PROTOCOL on the interpretation by the Court of Justice of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (*)

THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES TO THE TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY,

Having regard to the Declaration annexed to the Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, signed at Brussels on 27 September 1968,

Have decided to conclude a Protocol conferring jurisdiction on the Court of Justice of the European Communities to interpret that Convention, and to this end have designated as their Plenipotentiaries:

HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS:

Mr Alfons VRANCKX,

Minister of Justice; (*) Text as amended by the Convention of 9 October 1978 on the accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - hereafter referred to as the "1978 Accession Convention" - and by the Convention of 25 October 1982 on the accession of the Hellenic Republic - hereafter referred to as the "1982 Accession Convention".

THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY:

Mr Gerhard JAHN,

Federal Minister of Justice;

THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC:

Mr René PLEVEN,

Keeper of the Seals,

Minister of Justice;

THE PRESIDENT OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC:

Mr Erminio PENNACCHINI,

Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice;

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE GRAND DUKE OF LUXEMBOURG:

Mr Eugène SCHAUS,

Minister of Justice,

Deputy Prime Minister;

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE NETHERLANDS:

Mr C.H.F. POLAK,

Minister of Justice;

WHO, meeting within the Council, having exchanged their Full Powers, found in good and due form,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have jurisdiction to give rulings on the interpretation of the Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters and of the Protocol annexed to that Convention, signed at Brussels on 27 September 1968, and also on the interpretation of the present Protocol.

The Court of Justice of the European Communities shall also have jurisdiction to give rulings on the interpretation of the Convention on the accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Convention of 27 September 1968 and to this Protocol (1).

The Court of Justice of the European Communities shall also have jurisdiction to give rulings on the interpretation of the Convention on the accession of the Hellenic Republic to the Convention of 27 September 1968 and to this Protocol, as adjusted by the 1978 Convention (2).

Article 2

The following courts may request the Court of Justice to give preliminary rulings on questions of interpretation:

1. - in Belgium : la Cour de Cassation - het Hof van Cassatie and le Conseil d'État - de Raad van State,

- in Denmark : højesteret,

- in the Federal Republic of Germany : die obersten Gerichtshöfe des Bundes, (1) Second paragraph added by Article 30 of the 1978 Accession Convention. (2) Third paragraph added by Article 10 of the 1982 Accession Convention.

- >PIC FILE= "T0035552">

- in France : la Cour de Cassation and le Conseil d'État,

- in Ireland : the Supreme Court,

- in Italy : la Corte Suprema di Cassazione,

- in Luxembourg : la Cour supérieure de Justice when sitting as Cour de Cassation,

- in the Netherlands : de Hoge Raad,

- in the United Kingdom : the House of Lords and courts to which application has been made under the second paragraph of Article 37 or under Article 41 of the Convention (1)

2. the courts of the Contracting States when they are sitting in an appellate capacity;

3. in the cases provided for in Article 37 of the Convention, the courts referred to in that Article.

Article 3

1. Where a question of interpretation of the Convention or of one of the other instruments referred to in Article 1 is raised in a case pending before one of the courts listed in point 1 of Article 2, that court shall, if it considers that a decision on the question is necessary to enable it to give judgment, request the Court of Justice to give a ruling thereon.

2. Where such a question is raised before any court referred to in point 2 or 3 of Article 2, that court may, under the conditions laid down in paragraph 1, request the Court of Justice to give a ruling thereon.

Article 4

1. The competent authority of a Contracting State may request the Court of Justice to give a ruling on a question of interpretation of the Convention or of one of the other instruments referred to in Article 1 if judgments given by courts of that State conflict with the interpretation given either by the Court of Justice or in a judgment of one of the courts of another Contracting State referred to in point 1 or 2 of Article 2. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply only to judgments which have become res judicata.

2. The interpretation given by the Court of Justice in response to such a request shall not affect the judgments which gave rise to the request for interpretation.

3. The Procurators-General of the Courts of Cassation of the Contracting States, or any other authority designated by a Contracting State, shall be entitled to request the Court of Justice for a ruling on interpretation in accordance with paragraph 1.

4. The Registrar of the Court of Justice shall give notice of the request to the Contracting States, to the Commission and to the Council of the European Communities ; they shall then be entitled within two months of the notification to submit statements of case or written observations to the Court.

5. No fees shall be levied or any costs or expenses awarded in respect of the proceedings provided for in this Article.

Article 5

1. Except where this Protocol otherwise provides, the provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and those of the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice annexed thereto, which are applicable when the Court is requested to give a preliminary ruling, shall also apply to any proceedings for the interpretation of the Convention and the other instruments referred to in Article 1.

2. The Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice shall, if necessary, be adjusted and supplemented in accordance with Article 188 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community.

Article 6 (2)

This Protocol shall apply to the European territories of the Contracting States, including Greenland, to the French overseas departments and territories, and to Mayotte.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands may declare at the time of signing or ratifying this Protocol or at any later time, by notifying the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities, that this Protocol shall be applicable to the Netherlands Antilles.

Notwithstanding the first paragraph, this Convention shall not apply to: 1. the Faroe Islands, unless the Kingdom of Denmark makes a declaration to the contrary, (1) Point I as amended by Article 31 of the 1978 Accession Convention and by Article 11 of the 1982 Accession Convention. (2) Text as amended by Article 32 of the 1978 Accession Convention.

2. any European territory situated outside the United Kingdom for the international relations of which the United Kingdom is responsible, unless the United Kingdom makes a declaration to the contrary in respect of any such territory.

Such declarations may be made at any time by notifying the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities.

Article 7 (1)

This Protocol shall be ratified by the signatory States. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities.

Article 8 (2)

This Protocol shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following the deposit of the instrument of ratification by the last signatory State to take this step ; provided that it shall at the earliest enter into force at the same time as the Convention of 27 September 1968 on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.

Article 9

The Contracting States recognize that any State which becomes a member of the European Economic Community, and to which Article 63 of the Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters applies, must accept the provisions of this Protocol, subject to such adjustments as may be required.

Article 10 (3)

The Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities shall notify the signatory States of: (a) the deposit of each instrument of ratification;

(b) the date of entry into force of this Protocol;

(c) any designation received pursuant to Article 4 (3);

(d) any declaration received pursuant to Article 6 (4)

(1) Ratification of the 1978 Accession Convention is governed by Article 38 of that Convention which reads as follows:

"Article 38

This Convention shall be ratified by the signatory States. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities."

Ratification of the 1982 Accession Convention is governed by Article 14 of that Convention which reads as follows:

"Article 14

This Convention shall be ratified by the signatory States. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities."

(2) Entry into force of the 1978 Accession Convention is governed by Article 39 of that Convention, which reads as follows:

"Article 39

This Convention shall enter into force, as between the States which shall have ratified it, on the first day of the third month following the deposit of the last instrument of ratification by the original Member States of the Community and one new Member State.

It shall enter into force for each new Member State which subsequently ratifies it on the first day of the third month following the deposit of its instrument of ratification."

The entry into force of the 1982 Accession Convention is governed by Article 15 of that Convention, which reads as follows:

"Article 15

This Convention shall enter into force, as between the States which have ratified it, on the first day of the third month following the deposit of the last instrument of ratification by the Hellenic Republic and those States which have put into force the 1978 Convention in accordance with Article 39 of that Convention.

It shall enter into force for each Member State which subsequently ratifies it on the first day of the third month following the deposit of its instrument of ratification."

(3) Notification concerning the 1978 Accession Convention is governed by Article 40 of that Convention which reads as follows:

"Article 40

The Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities shall notify the signatory States of: (a) the deposit of each instrument of ratification,

(b) the dates of entry into force of this Convention for the Contracting States."

Notification concerning the 1982 Accession Convention is governed by Article 16 of that Convention, which reads as follows:

"Article 16

The Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities shall notify the signatory States of: (a) the deposit of each instrument of ratification,

(b) the dates of entry into force of this Convention for the Contracting States."

(4) Point (d) as amended by Article 33 of the 1978 Accession Convention. Article 11

The Contracting States shall communicate to the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities the texts of any provisions of their laws which necessitate an amendment to the list of courts in point 1 of Article 2.

Article 12

This Protocol is concluded for an unlimited period.

Article 13

Any Contracting State may request the revision of this Protocol. In this event, a revision conference shall be convened by the President of the Council of the European Communities.

Article 14 (1)

This Protocol, drawn up in a single original in the Dutch, French, German and Italian languages, all four texts being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Secretariat of the Council of the European Communities. The Secretary-General shall transmit a certified copy to the Government of each signatory State (2).

(1) An indication of the authentic texts of the 1978 Accession Convention is to be found in Article 41 of that Convention, which reads as follows:

"Article 41

This Convention, drawn up in a single original in the Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Irish and Italian languages, all seven texts being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Secretariat of the Council of the European Communities. The Secretary-General shall transmit a certified copy to the Government of each signatory State."

An indication of the authentic texts of the 1982 Accession Convention is to be found in Article 17 of that Convention, which reads as follows:

"Article 17

This Convention, drawn up in a single original in the Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Irish and Italian languages, all eight texts being equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Communities. The Secretary-General shall transmit a certified copy to the Government of each signatory State."

(2) Legal backing for the drawing up of the authentic texts of the 1968 Convention in the official languages of the acceding Member States is to be found: - with regard to the 1978 Accession Convention, in Article 37 of that Convention, which reads as follows:

"Article 37

The Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities shall transmit a certified copy of the 1968 Convention and of the 1971 Protocol in the Dutch, French, German and Italian languages to the Governments of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The texts of the 1968 Convention and the 1971 Protocol, drawn up in the Danish, English and Irish languages, shall be annexed to this Convention (1). The texts drawn up in the Danish, English and Irish languages shall be authentic under the same conditions as the original texts of the 1968 Convention and the 1971 Protocol."

- with regard to the 1982 Accession Convention, in Article 13 of that Convention, which reads as follows:

"Article 13

The Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities shall transmit a certified copy of the 1968 Convention, of the 1971 Protocol and of the 1978 Convention in the Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Irish and Italian languages to the Government of the Hellenic Republic.

The texts of the 1968 Convention, of the 1971 Protocol and of the 1978 Convention, drawn up in the Greek language, shall be annexed to this Convention. The texts drawn up in the Greek language shall be authentic under the same conditions as the other texts of the 1968 Convention, the 1971 Protocol and the 1978 Convention."

In witness whereof, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have signed this Protocol.

Done at Luxembourg this third day of June in the year one thousand nine hundred and seventy-one.

For His Majesty the King of the Belgians,

Alfons VRANCKX

For the President of the Federal Republic of Germany,

Gerhard JAHN

For the President of the French Republic,

René PLEVEN

For the President of the Italian Republic,

Erminio PENNACCHINI

For His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxembourg,

Eugène SCHAUS

For Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands,

C.H.F. POLAK

JOINT DECLARATION

The Governments of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of the Netherlands;

On signing the Protocol on the interpretation by the Court of Justice of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters;

Desiring to ensure that the provisions of that Protocol are applied as effectively and as uniformly as possible;

Declare themselves ready to organize, in cooperation with the Court of Justice, an exchange of information on the judgments given by the courts referred to in Article 2 (1) of that Protocol in application of the Convention and the Protocol of 27 September 1968.

In witness whereof, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have signed this Joint Declaration.

Done at Luxembourg this third day of June in the year one thousand nine hundred and seventy-one.

For His Majesty the King of the Belgians,

Alfons VRANCKX

For the President of the Federal Republic of Germany,

Gerhard JAHN

For the President of the French Republic,

René PLEVEN

For the President of the Italian Republic,

Erminio PENNACCHINI

For His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxembourg,

Eugène SCHAUS

For Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands,

C.H.F. POLAK