Order of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 15 May 2019 — MC

(Case C‑827/18) ( 1 )

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Article 53(2) and Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice — Area of freedom, security and justice — Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters — Lugano II Convention — Article 22(1) — Proceedings which have as their object rights in rem in immovable property or tenancies of immovable property — Restitution of the proceeds from the rental of a property before the transfer of ownership)

1. Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters — Lugano II Convention — Provisions of that convention treated as equivalent to those of Regulations No 44/2001 and No 1215/2012 and of the Brussels Convention — Interpretation of those provisions in accordance with the Court’s case-law relating to those regulations and that latter convention (Conventions of 27 September 1968, Art. 16(1)(a) and of 30 October 2007, Art. 22(1), first para.; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1215/2012, Art. 24(1); Council Regulation No 44/2001, Art. 22(1), first para:) (see para. 19)

2. Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters — Lugano II Convention — Exclusive jurisdiction — Proceedings which have as their object rights in rem in immovable property or tenancies of immovable property —Meaning — Action seeking the payment, to the purchaser of immovable property, of a sum received by the vendor in respect of rent prior to the transfer of that property — Not included (Convention of 30 October 2007, Art. 22(1), first para.) (see paras 23-29, operative part)

3. Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters — Lugano II Convention — Exclusive jurisdiction — Proceedings which have as their object rights in rem in immovable property — Scope — Concept of a right in rem in immovable property (Convention of 30 October 2007, Art. 22(1), first para.) (see paras 24-26)

4. Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters — Lugano II Convention — Exclusive jurisdiction — Disputes regarding tenancies of immovable property — Scope (Convention of 30 October 2007, Art. 22(1), first para.) (see paras 27, 28)

5. Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Admissibility — Reference giving no details of the relevant facts or legislation and not setting out the reasons for making that reference to the Court of Justice — Manifest inadmissibility (Art. 267 TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Arts 53(2) and 94; Convention of 30 October 2007, Arts 5(1) and 22(1), first para.) (see paras 31-37)

Operative part

Article 22(1), first subparagraph, of the Convention on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, signed on 30 October 2007, the conclusion of which was approved on behalf of the European Community by Council Decision 2009/430/EC of 27 November 2008, must be interpreted as meaning that proceedings brought by the purchaser of immovable property, seeking the payment of a sum received by the vendor in respect of rent paid by a third party, where that purchaser, although he had taken possession of that property at the time of the payment of that sum, was not yet the owner in law of that property, in accordance with the applicable national legislation, do not constitute proceedings ‘which have as their object rights in rem in immovable property or tenancies of immovable property’ within the meaning of that provision.

( 1 ) OJ C 103, 18.3.2019.