Oberster Gerichtshof; 2021-07-02; 4 Nc 22/21d
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:AT:OGH0002:2021:0040NC00022.21D.0702.000
Date: 2021-07-02
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Austria

82021AT0702(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
A consumer domiciled in Austria (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) filed an action against a company domiciled in Ireland (hereinafter ‘the defendant’) demanding the fulfilment of contractual obligations.
The plaintiff filed a petition with the Austrian Oberstes Gerichtshof (hereinafter ‘the Supreme Court’) requesting that the Supreme Court decide which court had local jurisdiction to hear the action, stating that in line with the defendant’s General Terms and Conditions he may sue the defendant in any court in the country of plaintiff’s residence. This provision gave rise to the jurisdiction of the Austrian courts without specifying a concrete court.
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition of the plaintiff.
Under Article 18(1)(2) of the Brussels I Regulation (recast) (1), consumers may bring proceedings against the other party to a contract in the courts for the place where the consumer is domiciled. As this regulation also regulates the local jurisdiction, it is not necessary for consumers to file a petition to the Supreme Court for the determination of a specific court.
The wording of the defendant’s General Terms and Conditions did not exclude this specific jurisdiction, but, on the contrary, granted consumers further possibilities for filing an action according to Article 19(2) of the Brussels I Regulation (recast).
(1) Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.