05/02/2020 62016CJ0498  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Third Chamber) 25 January 2018 ( *1 ) (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Area of freedom, security and justice — Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 — Articles 15 and 16 — Jurisdiction in respect of consumer contracts — Definition of ‘consumer’ — Assignment between consumers of claims against the same trader or professional) In Case C-498/16, REQUEST for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the Oberster Gerichtshof (Supreme Court, Austria), made by decision of 20 July 2016, received at the Court on 19 September 2016, in the proceedings Maximilian Schrems v Facebook Ireland Limited, THE COURT (Third Chamber), composed of L. Bay Larsen, President of the Chamber, J. Malenovský, M. Safjan (Rapporteur), D. Šváby and M. Vilaras, Judges, Advocate General: M. Bobek, Registrar: M. Aleksejev, Administrator, having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 19 July 2017, after considering the observations submitted on behalf of: – Mr Schrems, by W. Proksch and H. Hofmann, Rechtsanwälte, – Facebook Ireland Limited, by N. Pitkowitz, M. Foerster and K. Struckmann, Rechtsanwälte, – the Austrian Government, by G. Eberhard and G. Kunnert, acting as Agents, – the German Government, by T. Henze, R. Kanitz and M. Hellmann, acting as Agents, – the Portuguese Government, by M. Figueiredo, L. Inez Fernandes and S. Duarte Afonso, acting as Agents, – the European Commission, by M. Wilderspin and M. Heller, acting as Agents, after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 14 November 2017, gives the following Judgment 1 The present request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Articles 15 and 16 of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ 2001 L 12, p. 1). 2 The request has been made in proceedings between Mr Maximilian Schrems, who is domiciled in Austria, and Facebook Ireland Limited, which has its registered office in Ireland, concerning applications seeking declarations and an injunction, disclosure, production of accounts and payment in the amount of EUR 4000 in respect of private Facebook accounts of both Mr Schrems and seven other persons who assigned to him their claims relating to those accounts. Legal context Regulation No 44/2001 file:///Users/nerissa/Downloads/Columbia CSV/Schrems v Facebook Ireland.htm 1/8