The plaintiff is a citizen of the Slovak Republic who bought a package vacation in a third country – Thailand – from a Czech travel agency. The travel agency provided him with all the information required by Czech law, but did not provide him with the explicit information on visa requirements for Slovak citizens.
The plaintiff was later not allowed to enter the country
after he arrived in Thailand. The reason for such refusal was that he did not
have a tourist visa. In addition to that, it was not possible to obtain a
VISA at the Airport in Thailand.
Pursuant to the relevant Czech regulation the travel agency was
obliged to provide truthfully, comprehensively, fully and properly information
on all facts known to it and which may influence the decision of the person
interested in the purchase of the package. According to the statute, especially
visa requirements for Czech citizens had to be provided.
At the EU level, the issue is regulated by the Package Travel
Directive, which stipulates that the tour operator is obliged to provide the
necessary information, in particular on visas.
Q1. You are a judge. How would you proceed with regard to EU
law in this matter and with what result? Formulate and justify your conclusions
properly.
Q2. Is it necessary to refer a question for a preliminary
ruling to the ECJ?
Q3. What remedies are available to the Slovak citizen, if
the national court decides in Q1 wrong?