Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1996:202
Date: 1996-05-14
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968;Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968 - Jurisdiction
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: United Kingdom

Summary of the Judgmen t 
Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments — Accession of new Contracting 
States — Spain — Portugal — Transitional provisions — Lis pendens — Proceedings involving 
the same cause of action and between the same parties in two different Contracting States — 
First proceedings brought before and second proceedings after the entry into force of the Acces­
sion Convention between the two States — Application of Article 21 of the Convention on Juris­
diction and the Enforcement of Judgments by the court second seised — Conditions 
(Convention of 27 September 1968, Art. 21; 1989 Accession Convention, Art. 29) 
I - 5451 
SUMMARY — CASE C-163/95 
Article 29(1) of the Convention of 26 May 
1989 on the Accession of the Kingdom of 
Spain and the Portuguese Republic to the 
Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforce­
ment of Judgments in Civil and Commercial 
Matters must be interpreted as meaning that 
where proceedings involving the same cause 
of action and between the same parties are 
pending in two different Contracting States, 
the first proceedings having been brought 
before the date of entry into force of the 
Brussels Convention between those States 
and the second proceedings after that date, 
the court second seised must apply Article 
21 of the latter Convention if the court first 
seised has assumed jurisdiction on the basis 
of a rule which accords with the provisions 
of Title II of that Convention or with the 
provisions of a convention which was in 
force between the two States concerned 
when the proceedings were instituted; if the 
court first seised has not yet ruled on 
whether it has jurisdiction, the court second 
seised must apply that article provisionally. 
On the other hand, the latter court must not 
apply Article 21 of the Convention on Juris­
diction and the Enforcement of Judgments in 
Civil and Commercial Matters if the court 
first seised has assumed jurisdiction on the 
basis of a rule which does not accord with 
the provisions of Title II of that Convention 
or with the provisions of a convention which 
was in force between those two States when 
the proceedings were instituted. 
I - 5452