Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

474 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE In UK law this is mirrored by Reg. 29 of the UK PTR: “29. Where an organiser or, in a case under regulation 27, a retailer: (a) pays compensation, (b) grants a price reduction, or (c) meets the other obligations incumbent on the organiser or the retailer under these Regulations, the organiser or retailer may seek redress from any third parties which contributed to the event triggering compensation, a price reduction or other obligations”. On the face of it this statutory provision is clear and has its heart in the right place. It gives the travel agent/organiser the right of redress they need against the supplier but there are two problems. Firstly, what is meant by saying that Member States “shall ensure that the organiser or retailer has the right to seek redress from any third parties” ? Does it apply regardless of contract provisions (including contrary ones)? Does it impact upon any choice of jurisdiction clause which may adversely affect the prospects of recovery? After all an ineffective right is not really a right at all. Secondly, in practice when dealing with foreign suppliers there may be procedural obstacles in the way of bringing the supplier to court and even in the event of obtaining a favourable judgment there may be problems of enforcement. Within the EU those matters are regulated by the Judgment Regulation 1215/2012 5 and work reasonably well. Outside the EU service and enforcement can be challenging (see Noble Caledonia Ltd v Air Nuigini [2017] EWHC 1095 & 1393). 4. AN ALTERNATIVE ROAD TO REDRESS An alternative to suing the supplier might be to sue an intermediary such as a bedbank. This would depend upon the terms of the agency contract between the travel agent/organiser and the bedbank. The case of HMRC v Secret Hotels2 5 Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.