Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

SLOVAKIA | MONIKA JURČOVÁ 1147 the right to withdraw from the contract as well as the complaints procedure. In relation to this part of the New Package Travel Act (Sections 16-24 regulating the changes to contract, right to withdraw from contract, perfomance and non- performance), it can be stated that most of the issues here have been regulated for the benefit of the consumer in comparison to the past 24 . • New Slovak legal regulation is more balanced in terms of the possibility of a contractual limitation of damages in accordance with international conventions 25 . The positive is that it contains an explicit solution to the admissibility/inadmissibility of the confluence of damages under the Directive and other instruments 26 . From the point of view of a package travel organiser, it is appropriate to explicitly regulate the sanctions against individual travel service providers in the New Package Travel Act 27 . • A new feature is also the right of the traveller to withdraw from an off- -premises contract without cause and without the obligation to pay termination fee within 14 days of the day of the conclusion of a package travel contract pursuant to Sec. 21 Art. 5 of the Package Travel Act. The Slovak legislator has probably reasonably and legitimately used the authorization under Article 12 point 5 of the Directive. According to the statement of reasons, “ it is necessary to realize that this possibility to withdraw from the contract does not apply to distance contracts (for the avoidance of doubts, the stated possibility of withdrawals does not apply to contracts concluded via mobile applications, the Internet, call centres, etc.). This entitlement excludes the so-called ‘last minute’ package travel contracts, as they are significantly favoured offers of package travel for travellers. ”. On the contrary, the new legal regulation applies to exceptional forms of a sale of package travel (for example, at a tourism trade fair or at some other, non-typical event for selling package travel (harvest supper), where the seller procures a sale stall). These forms of sale combine what other forms of sales outside the traditional points of sale 24 But also for the benefit of the tour operator agency and its legal surety, for example under Sec. 20 Art. 3, if the traveller does not accept a change of contract, the contract ceases to exist, which is a specification compared to the previous state when the inactivity of the orderer led to uncertainty over the duration of the contract. 25 See Jurčová, M. op. cit., p. 98, where she states with regard to the present legal regulation: “From the standpoint of just regime, we find it unreasonable and unjustified, why if the liability of individual service providers is limited (e.g. liability limitation in case of destruction, loss, damage or delay of luggage under the Montreal Convention), such a limitation should not apply to determine the extent of liability of tour operator.“ 26 Article 14 point 5 of the New Directive. 27 Sec. 24 of the New Package Travel Act.