JURE SUMMARY

JURE SUMMARY

An Italian company operated as a commercial representative for a German company in Italy. Subsequently, the Italian company sued the German company in Italy for payment of outstanding commissions as well as damages, as the German company did not use the commercial representative for its purchases in Italy. The defendant challenged the international jurisdiction of the Italian court. The Corte di Cassazione (IT) holds that the Italian court has jurisdiction according to Article 5(1) Brussels Convention. In the present case, several obligations are in dispute, which are to be fulfilled in different Contracting States according to the Italian conflict of law rules. In order to avoid the splitting of the dispute in several courts, the obligation characterising the contract is, in the opinion of the court, to be determined (ECJ 26. 05. 1982 – 133/81 – Ivenel/Schwab). This obligation is the activity by the commercial representative and is to be fulfilled in Italy. The Corte di Cassazione furthermore holds that, should reference be made to the obligation to pay the commission, according to the declarations of the witnesses, the latter must equally be paid at the seat of the creditor and thus in Italy.