Nejvyšší soud ČR; 2021-03-23; 30 Nd 54/2021
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:CZ:NS:2021:30.ND.54.2021.1
Date: 2021-03-23
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Czechia

82021CZ0323(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case regards the territorial jurisdiction determination by the Nejvyšší soud (hereinafter ‘the Supreme Court’).
The insolvency administrator (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) of assets of a Czech company filed an application in which it sought to pay the outstanding debt arising out of a works contract. The debtor was a company domiciled in Germany (hereinafter ‘the defendant’).
The Okresní soud v Ostravě (hereinafter ‘Court of First Instance’) considered the Czech courts having jurisdiction under the agreement conferring jurisdiction agreed between the parties in compliance with Article 25 of the Brussels I Regulation (recast) (1). However, the parties agreed to the jurisdiction of the Krajský soud v Ostravě, a court of higher instance. The Court of First Instance believed the case did not belong to the higher-instance court. Since the international jurisdiction of the Czech courts was given, but the territorial jurisdiction of the specific court was unclear, the Court of First Instance referred the case to the Supreme Court for jurisdiction determination according to Article 11(3) of the o.s.ř. (2).
The Supreme Court upheld the conclusion that the parties concluded a valid agreement conferring jurisdiction in favour of the Czech courts. The parties agreed that all potential disputes arising out of the contract would be assessed by the higher court located in Ostrava. However, the court designated in the parties’ agreement lacks subject-matter jurisdiction to hear the action. If the parties choose a court without subject-matter jurisdiction, their agreement must be considered as if they had chosen the nearest court of subject-matter jurisdiction to the court chosen.
The Supreme Court held that territorial jurisdiction to hear and decide the case lies with the Court of First Instance, following the principle of economy and effectiveness of the proceedings (since the proceedings were initiated there).
(1) 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.
(2) Občanský soudní řád (Code of Civil Procedure).