Conflict of Laws Summary + Weekly Questions (week 6-12)

Weeks PIL Question Case examples Instruments

Week 6 Jurisdiction ● 2 companies Brussels I-bis
with CoC Regulation
Clause

Week 7 Jurisdiction Brussels I-bis
Regulation

Week 8 Jurisdiction Brussels I-bis
Regulation

Week 9 Recognition and ● Brussels I-bis
Enforcement Regulation
● The Hague
Choice of
Court
Convention

Week 10 Choice of Law: ● Rome I
Contract ● CISG
→ Applicable Law

Week 11 Choice of Law:
Contract
→ Applicable Law

Week 12 Choice of Law: Tort ● Rome II
→ Applicable Law ● The Hague
Traffic
Accidents
Convention
● The Hague
Product
Liability
Convention




Week 6 - Jurisdiction I: intro & choice of court
Brussels I-bis Regulation

Scope


Substantive scope: Art. 1
● Art 1(1): Civil and commercial matters

, ○ contract law
○ tort law,
○ company and property law
○ → autonomous concept at EU level (no distinction between MS what
the definition entails) e.g. compensation for war crime by a state
would be still in a public law matter
● Art 1(2): Excluded: family law and law of persons, bankruptcy, social security, arbitration

● LTU v. Eurocontrol: objectives of convention / regulation and general principles in all MS
(thus contract with public authority that acts in exercise of its powers excluded)



Temporal Scope Art 66 and 81
● 10.01. 2015 is the relevant date
● If the proceedings started after that date
● It does not matter when the tort took or contract took place
● Date when the proceedings started not when the contract was concluded
● Art 81 & 66 → when the proceeding started
● Jurisdiction: when proceeding started
● Applicable Law: when the contract was concluded



Geographical scope: main rule Art.4-6
● = which criteria apply to limit the application of this instrument
● Art 4: Main rule: Defendant has to be domiciled in EU-MS (see Art. 62 and 63)
○ How to know the domicile:
● Article 62: if the defendant is a natural person → refers to national law
● Article 63: if the defendant is a legal person (business with legal personality)unified for
EU; applicable to find out the domicile
○ 3 different places where the legal person can have the domicile Art 63(1)
■ Statutory seat Art 63(1)(a) or
■ Central administration Art 63(1)(b) or
■ Principle place of business Art 63(1)(c)
- → met if one of them is in the EU
- If companies have different places in Art 63, then multiple domicile
- Art 63: defendant’s domicile is in _
- Domicile is not sufficient when there is a CoC Clause or weaker party is
involved etc → different geographical scope in Art 25,...


Main rule Art 4 Step 4
Alternative jurisdiction rules Art 7-9 Step 4
Special rules (e.g. for consumers, Art 10-23 Step 3
employment, insurance)

,Exclusive jurisdiction rules Art 24 Step 1
Forum clause Art 25 Step 2
Tacit submission Art 26 Step 5
→ not in a chronological
Lis pendens Art 29-34 order
Provisional/protective Art 35


○ 4 different Articles to apply an alternative geographical scope to Article 4

Exception to main rule in Art 4-6 / alternative geographical scope

a. Is Art 24 applicable? Immovable Property?
b. Is Art 25 applicable? CoC Clause?


1. Exceptions to main rule Art 24 and Art 25 → regardless of domicile of the
parties

, Article 24: Exclusive Jurisdiction - Property
(→ one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts; no other court
than listed)
➔ regardless of the parties’ domicile

● Article 24: 5 different individual grounds of exclusive jurisdiction
Different Geographical Scope to main rule
● Art 24(1): Court of the country where the immovable property is located will have
exclusive jurisdiction to deal with matters regarding this immovable property.
○ Immovable property needs to be located in MS of EU
○ If so → the regulation is geographically applicable and the courts of
the country where the property is located, will have exclusive
jurisdiction to deal with those matters
○ → country that has the closest connection where the property is
located
○ Parties cannot agree that another court has jurisdiction
○ This court determines whether it has jurisdiction acc to Art 24(1) and exclusion
of all other court in EU

⇥Limited to rights In rem: rights that bind everyone erga omnes;
⇥e.g. selling house - contractual rights and personal right → not part
of Art 24


● Art 24(1) Exception
○ However, in proceedings which have as their object tenancies of immovable
property concluded for temporary private use for a maximum period of six
consecutive months, the courts of the Member State in which the defendant is
domiciled shall also have jurisdiction, provided that the tenant is a natural
person and that the landlord and the tenant are domiciled in the same Member
State;
○ → court where the immovable is located + court where the defendant
is domiciled
○ if both claimant and defendant have a common HR in same country, then
another court of a MS (courts where the defendant is domiciled) should have
exclusive jurisdiction alongside the country where the property is located if the
dispute relates to a short term tenancy of less than 6 months
● Art 24(2)
○ In case of validity, nullity, dissolution companies:
■ Courts of place of seat of company (deal according to national law)
● Art 24 (4)
○ In case of registration or validity; IP rights, trade marks patent, place deposit or
registration,...
■ GAT v. Luk: applies regardless whether validity is raised by way of an
action or as a plea of objection (defence) (!)