Oberster Gerichtshof, Urteil vom 18/11/2011 3 Nc 22/11g
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:AT:OGH0002:2011:RS0127560
Date: 2011-11-18
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Austria

82011AT1118(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE SUMMARY
JURE SUMMARY
The plaintiff is a consumer. He intends to bring an action before the court for the place of his domicile in Austria, the Bezirksgericht of Krems (AT) against his contractual partner, the seat of which lies in Switzerland. The plaintiff requested during so-called "Ordination" proceedings (proceedings to accept jurisdiction) that the Bezirksgericht of Krems declare itself the court of local competence for the case. He noted that the provisions of the Lugano Convention regulate solely the international aspect of jurisdiction in consumer actions, and not local jurisdiction. As Austrian rules of civil procedure do not designate a court of local jurisdiction for consumer actions, such must be designated by the OGH via Ordination.
The OGH dismisses the request. It points out that the Lugano Convention of 2007 has been in effect between Austria and Switzerland since 01 January 2011. Pursuant to Article 15(1)(c) Lugano Convention 2007, the instant case must be treated as a consumer matter. The object of the Contracting States of the Lugano Convention 2007 in revising the Convention was to incorporate the principles of the Brussels I Regulation into the Lugano Convention in the interest of reinforcing the legal and commerical cooperation. Article 16 of the Lugano Convention 2007 therefore corresponds word for word to Article 16 Brussels I Regulation. Regarding jurisdiction under Article 16 Brussels I Regulation, the OGH has already ruled multiple times that local jurisdiction is regulated alongside international jurisdiction. The same goes for Article 16 Lugano Convention 2007. The determination of a court of local competence in Ordination proceedings is therefore no longer necessary under Article 16. Rather, the Bezirksgericht of Krems already has international and local jurisdiction directly on the basis of this provision.