CELEX: C1999/188/05
Language: en
Date: 1999-07-03 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court of 16 March 1999 in Case C-159/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Corte Suprema di Cassazione): Trasporti Castelletti Spedizioni Internazionali SpA v Hugo Trumpy SpA (Brussels Convention - Article 17 - Agreement conferring jurisdiction - Form according with usages in international trade or commerce)

3.7.1999                  EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                              C 188/3
and designations of origin under the procedure laid down in                  and P. Jann (Rapporteur), Presidents of Chambers, G.F. Mancini,
Article 17 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 (OJ 1996                   C. Gulmann, J.L. Murray, D.A.O. Edward, H. Ragnemalm,
L 148, p. 1) in so far as it registers the designation ‘Feta’ as a           L. Sevón, M. Wathelet and R. Schintgen, Judges; P. Léger,
protected designation of origin — the Court, composed of                     Advocate General; D. Louterman-Hubeau, Principal Adminis-
G.C. Rodrı́guez Iglesias, President, P.J.G. Kapteyn, G. Hirsch and           trator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on 16 March
P. Jann, Presidents of Chambers, G.F. Mancini, J.C. Moitinho de              1999, in which it has ruled:
Almeida, C. Gulmann, J.L. Murray, D.A.O. Edward, H. Ragnem-
alm, L. Sevón, M. Wathelet and R. Schintgen (Rapporteur),
Judges; A. La Pergola, Advocate General; H. von Holstein,                    The third case mentioned in the second sentence of the first paragraph
Deputy Registrar, has given a judgment on 16 March 1999 in                   of Article 17 of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction
which it:                                                                    and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters,
                                                                             as amended by the Convention of 9 October 1978 on the Accession
1. Annuls Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 of 12 June                   of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of
     1996 on the registration of geographical indications and                Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, is to be interpreted as follows:
     designations of origin under the procedure laid down in Article 17
     of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 to the extent to which           1. The contracting parties’ consent to the jurisdiction clause is
     it registered Feta as a protected designation of origin;                    presumed to exist where their conduct is consistent with a usage
                                                                                 which governs the area of international trade or commerce in
2. Orders the Commission of the European Communities to pay the                  which they operate and of which they are, or ought to have been,
     costs;                                                                      aware.
3. Orders the Hellenic republic to bear its own costs.
                                                                             2. The existence of a usage, which must be determined in relation
                                                                                 to the branch of trade or commerce in which the parties to the
(1) OJ No C 318 of 26.10.1996, OJ No C 336 of 9.11.1996.                         contract operate, is established where a particular course of
                                                                                 conduct is generally and regularly followed by operators in that
                                                                                 branch when concluding contracts of a particular type.
                                                                                 It is not necessary for such a course of conduct to be established
                                                                                 in specific countries or, in particular, in all the Contracting
                                                                                 States.
                   JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                                                                                 A specific form of publicity cannot be required in all cases.
                           of 16 March 1999
                                                                                 The fact that a course of conduct amounting to a usage is
in Case C-159/97 (reference for a preliminary ruling from                        challenged before the courts is not sufficient to cause the conduct
the Corte Suprema di Cassazione): Trasporti Castelletti                          no longer to constitute a usage.
  Spedizioni Internazionali SpA v Hugo Trumpy SpA (1)
                                                                             3. The specific requirements covered by the expression "form which
(Brussels Convention — Article 17 — Agreement conferring                         accords" must be assessed solely in the light of the commercial
jurisdiction — Form according with usages in international                       usages of the branch of international trade or commerce
                          trade or commerce)                                     concerned, without taking into account any particular require-
                                                                                 ments which national provisions might lay down.
                            (1999/C 188/05)
                                                                             4. Awareness of the usage must be assessed with respect to the
                                                                                 original parties to the agreement conferring jurisdiction, their
                      (Language of the case: Italian)                            nationality being irrelevant in this regard. Awareness of the
                                                                                 usage will be established when, regardless of any specific form of
                                                                                 publicity, in the branch of trade or commerce in which the parties
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published           operate a particular course of conduct is generally and regularly
                     in the European Court Reports)                              followed in the conclusion of a particular type of contract, so that
                                                                                 it may be regarded as an established usage.
In Case C-159/97: reference to the Court under the Protocol
of 3 June 1971 on the interpretation by the Court of Justice of              5. The choice of court in a jurisdiction clause may be assessed only
the Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the                      in the light of considerations connected with the requirements
Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters                         laid down in Article 17 of the Convention of 27 September
from the Corte Suprema di Cassazione (Supreme Court of                           1968. Considerations about the links between the court desig-
Cassation), Italy, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings                   nated and the relationship at issue, about the validity of the
pending before that court between Trasporti Castelletti Spedi-                   clause, or about the substantive rules of liability applicable before
zioni Internazionali SpA and Hugo Trumpy SpA — on the                            the chosen court are unconnected with those requirements.
interpretation of Article 17 of the Convention of 27 September
1968, cited above (OJ 1972 L 299, p. 32), as amended by the
Convention of 9 October 1978 on the Accession of the                         (1) OJ No C 212 of 12.7.1997.
Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland (OJ 1978 L 304, p. 1;
amended version of the Convention at p. 77) — the Court,
composed of: G.C. Rodrı́guez Iglesias, President, P.J.G. Kapteyn