CELEX: C2001/028/06
Language: en
Date: 2001-01-27 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 9 November 2000 in Case C-381/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Court of Appeal of England and Wales (Civil Division)): Ingmar GB Ltd v Eaton Leonard Technologies Inc. (Directive 86/653/EEC — Self-employed commercial agent carrying on his activity in a Member State — Principal established in a non-member country — Clause submitting the agency contract to the law of the country of establishment of the principal)

C 28/4                  EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                          27.1.2001
                  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                                      JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                          (Fifth Chamber)                                                             (Fifth Chamber)
                       of 9 November 2000                                                          of 9 November 2000
in Case C-381/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling                       in Case C-387/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
from the Court of Appeal of England and Wales (Civil                       the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden): Coreck Maritime GmbH
Division)): Ingmar GB Ltd v Eaton Leonard Technologies                                     v Handelsveem BV and Others (1)
                                Inc. (1)
                                                                           (Brussels Convention — Article 17 — Clause conferring
(Directive 86/653/EEC — Self-employed commercial agent                               jurisdiction — Formal conditions — Effects)
carrying on his activity in a Member State — Principal
established in a non-member country — Clause submitting
the agency contract to the law of the country of establishment
                                                                                                       (2001/C 28/07)
                          of the principal)
                           (2001/C 28/06)
                                                                                                (Language of the case: Dutch)
                    (Language of the case: English)
                                                                           (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                                                                                               in the European Court Reports)
In Case C-381/98: reference to the Court under Article 177 of
the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Court of Appeal
of England and Wales (Civil Division), United Kingdom, for a               In Case C-387/98: reference to the Court under Article 177 of
preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that                  the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Hoge Raad
court between Ingmar GB Ltd and Eaton Leonard Technologies                 der Nederlanden (Supreme Court of the Netherlands) for a
Inc. — on the interpretation of Council Directive 86/653/EEC               preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
of 18 December 1986 on the coordination of the laws of the                 court between Coreck Maritime GmbH and Handelsveem BV
Member States relating to self-employed commercial agents                  and Others — on the interpretation of the first paragraph of
(OJ 1986 L 382, p. 17) — the Court (Fifth Chamber),                        Article 17 of the abovementioned Convention of 27 September
composed of: M. Wathelet, President of the First Chamber,                  1968 (OJ 1972 L 299, p. 32), as amended by the Convention
acting as President of the Fifth Chamber, D.A.O. Edward and                of 9 October 1978 on the Accession of the Kingdom of
P. Jann (Rapporteur), Judges; P. Léger, Advocate General;                  Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain
L. Hewlett, Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a                  and Northern Ireland (OJ 1978 L 304, p. 1, and — amended
judgment on 9 November 2000, in which it has ruled:                        text — p. 77), by the Convention of 25 October 1982 on the
                                                                           Accession of the Hellenic Republic (OJ 1982 L 388, p. 1) and
                                                                           by the Convention of 26 May 1989 on the Accession of the
                                                                           Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic (OJ 1989
Articles 17 and 18 of Council Directive 86/653/EEC of 18 Decem-            L 285, p. 1) — the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of:
ber 1986 on the coordination of the laws of the Member States              D.A.O. Edward, acting as President of the Fifth Chamber,
relating to self-employed commercial agents, which guarantee certain       P. Jann (Rapporteur) and L. Sevón, Judges; S. Alber, Advocate
rights to commercial agents after termination of agency contracts,         General; H. von Holstein, Deputy Registrar, for the Registrar,
must be applied where the commercial agent carried on his activity in      has given a judgment on 9 November 2000, in which it has
a Member State although the principal is established in a non-             ruled:
member country and a clause of the contract stipulates that the
contract is to be governed by the law of that country.
                                                                           The first paragraph of Article 17 of the Convention of 27 September
                                                                           1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and
                                                                           Commercial Matters, as amended by the Convention of 9 October
(1) OJ C 397 of 19.12.1998.                                                1978 on the Accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the
                                                                           United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, by the
                                                                           Convention of 25 October 1982 on the Accession of the Hellenic
                                                                           Republic and by the Convention of 26 May 1989 on the Accession
                                                                           of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic, must be
                                                                           interpreted as follows: