Rechtbank Rotterdam, uitspraak van 04/02/1999 HA-ZA 98-376
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:NL:RBROT:1999:2
Date: 1999-02-04
Subject matter: Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968
Origin: Netherlands

81999NL0204(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE SUMMARY
JURE SUMMARY
The defendant, domiciled in Belgium, was the director of several companies with limited liability under Dutch law in the Netherlands. The Dutch tax authority demanded payment from the defendant of these companies’ income and national insurance charges, plus a penalty for late payment of taxes and interest on arrears. The tax authority lodged a claim before the Rechtbank of Rotterdam (NL). The defendant raised concerns over the court’s jurisdiction and referred to the Brussels Convention.
The Rechtbank of Rotterdam (NL) determines that this case does not concern a civil-legal dispute but is instead a dispute under tax law, which Article 1 Brussels Convention explicitly excludes from the Convention’s scope of applicability. Furthermore, the applicability of the Brussels Convention is already precluded because the claimant makes its claim in its capacity as a government body. The fact that the civil courts have jurisdiction over the proceeding does not alter this. The Rechtbank accepts its jurisdiction.