are not represented in court by a lawyer, and whether this lack of information compromises the objective of achieving a high level of consumer protection sought by the NPTD. The national judge is also asked whether, in the event of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances that significantly affect the execution of the organised travel contract in question, the consumer should be granted ex officio judicis reimbursement of all payments made. Although this possibility would guarantee a high level of consumer protection, it may violate the fundamental principles of Spanish procedural law, namely, the principles of party autonomy and the coherence of judicial decisions, as enshrined in Article 218, § 1, of the Code of Civil Procedure. The preliminary questions raised are as follows: 1) Should Articles 1698 and 114 TFEU, which establish a high level of consumer protection, be interpreted as precluding Article 5 of the NPTD, since that provision does not include, among the pre-contractual information that must be provided to the traveller, the right enshrined in Article 12(2)? 2) Do Articles 114 and 169 TFEU, together with Article 15 NPTD9, preclude the application of the principles of party autonomy and coherence set out in Spanish procedural rules where doing so may impede the full protection of the consumer? V. THE ROLE OF THE CJEU AND NATIONAL COURTS Within the framework of the preliminary ruling (Article 267 TFEU), there is a clear separation of functions between national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union. It is the exclusive responsibility of the national judge to ascertain and assess the facts of the dispute and to decide whether it is necessary to raise a preliminary question and which questions are relevant. In turn, the Court of Justice is limited 8 Paragraph 1 sets out the promotion of consumer interests and a high level of protection for them, alluding, among other things, to their “right to information”. Paragraph 2(a) refers to achieving the objectives of paragraph 1 through measures under Article 114 relating to the completion of the internal market. Article 114 refers to paragraph 3: “The Commission, in its proposals under paragraph 1 concerning health, safety, environmental protection and consumer protection, shall base itself on a high level of protection, taking into account in particular any new developments based on scientific data. Within their respective competences, the European Parliament and the Council shall also seek to achieve this objective.”. 9 The reason for its invocation is unclear, as it is limited to the possibility of the traveller contacting the organiser through the retailer. 41 THE PRINCIPLE OF PARTY AUTONOMY GUIDING THE CIVIL PROCEDURE
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