Case C‑9/12

Corman-Collins SA

v

La Maison du Whisky SA

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de commerce, Verviers)

‛Jurisdiction in civil and commercial matters — Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 — Article 2 — Article 5(1)(a) and (b) — Special jurisdiction in matters relating to contract — Concepts of ‘sale of goods’ and ‘supply of services’ — Agreement for the distribution of goods’

Summary — Judgment of the Court (First Chamber), 19 December 2013

1. Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters — Regulation No 44/2001 — Exclusive distribution agreement — Dispute between the grantor and the distributor — Grantor established in a different Member State from that of the distributor — Rules in that Member State allocating jurisdiction to the national courts in disputes concerning the unilateral termination of distribution agreements — Unlawful

   (Council Regulation No 44/2001, Art. 2)

2. Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters — Regulation No 44/2001 — Special jurisdiction — Article 5(1)(b), second indent — Concepts of supply of services — Exclusive distribution contract containing specific stipulation about the distribution by the grantor of the goods sold by the distributor — Included — Determination by the national court

   (Council Regulation No 44/2001, Art. 5(1)(b), second indent)

1.  Article 2 of Regulation No 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters must be interpreted as meaning that, where the defendant is domiciled in a Member State other than that in which the court seised is situated, it precludes the application of a national rule of jurisdiction relating to the unilateral termination of exclusive distribution agreements which provide that the national courts have jurisdiction where the grantor is established in its territory and the distribution agreement produces all or part of its effects there.

   If a case presenting an international element falls within the scope ratione materiae of the regulation, and if the defendant is domiciled in a Member State, the rules of jurisdiction laid down by the regulation must, in principle, be applied and prevail over national rules of jurisdiction.

   (see paras 22, 23, operative part 1)

2.  Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation No 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters must be interpreted as meaning that the rule of jurisdiction laid down in the second indent of that provision for disputes relating to contracts for the supply of services is applicable in the case of a legal action by which a plaintiff established in one Member State claims, against a defendant established in another Member State, rights arising from an exclusive distribution agreement, which requires the contract binding the parties to contain specific terms concerning the distribution by the distributor of goods sold by the grantor. It is for the national court to ascertain whether that is the case in the proceedings before it.

   (see para. 43, operative part 2)