Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

1022 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE As provided by the Directive, the organiser is also entitled to invoke the limitations set out in various international conventions that bind the European Union, such as the Montreal Convention of 28 May 1999. It should also be noted that the Directive does not provide a specific limitation period to make a claim under the new provisions. It only fixes a minimal duration of two years. The Member States are, however, left with the possibility to provide a more prolonged limitation period. In this respect, no express provisions were adopted in the new Consumer Code of the Grand-Duchy. Both the Commerce Chamber and the Council of State considered that, in such a case, reference should be made to general principles on time limits. However, such principles provide in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg for a time limit of 30 years. Both the Commerce Chamber and the Council of State observed that such a time limit was inappropriate and too long and would give rise to legal uncertainty 22 . It was also compared with time limits applicable in the other Member States, where it was observed they were shorter. Nevertheless, the Law of 25 April 2018 was adopted without further amendment on this issue, and a 30 years’ time limit is then applicable to all travel package contracts. This will undoubtedly give rise to great difficulty in practice for a professional established in Luxembourg, who may face travellers’ claims for up to 30 years after the travel package. Other dispositions resulting from the Directive concern the insolvency of tourism professionals and, in particular, of organisers who are selling travel packages and traders who are facilitating linked travel arrangements. In this respect, security has to be provided by organisers as well as traders established in the Grand-Duchy 23 . They have to provide to the Ministry in charge of Economy a certificate issued by a guarantor 24 . In addition, the manager of the undertaking that is organising travel package or selling travel services is responsible for ensuring that his/her undertaking has at all time the security requested in Articles L.225-15 and L.225-17 of the Consumer Code 25 . The sanction would be for the manager to be deprived of the right to exercise his/her activity. Under these provisions, the Grand-Duchy ensures that travellers will not be left without security in case of insolvency. This is important as tour 22 Op. cit. notes 3 and 4. 23 Articles L.225-15 and L.225-17 of the Consumer Code. 24 The certificate shall contain the name and contact details of the guarantor, its telephone number and email address, extent of coverage of the security. 25 Law of 2 September 2011 regulating access to the professions of craftsman, tradesman, industrialist and certain liberal professions, Articles 4 (a) and 6 (4).