Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1. Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments — Scope — Civil and commercial matters — Meaning of civil and commercial matters — Action brought by a guarantor against the principal debtor by way of legal subrogation in the context of a contract of guarantee — Included — (Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968, Art. 1, first para.)

2. Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments — Special jurisdiction — Jurisdiction in matters relating to a contract — Meaning — Action brought by a guarantor, by way of subrogation, against the principal debtor in the context of a contract of guarantee concluded with a third party — Excluded where the principal debtor has not authorised the conclusion of the contract — (Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968, Art. 5(1))

Summary

1. An action brought by way of legal subrogation against an importer who owed customs duties by the guarantor who paid those duties to the customs authorities in performance of a contract of guarantee under which it had undertaken to the customs authorities to guarantee payment of the duties in question by the forwarding agent, which had originally been instructed by the principal debtor to pay the debt, does not amount to the exercise of powers falling outside the scope of the rules applicable to relationships between private individuals, and must therefore be regarded as coming within the concept of " civil and commercial matters" within the meaning of the first paragraph of Article 1 of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, as amended by the Convention of 9 October 1978 on the Accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, by the Convention of 25 October 1982 on the Accession of the Hellenic Republic and by the Convention of 26 May 1989 on the Accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic.

see paras 19, 21

2. Article 5(1) of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, as amended by the Convention of 9 October 1978 on the Accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, by the Convention of 25 October 1982 on the Accession of the Hellenic Republic and by the Convention of 26 May 1989 on the Accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic, must be interpreted as follows: " matters relating to a contract" do not cover the obligation which a guarantor who paid customs duties under a guarantee obtained by the forwarding agent seeks to enforce in legal proceedings by way of subrogation to the rights of the customs authorities and by way of recourse against the owner of the goods, if the latter, who was not a party to the contract of guarantee, did not authorise the conclusion of that contract.

see para. 26, operative part