Case C-452/12: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 19 December 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Landgericht Krefeld — Germany) — Nipponkoa Insurance Co. (Europe) Ltd v Inter-Zuid Transport BV (Judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters — Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 — Articles 27, 33 and 71 — Lis pendens — Recognition and enforcement of judgments — Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) — Article 31(2) — Rules for coexistence — Action for indemnity — Action for a negative declaration — Negative declaratory judgment)
Date: 2013-12-19
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: carriage of goods, contract of carriage, enforcement of ruling, indemnification, international road transport, judicial cooperation in civil matters in the EU








C_2014052EN.01001902.xml










22.2.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 52/19





Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 19 December 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Landgericht Krefeld — Germany) — Nipponkoa Insurance Co. (Europe) Ltd v Inter-Zuid Transport BV
(Case C-452/12) (1)

(Judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters - Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 - Articles 27, 33 and 71 - Lis pendens - Recognition and enforcement of judgments - Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) - Article 31(2) - Rules for coexistence - Action for indemnity - Action for a negative declaration - Negative declaratory judgment)
2014/C 52/32
Language of the case: German

Referring court

Landgericht Krefeld

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Nipponkoa Insurance Co. (Europe) Ltd

Defendant: Inter-Zuid Transport BV

Intervener: DTC Surhuisterveen BV

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Landgericht Krefeld — Interpretation of Articles 27 and 71 of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (‘Brussels I’) (OJ 2001 L 12, p. 1) — Relationship with the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) — Rules on inter-relationship — Lis pendens — Duty to interpret Article 31(2) of the CMR in the light of Article 27 of the Brussels I Regulation — Relationship between an action for damages by the sender of the goods or the consignee thereof and a declaratory action by the carrier seeking a declaration that he is not liable for the damage or, if he is liable, that his liability is limited to a maximum amount (‘action for a negative declaration’).

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 71 of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters must be interpreted as meaning that it precludes an international convention from being interpreted in a manner which fails to ensure, under conditions at least as favourable as those provided for by that regulation, that the underlying objectives and principles of that regulation are observed.










2.


Article 71 of Regulation No 44/2001 must be interpreted as meaning that it precludes an interpretation of Article 31(2) of the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road, signed in Geneva on 19 May 1956, as amended by the Protocol signed in Geneva on 5 July 1978, according to which an action for a negative declaration or a negative declaratory judgment in one Member State does not have the same cause of action as an action for indemnity between the same parties in another Member State.






(1)  OJ C 26, 26.1.2013.