Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2009:544
Date: 2009-09-10
Language of the case: Dutch
Court formation: First Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Area of freedom, security and justice;Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Concepts: Jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments – Civil and commercial matters;Insolvency procedures
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary of the Judgment 1. Judicial cooperation in civil matters – Jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters – Regulation No 44/2001 – Recognition and enforcement of judgments – Judgments within the meaning of Article 25(1) and (2) of Regulation No 1346/2000 (Council Regulations No 1346/2000, Art. 25(1) and (2), and No 44/2001) 2. Judicial cooperation in civil matters – Jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters – Regulation No 44/2001 – Scope – Matters excluded – Bankruptcy, proceedings relating to the winding-up of insolvent companies or other legal persons, judicial arrangements, compositions and analogous proceedings – Operation (Council Regulations No 1346/2000, Arts 4(2)(b) and 7(1), and No 44/2001, Art. 1(2)(b)) 1. Article 25(2) of Regulation No 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings must be interpreted as meaning that the words ‘provided that that Convention is applicable’ imply that, before it can be concluded that the recognition and enforcement provisions of Regulation No 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters are applicable to judgments other than those referred to in Article 25(1) of Regulation No 1346/2000, it is necessary to determine whether such judgments fall outside the material scope of Regulation No 44/2001. Such a determination is necessary where it is conceivable that, among the judgments referred to in Article 25(2) of Regulation No 1346/2000 which do not fall within the scope of application of that regulation, there are also some judgments which do not come within the scope of application of Regulation No 44/2001 either. In that regard, it follows from the wording of Article 25(2) that the application of Regulation No 44/2001 to a judgment within the meaning of that provision is subject to the condition that that judgment should fall within the material scope of Regulation No 44/2001. It follows that, if the judgment concerned does not apply to civil or commercial matters, or if it is excluded from the scope of application of Regulation No 44/2001, as laid down by Article 1 thereof, that regulation cannot be applied. (see paras 17-18, 20, operative part 1) 2. The exception provided for in Article 1(2)(b) of Regulation No 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, read in conjunction with Article 7(1) of Regulation No 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings, must be interpreted, account being taken of the provisions of Article 4(2)(b) of the latter regulation, as meaning that it does not apply to an action brought by a seller based on a reservation of title against a purchaser who is insolvent, where the asset covered by the reservation of title is situated in the Member State of the opening of those proceedings at the time of opening of those proceedings against that purchaser. The closeness of the link between such an action and the insolvency proceedings is decisive for the purposes of deciding whether the exclusion in question is applicable. Where it seeks only to ensure the application of the reservation of title clause, that link is neither sufficiently direct nor sufficiently close to exclude the application of Regulation No 44/2001. Therefore, such an action constitutes an independent claim, as it is not based on the law of the insolvency proceedings and requires neither the opening of such proceedings nor the involvement of a liquidator. The mere fact that the liquidator is a party to the proceedings is not sufficient to classify those proceedings as proceedings deriving directly from the insolvency and being closely linked to proceedings for realising assets. (see paras 29-33, 38, operative part 2)