Arrondissementsrechtbank Arnhem, vonnis van 30/01/1992 Geodimeter GmbH / Kelderman
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:NL:RBARN:1992:1
Date: 1992-01-30
Subject matter: Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968
Origin: Netherlands

81992NL0130(02)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE SUMMARY
JURE SUMMARY
The plaintiff, a German company, claims payment under a guarantee agreement from the defendant, a person domiciled in The Netherlands. The defendant disputes the jurisdiction of the Rechtbank Arnhem (NL) stating that the parties agreed upon the jurisdiction of the court of Frankfurt am Main (DE). The plaintiff states that the jurisdiction clause was incorporated into the agreement for his sole benefit and that Article 17(4) Brussels Convention allows him therefore to bring his claim before any other court with jurisdiction on the basis of that Convention.
The Rechtbank rejects this as the prorogation by the parties to the court in the place of domicile of one of the parties does not mean that the jurisdiction clause was introduced for the sole benefit of one of the parties. Article 17(4) Brussels Convention is only applicable if it appears clearly that both parties had the common intention to actually benefit one of them. In the present case, this can be neither established from the writing of the clause, from the whole of the agreement nor from the other circumstances of the case. The fact that the contract at hand is a guarantee agreement does not lead to the applicability of Article 17(4) Brussels Convention either. The Rechtbank denies jurisdiction.