Gerechtshof Arnhem, uitspraak van 13/07/2004 2003/574
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:NL:GHARN:2004:AR4645
Date: 2004-07-13
Subject matter: Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968
Origin: Netherlands

82004NL0713(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE SUMMARY
JURE SUMMARY
The plaintiff, a Dutch company, and the defendant, a company from the Cayman Islands, concluded a transport agreement with respect to a shipment of goods to La Guaira (Venezuela) for which the plaintiff received a bill of lading. The plaintiff claims damages from the defendant as a result of the non-delivery of the goods. The bill of lading contains a jurisdiction clause for the courts in the United States. The defendant contested the jurisdiction and argues to this end that the parties agreed on an exclusive jurisdiction clause for the courts in the United States. The Rechtbank Arnhem (NL), however, assumed jurisdiction and states that the jurisdiction clause agreed by the parties is not exclusive. The defendant entered an appeal against this decision.
The Hof Arnhem (NL) states that the validity of the jurisdiction clause is to be assessed on the basis of Dutch commune law, however, the Hof interprets the Dutch rules on jurisdiction clauses in accordance with Article 17 Brussels Convention, on which the Dutch rule was based. The court states that for the validity of the jurisdiction clause, it is not required that the specific court is designated as having jurisdiction and the Hof refers to Article 17 Brussels Convention which does not make such demands. The Hof further rules that within the framework of Article 17 Brussels Convention the designation of the courts of the United States provides for sufficient objective indicators on the basis of which a court in the United States will be able to assess its jurisdiction. Furthermore, the court considers that the fact that parties are not domiciled in the United States and that the agreement conferring jurisdiction has no connection with that State, does not affect its validity.