Nejvyšší soud; 2019-05-22; 33 Nd 115/2019
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:CZ:NS:2019:33.ND.115.2019.1
Date: 2019-05-22
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Czechia

82019CZ0522(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case regards a question of international and local jurisdiction of the Czech courts in a matter concerning the international carriage of goods assessed by the Nejvyšší soud (hereinafter ‘the Supreme Court’).
A transport company domiciled in the Czech Republic (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) entered into a contract with a company domiciled in France (hereinafter ‘the defendant’) for an international shipment of goods from Rousset (France) to Litvínov (the Czech Republic). As the shipment costs were left unpaid, the plaintiff applied before the Obvodní soud pro Prahu 4 (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance in Prague 4’) seeking repayment of the debt.
The Court of First Instance in Prague 4 declared a lack of local jurisdiction to hear the case and referred it to the Supreme Court on the basis of § 11(3) of the o. s. ř. (1), according to which the Supreme Court shall decide which court shall have local jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court cited the CMR (2), namely its Article 1(1), according to which the CMR also applies to the present case, and its Article 31(1)(b), according to which the jurisdiction of the Czech courts is reliably established since the place designated for delivery is undoubtedly situated in the Czech Republic. Pursuant to Article 71(1) of the Brussels I Regulation (3), the jurisdictional rules stipulated by Article 31 of the CMR may take precedence over those provided by the Brussels I Regulation.
Since the place designated for delivery (Litvínov) lies within the territorial jurisdiction of the Obvodní soud v Mostě (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance in Most’), the Supreme Court decided that it will be the Court of First Instance in Most which shall be seised for hearing this case.
(1) Občanský soudní řád (Code of Civil Procedure)
(2) Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR).
(3) Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.