Višje sodišče v Ljubljani; 2018-04-11; I Cp 2534/2017
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:SI:VSLJ:2018:I.CP.2534.2017
Date: 2018-04-11
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Slovenia

82018SI0411(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
The parties to this dispute, both domiciled in Slovenia, agreed on a sales contract for real estate located in Croatia. The plaintiff decided to not enter into the contract and filed an action in which it sought the return of EUR 7.000 already paid to the defendant.
The Okrajno sodišče v Ljubljani (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) declared the lack of its jurisdiction and dismissed the action.
The plaintiff appealed to the Višje sodišče v Ljubljani (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’). It alleged that only the non-signed draft of the contract contained a jurisdiction clause in favour of the court in Croatia and that the parties had already agreed on the annulment of their agreement.
The Court of Appeal held that there must be an international element connected to the case in order to declare the lack of jurisdiction of the Slovenian courts. The subject of the dispute was a monetary claim and the money was paid and was sought to be returned in Slovenia. Both the parties were domiciled in Slovenia too. Therefore, no international element was found in this dispute. Neither European legislation (Brussels I Regulation (1)), nor national legislation (ZMZPP (2)) can justify the jurisdiction of a foreign court over this dispute.
The appeal was granted, and the first instance decision was annulled.
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.
(2) Zakon o mednarodnem zasebnem pravu in postopku (Law on Private International Law and Procedure).