Hof Amsterdam, uitspraak van 26/04/2007 2180/05
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2007:388
Date: 2007-04-26
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Netherlands

82007NL0426(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE SUMMARY
JURE SUMMARY
The plaintiff, with its seat in the Netherlands, was the commercial agent of the defendant, seated in Belgium. The contract formed among the parties contained a jurisdiction agreement, according to which the Belgian courts had jurisdiction over actions raised by the defendant, and the Dutch courts had jurisdiction over actions raised by the plaintiff. The defendant filed before the Rechtbank van Koophandel of Veurne (BE) to cancel the contract. The action was thrown out on 27.10.2004. The plaintiff filed claims with the Kantongerecht of Alkmaar (NL) for commission fees. The defendant motioned under Article 28 Brussels I Regulation to transfer the case to the Rechtbank van Koophandel of Veurne (BE). The plaintiff cited the jurisdiction agreement. The defendant countered that a transfer order trumps the jurisdiction agreement. The judge granted the motion to transfer the case and stayed the proceedings until the Belgian judge has decided as to his jurisdiction. In a final judgment, he declared the action to be inadmissible. The plaintiff appealed to the Gerechtshof of Amsterdam (NL).
The Hof of Amsterdam (NL) holds that the judge was not permitted to transfer the case. A transfer pursuant to Article 28 Brussels I Regulation requires that the court first seised also have jurisdiction over the case to be transferred, on which point the Brussels I Regulation does not differentiate according to the basis for jurisdiction. It is not necessary to trump a jurisdiction agreement to avoid irreconcilable judgments, as the court later seised can also stay proceedings. After the proceedings in Belgium ended without the plaintiff's claims achieving pending status before the courts, the judge should have continued the proceedings and decided on the merits. The Hof of Amsterdam (NL) lifts the decision of the court of first instance and denies the case as without merit.