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PARALLEL TEXTS
Il divieto di pratiche commerciali sleali nei confronti dei consumatori si applica anche alle casse malattia del regime legale
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-126_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-126_it.htm
Data documento: 03-10-2013
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The prohibition of unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices is also applicable to health insurance funds which are part of the statutory system
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Il divieto di pratiche commerciali sleali nei confronti dei consumatori si applica anche alle casse malattia del regime legale
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Neither their task of public interest nor their public law status are sufficient reason for them not to be covered by that prohibition
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Né la loro missione di interesse generale né il loro status di organismo di diritto pubblico giustificano che esse siano sottratte a tale divieto
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Having already on several occasions ruled that the material scope of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, which prohibits unfair business-to-consumer practices, is particularly broad, the Court of Justice for the first time makes clear that the same is true of the personal scope of that directive.
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Dopo aver avuto più volte occasione di affermare che la direttiva sulle pratiche commerciali sleali, che vieta tali pratiche nei confronti dei consumatori, è caratterizzata da una sfera di applicazione ratione materiae particolarmente ampia, la Corte di giustizia precisa per la prima volta che lo stesso vale quanto alla sfera di applicazione ratione parsonae della direttiva stessa.
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In its judgment today, the Court finds that the directive applies to a public law body charged with a task of public interest, such as the management of a statutory health insurance fund.
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Infatti, con la sentenza odierna, la Corte statuisce che la direttiva si applica a un organismo di diritto pubblico incaricato di una missione di interesse generale, quale la gestione di un regime legale di assicurazione malattia.
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Despite its public status and its task of public interest, such a body must be considered a ‘trader’ within the meaning of the directive, to which the prohibition on unfair commercial practices applies.
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Nonostante il suo carattere pubblico e la sua missione di interesse generale, tale organismo deve essere considerato, ai sensi della direttiva, un «professionista» nei confronti del quale trova applicazione il divieto di pratiche commerciali sleali.
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Indeed, the directive does not expressly exclude such bodies from its scope.
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La direttiva, infatti, non esclude espressamente tali organismi dalla sua sfera di applicazione.
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In addition, the directive’s aim of achieving a high level of consumer protection against unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices, and in particular from misleading advertising, requires that protection to be ensured independently of the public or private status of the body at issue or of its specific task.
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Inoltre, lo scopo della direttiva di garantire un elevato livello di tutela dei consumatori contro le pratiche commerciali sleali e, in particolare, contro la pubblicità ingannevole impone che tale tutela sia garantita indipendentemente dal carattere pubblico o privato dell’organismo in questione e dalla specifica missione che esso persegue.
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In the present case, the Court is answering a question from the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice, Germany) which is called upon to settle a dispute between the Wettbewerbszentrale, a German association for the prevention of unfair competition, and BKK, a health insurance fund established as a public law body which is part of the German statutory system.
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Nella specie, la Corte risponde a una domanda del Bundesgerichtshof (Corte federale di cassazione, Germania) che deve decidere la controversia tra la Wettbewerbszentrale, un’associazione tedesca di lotta contro la concorrenza sleale, e la BKK, una cassa malattia del regime previdenziale legale tedesco costituita in forma di organismo di diritto pubblico.
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The Federal Court was of the opinion that the information that BKK had published on its website, in 2008, according to which its members risked incurring financial losses if they were to leave that fund for another, constituted, as alleged by the Wettbewerbszentrale, a misleading practice within the meaning of the directive.
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Secondo il Bundesgerichtshof, l’informazione che la BKK aveva diffuso sul proprio sito Internet, nel 2008, secondo la quale i suoi iscritti avrebbero rischiato svantaggi finanziari nell’ipotesi di cambiamento di cassa, costituiva, come sostenuto dalla Wettbewerbszentrale, una pratica ingannevole ai sensi della direttiva.
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It was, however, uncertain whether the directive and therefore the prohibition which it lays down were applicable to BKK as a public law body charged with a task of public interest.
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Tale giudice si è chiesto, tuttavia, se la direttiva e, quindi, il divieto che essa prevede, fosse applicabile alla BKK, in quanto organismo di diritto pubblico incaricato di una missione di interesse generale.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law or the validity of a European Union act.
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Il rinvio pregiudiziale consente ai giudici degli Stati membri, nell'ambito di una controversia della quale sono investiti, di interpellare la Corte in merito all’interpretazione del diritto dell’Unione o alla validità di un atto dell’Unione.
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The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
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La Corte non risolve la controversia nazionale.
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It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised.
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Spetta al giudice nazionale risolvere la causa conformemente alla decisione della Corte. Tale decisione vincola egualmente gli altri giudici nazionali ai quali venga sottoposto un problema simile.
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
The prohibition of unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices is
also applicable to health insurance funds which are part of the statutory system
Neither their task of public interest nor their public law status
are sufficient reason for them not to be covered by that prohibition
Having already on several occasions ruled that the material scope of
the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, which prohibits unfair
business-to-consumer practices, is particularly broad, the Court of Justice for
the first time makes clear that the same is true of the personal scope of that
directive.
In its judgment today, the Court finds that the directive applies to a
public law body charged with a task of public interest, such as the management
of a statutory health insurance fund.
Despite its public status and its task of public interest, such a body
must be considered a ‘trader’ within the meaning of the directive, to which the
prohibition on unfair commercial practices applies.
Indeed, the directive does not expressly exclude such bodies from its
scope.
In addition, the directive’s aim of achieving a high level of consumer
protection against unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices, and in
particular from misleading advertising, requires that protection to be ensured
independently of the public or private status of the body at issue or of its
specific task.
In the present case, the Court is answering a question from the
Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice, Germany) which is called upon to
settle a dispute between the Wettbewerbszentrale, a German association for the
prevention of unfair competition, and BKK, a health insurance fund established
as a public law body which is part of the German statutory system.
The Federal Court was of the opinion that the information that BKK had
published on its website, in 2008, according to which its members risked
incurring financial losses if they were to leave that fund for another,
constituted, as alleged by the Wettbewerbszentrale, a misleading practice within
the meaning of the directive.
It was, however, uncertain whether the directive and therefore the
prohibition which it lays down were applicable to BKK as a public law body
charged with a task of public interest.
NOTE:
A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of
the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer
questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law
or the validity of a European Union act.
The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in
accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other
national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised.
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