Implementation of the new Package Travel Directive in Greece: Selected Issues

Abstract

This paper focuses on selected legal issues which arise from the implementation of the directive (EU) 2015/2302 on package travel and linked travel arrangements (PTD) into the Greek law through the Presidential Decree 7/2018 ("Harmonisation of legislation with directive (EU) 2015/2302 on package travel and linked travel arrangements" - PD). The authors analyse the impact of the provisions regarding the package travel contract on the national contract law. A definition of the package travel contract and an analysis of its legal nature under the previous and current legal framework are provided. The authors also highlight the rules governing the termination of the contract under the PD and compare them with the provisions related to the works contract under the Greek Civil Code (GCC). In addition to that, the authors focus on the provisions of the PD on the responsibility of the organiser and the retailer for the performance of the package and the no-fault liability of them in cases of non-performance or improper performance of the travel services included in the package. They conclude that such liability is in line with the objective liability of the seller in case of defects of goods defined in articles 513 et seq., 537, 540 et seq. 543 GCC. Furthermore, the authors present the traveller’s rights in the event of the organiser’s or retailer’s lack of conformity in the performance of the package travel contract and underline the fact that these rights are similar to the rights of the buyer and the employer under the GCC. The transfer of the package travel contract to another traveller is also examined as well as the theoretical problem under Greek law and Greek court decisions of the compensation for non-material damages for "ruined vacation". The authors conclude that the PD’s provisions remain generally in line with the national contract law and that many of them resemble provisions and notions included in the GCC.