Nekonsistentnost varstva pravic potnikov po pravu EU

Ljudje že od nekdaj potujemo iz različnih vzrokov in razlogov. Sodobna prometna sredstva nam dandanes omogočajo, da v relativno kratkem času pridemo iz enega kraja v drugega, iz ene države v drugo, z ene celine na drugo. Ob tem je izrednega pomena prevozni sektor, ki v sodobnem času ni le sredstvo premoščanja fizičnih razdalj, temveč eden od najpomembnejših ekonomskih dejavnikov, kateri vpliva na številna druga gospodarska področja. Pri tem je pomembna tudi unifikacija prevoznega prava, ne samo zaradi pravne varnosti ali morda praktičnosti, temveč predvsem zaradi varnosti prevoza kot takšnega. Ti vidiki so izredno pomembni tudi za evropsko integracijo, ki prav posebno pozornost namenja zlasti varstvu potnikov. Celovita zaščita potnikov, njihovih ekonomskih in neekonomskih interesov po tem, ko vstopijo v pogodbeno razmerje za določeno vrsto prevoza, je pravzaprav ena od največjih značilnosti sodobnega transportnega prava EU. Pri tem pa gre za svojevrsten, vzajemen odnos med varstvom potnikov na eni in politiko varstva potrošnikov na drugi stranizaščita potnikov je namreč rezultat, posledica politike varstva potrošnikov, hkrati pa je bila politika varstva potrošnikov močno razširjena ravno s specifikami varstva potnikov. EU si že od leta 1991 prizadeva zagotoviti enake osnovne pravice za vse potnike in razvija zakonodajo, ki bi se uporabljala v vseh državah EU. Po prvih uspehih na področju letalskih prevozov, sledijo ostali trije prevozni sektorjiželezniški, ladijski in avtobusni. EU naj bi tako po besedah nekdanjega podpredsednika Evropske komisije Siima Kallasa postalo prvo območje na svetu, kjer potniki pri vseh vrstah prevoza uživajo celoten sklop pravic. Ne glede na to katere oblike prevoza se kot potniki poslužujemo, pri vsaki obliki prevoza lahko pride do zamude, odpovedi, izgube ali poškodovanja prtljage, poškodbe, tudi smrti potnika. Logično pričakovanje je, da so tudi pravice potnikov v teh primerih enake, torej ne glede na to ali je do zamude prišlo pri koriščenju letalskega ali pa železniškega prevoza. Upravičeno je pričakovanje, da so poenoteni vsaj ključni pojmi in kriteriji, denimo kaj se šteje kot zamuda, enak režim odgovornosti prevoznika, primerljiv sistem sankcij, odškodnin in podobno. Pa vendar tudi na tem mestu velja ugotovitev, da ni vse zlato, kar se sveti in tako tudi pri evropskem konceptu varstva potnikov ni vse popolno in idealno. Čeprav gre dejansko za zaokrožen sklop pravil, ki na ravni celotne EU na prvi pogled impresivno določajo enak sistem varstva pravic potnikov, pri podrobnejši primerjavi določb štirih uredb EU, ki za letalske, železniške, ladijske in avtobusne prevoze predvidijo enotno ureditev in varstvo pravic potnikov, zelo hitro ugotovimo, da le-te vsebinsko niso poenotene. Nekonsistentnost varstva potnikov, ki vpliva tudi na negotovost potnika, pa ni edina pomanjkljivost. Na določenih mestih so v uredbah tudi pravne praznine, glede katerih je moralo ključno vlogo odigrati Sodišče EU. 8 Varstvo pravic potnika je danes pomembno tudi iz gospodarskega vidika, čeprav se v praksi ugotavlja, da potniki svoje pravice kljub vsemu premalo poznajo. Poleg tega so razlike tudi med samimi prevoznimi sektorjimedtem ko je praksa Sodišča EU izredno bogata na področju letalskih prevozov, tega ne moremo trditi za ostale prevozne sektorje, kar pa težko razumemo na način, da je v ostalih oblikah prevoza ureditev toliko boljša ali učinkovitejša. Ob podrobnejšem pregledu in primerjavi evropske ureditve na področju varstva pravic potnikov, smo pri doseganju zastavljenega cilja, to je enotnega in učinkovitega varstva pravic potnikov v vseh štirih oblikah prevoza, tako šele nekje na pol poti.People have always been traveling out of different causes and reasons. Modern means of transport nowadays allow us to get from one place to another, one country to another, one continent to another in a relatively short period. The transport sector, which today is not only one of means to overcome the distance, but one of the most important economic factors which has an impact on many other economic areas, is therefore considered to be of utmost importance. Unification of transport law is also very important, not only for reasons of legal certainty or perhaps convenience, but also because of transport safety. These aspects are extremely important for the European integration, where special attention is brought to the particular protection of passenger%s rights. Comprehensive occupant protection of passengers, their economic and non-economic interests, after entering into a contractual relationship for a particular type of transport, is actually one of the greatest features of the movement of EU transport law. Tere is a unique, interactive relationship between the protection of passengers on one side and consumer protection policy on the other. Hence, the protection of passengers is a result of consumer protection policy, while consumer protection policy is considered to be greatly enhanced by the specificity of the protection for passengers and their rights. Since 1991 EU has endeavored to ensure equal basic rights for all passengers and therefor started to develop legislation that would be applicable in all EU countries. The first successes were in the field of air transport, soon followed by the other three transport sectorsrailway sector, maritime and inland water sector and public coach sector. According to former Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas EU became the first region in the world where passengers in all modes enjoy the full set of rights. No matter which form of transportation we use as passengers, each form of transport can lead to delays, cancellations, baggage loss or damage, injuries and even death of the passenger. The logical expectation is that the rights of passengers in these cases are the same, no matter whether the delay was occurred during the use of air or rail transport. There is a legitimate expectation that at least the key concepts and criteria, such as what is considered as a delay, equal regime of carrier\u27s liability, comparable system of penalties, damages and the like, are uniformed. But at this point this is considered as the Fool\u27s Gold, and so also in the EU concept of protection for passengers not everything is perfect and ideal. Although there is indeed a rounded set of rules, which at first glance impressively determine the same system of protection of passengers\u27s rights at the EU level, in case of more detailed comparison of the provisions of the four EU regulations, which for air, rail, ship and bus services provide regulation and protection of passengers\u27s rights, we find very quickly that they are not fully harmonized. Inconsistency of protection for passengers, which is also affected by the uncertainty of the passenger, is not the only drawback. At certain points there is also a lacuna in 10 some provisions in respect of which the key role the European Court of Justice had to play. Nowadays, the protection of passenger%s rights is considered to be an important economic aspect, however, the practice shows that the passengers are insufficiently aware of their rights. Moreover, there are differences between transport sectors. While there are numerous decisions of the ECJ in the field of air transport, this cannot be said for other transport sectors. Upon closer examination and comparison of European regulation on the protection of passenger rights we, are therefore in achieving its goal, which is a uniform and effective protection of the rights of passengers in all four modes of transport, only somewhere halfway to the target