Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1. Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments ° Rules of jurisdiction ° Autonomous interpretation

2. Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments ° Special jurisdiction ° Court of the place of performance of the contractual obligation ° Contract of employment ° Place of performance of the obligation characterizing the contract ° Autonomous concept ° Place of performance by the employee of the work stipulated ° Work performed in more than one Contracting State ° Place where or from which the employee principally discharges his obligations

(Convention of 27 September 1968, Art. 5(1))

Summary

1. The terms used in the Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters must be interpreted autonomously. Only such an interpretation is capable of ensuring uniform application of the Convention, the objectives of which include unification of the rules on jurisdiction of the Contracting States, so as to avoid as far as possible the multiplication of the bases of jurisdiction in relation to one and the same legal relationship and to reinforce the legal protection available to persons established in the Community by, at the same time, allowing the plaintiff easily to identify the court before which he may bring an action and the defendant reasonably to foresee the court before which he may be sued.

2. In view of the specific nature of contracts of employment, the place of performance of the obligation in question, for the purposes of applying Article 5(1) of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, must, in the case of such contracts, be determined by reference not to the applicable national law in accordance with the conflict rules of the court seised but, rather, to uniform criteria laid down by the Court of Justice on the basis of the scheme and the objectives of the Convention. The place of performance is the place where the employee actually carries out the work covered by the contract with his employer.

Where the employee performs his work in more than one Contracting State, the place of performance of the contractual obligation, within the meaning of that provision, must be defined as the place where or from which the employee discharges principally his obligations towards his employer.