the parties\u00b4 interests.<\/p>\n

Intransparent clauses<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Austrian Consumer Protection Act sets forth several types of clauses that are not binding for consumers. \u00a7\u00a06\u00a0(3) of this Act additionally stipulates that clauses contained in General Terms and Conditions shall be invalid if they are intransparent. This is, in particular, the case if the wording of such clauses is unclear, if their content is not easily comprehensible to the consumer or if they incorrectly present the average consumer\u00b4s legal position.<\/p>\n

Collection of clauses that were deemed to be violating Austrian law<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Since there have already been numerous court proceedings regarding GCC in Austria, we have an extensive collection of clauses that Austrian courts deemed to be violating Austrian law. This includes especially the following clauses:<\/p>\n