ECJ: Choice of Court Agreement under Brussels I Regulation Effective Without Foreign Element

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Last week, the European Court of Justice held that choice of court agreements fall within the scope of Article 25(1) Brussels I Regulation if parties to a contract domiciled in the same Member State agree on the jurisdiction of the courts of another Member State, even if the contract has no further connection with that other Member State. Continue reading

International Civil Procedure: News as of 1 September 2023

On September 1, 2023, the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters enters into force. In German domestic law, the jurisdiction for the enforcement of foreign judgments is newly defined – as of today, the dictrict courts (Landgerichte) will have exclusive competence in these matters. Continue reading

Federal Supreme Court: Jurisdictional Issues in the “Lost Art” Database Case

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The judgment of the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) in the “Lost Art” database case so far has attracted attention primarily because of its significance for art and restitution law. However, it has something to offer not only in terms of substantive law (more on this will be forthcoming shortly), but also in terms of procedural law: In the judgment published yesterday, the court also considered the question of international jurisdiction based on the failure of a defendant domiciled outside a Member State of the European Union to object to the jurisdiction of the German courts. Continue reading

The German “Commercial Courts” Dilemma

In an M&A contract, the parties consider agreeing on the jurisdiction of the German courts. The corporate guys get in touch: “Isn’t there this M&A chamber at the Frankfurt District Court, where they conduct proceedings in English…?”

Well:

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