Supremo Tribunal de Justiça; 2024-03-19; 21307/20.5T8PRT.E2-A.S1
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:PT:STJ:2024:21307.20.5T8PRT.E2.A.S.0E
Date: 2024-03-19
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Portugal

82024PT0319(52)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case regards a matter of jurisdiction in a European order for payment procedure, brought before the Supremo Tribunal de Justiça (hereinafter ‘the Supreme Court’)
A Portuguese company (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) made an application before a Portuguese court (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) for a European order for payment procedure, under Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 (1), against a British company (hereinafter ‘the defendant’).
The defendant lodged a statement of opposition, requesting to be absolved due to the court’s lack of jurisdiction since, according to Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 and the Brussels I Regulation (2), the application should have been submitted in the Member State where the defendant had its registered address, i.e., the United Kingdom.
The plaintiff counter argued, stating that the Brussels I Regulation had been revoked by Brussels I Regulation (recast) (3), which states in Article 7(1)(a) that, in matters relating to a contract, the defendant may be sued in the courts for the place of performance of the obligation in question, which, in the case of the sale of goods, unless otherwise agreed, is the place in a Member State where, under the contract, the goods were delivered or should have been delivered.
The plaintiff presented as evidence invoices which indicated that the goods were delivered in Portugal and transported by the buyer (the defendant) to the United Kingdom. Witnesses also corroborated these facts in court.
The Court of First Instance absolved the defendant, agreeing that it did not have jurisdiction over the matter.
The plaintiff appealed to the Tribunal da Relação de Évora (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’), which annulled the appealed judgment due to a deficiency in the legal basis (it failed to mention which facts were considered proven or not proven).
The case was returned to the Court of First Instance, which corrected the omission but upheld the judgment to absolve the defendant. The plaintiff filed a new appeal. The Court of Appeal revoked the appealed judgment and deemed the Portuguese courts to have jurisdiction. The defendant appealed the Court of Appeal’s judgment, stating that the invoices mentioned as the place of delivery the defendant’s address, and that the invoices have full probatory force, thereby overruling testimony by witnesses.
The Supreme Court upheld the judgment of the Court of Appeal. It considered Portuguese courts to have jurisdiction, because, under the terms of Article 682 of the CPC (4), the Supreme Court is not allowed to alter the judgment of the appealed court regarding matters of fact, unless there was a violation of specific rules regarding evidence (such as facts that may only, according to Law, be proven by a certain type of evidence). Moreover, invoices do not have full probatory force. The appealed court was free to consider all the evidence on an equal footing, in this case, invoices and testimony.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court considered that the sold goods were delivered in Portugal and that, therefore, under the terms of Article 7(1)(a) of the Brussels I Regulation (recast), the Portuguese courts have jurisdiction over this matter.
(1) Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 creating a European order for payment procedure.
(2) Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.
(3) Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (recast).
(4) Código de Processo Civil (Code of Civil Procedure).