Judgment_paragraph 91 · CY and Others v Caixabank SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (C-224/19, C-259/19)

91Indeed, the application of a five-year limitation period that begins to run from the conclusion of the contract, in so far as it means that the consumer may seek the refund of payments made pursuant to a contractual term held to be unfair only during the first five years following the signing of the contract, irrespective of whether he or she was or could reasonably have been aware of the unfairness of that term, may make it excessively difficult for that consumer to exercise his or her rights under Directive 93/13, and, consequently, run counter to the principle of effectiveness read in conjunction with the principle of legal certainty.