Oberster Gerichtshof, Urteil vom 01/08/2003 1 Ob 240/02d
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:AT:OGH0002:2003:RS0117854
Date: 2003-08-01
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Austria

82003AT0801(01)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE SUMMARY
JURE SUMMARY
The plaintiff is a stock company having its seat in Germany. It demanded payment from the defendant limited liability company, which also has its seat in Germany, on the basis of an agreement. The agreement was based on the general terms and conditions of the plaintiff. The plaintiff invoked a jurisdiction clause in favour of the Austrian courts contained in the general terms and conditions. While the Landesgericht of Linz (AT) accepted jurisdiction due to the jurisdiction clause, the Oberlandesgericht of Linz held that it lacked jurisdiction. The plaintiff appealed to the Oberste Gerichtshof (OGH, AT).
The OGH (AT) holds that there is no jurisdiction agreement according to Article 23(1) Brussels I Regulation. It finds that the necessary pesonal or factual cross border element is lacking, since both parties have their seat in the same Member State and there is no justified interest in choosing a foreign court. This requirement does not derive from the wording of Article 23 Brussels I Regulation. However, this Article has to be interpreted teleologically, as purely domestic disputes without any international element are not intended to be governed by the Regulation. This is so evident, that a reference for a preliminary ruling to the ECJ is not necessary.