CELEX: C2000/316/07
Language: en
Date: 2000-11-04 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 13 July 2000 in Case C-412/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Cour d'Appel, Versailles): Group Josi Reinsurance Company SA v Universal General Insurance Company (UGIC) (Brussels Convention — Personal scope — Plaintiff domiciled in a non-Contracting State — Material scope — Rules of jurisdiction in matters relating to insurance — Dispute concerning a reinsurance contract)

C 316/4                  EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                          4.11.2000
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                                         JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                         (Second Chamber)                                                               (Sixth Chamber)
                            of 13 July 2000                                                               of 13 July 2000
in Case C-261/98: Commission of the European Communi-
                                                                            in Case C-412/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
                 ties v Portuguese Republic (1)
                                                                            the Cour d’Appel, Versailles): Group Josi Reinsurance
                                                                            Company SA v Universal General Insurance Company
(Failure by a member State to fulfil its obligations —                                                       (UGIC) (1)
Directive 76/464/EEC — Aquatic pollution — Failure to
                               transpose)
                                                                            (Brussels Convention — Personal scope — Plaintiff domi-
                                                                            ciled in a non-Contracting State — Material scope — Rules
                           (2000/C 316/06)                                  of jurisdiction in matters relating to insurance — Dispute
                                                                                             concerning a reinsurance contract)
                  (Language of the case: Portuguese)                                                     (2000/C 316/07)
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published                             (Language of the case: French)
                    in the European Court Reports)
In Case C-261/98, Commission of the European Communities                    (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
(Agent: M.F. de Sousa Fialho) v Portuguese Republic (Agents:                                      in the European Court Reports)
L. Fernandes, M. Telles Romäo and J. Lopes Fernandes), appli-
cation for a declaration that, by failing to adopt or communi-
cate a summary of the pollution reduction programmes laying                 In Case C-412/98: reference to the Court under the Protocol
down quality objectives and the results thereof for the 99                  of 3 June 1971 on the interpretation by the Court of Justice of
priority substances referred to in the first indent of List II of           the Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the
the Annex to Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976                     Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters
on pollution caused by dangerous substances discharged into                 from the Cour d’Appel, Versailles, France, for a preliminary
the aquatic environment of the Community (OJ 1976 L 129,                    ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between
p. 23), the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil its obli-              Group Josi Reinsurance Company SA and Universal General
gations under Article 7 of that directive and Article 189(3) of             Insurance Company (UGIC) — on the interpretation of the
the EC Treaty (now Article 249(3) EC) — the Court (Second                   provisions of Title II of the Convention of 27 September 1968,
Chamber), composed of: R. Schintgen, President of the Chamb-                cited above (OJ 1972 L 299, p. 32), as amended by the
er, G. Hirsch and V. Skouris (Rapporteur), Judges, A. Saggio,               Convention of 9 October 1978 on the Accession of the
Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment                 Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of
on 13 July 2000, in which it:                                               Great Britain and Northern Ireland (OJ 1978 L 304, p. 1;
                                                                            amended version of the Convention at p. 77), by the Conven-
1.    Declares that, by failing to adopt water pollution reduction          tion of 25 October 1982 on the Accession of the Hellenic
      programmes laying down quality objectives to reduce pollution         Republic (OJ 1982 L 388, p. 1) and by the Convention of
      by the substances falling within the first indent of List II of the   26 May 1989 on the Accession of the Kingdom of Spain and
      Annex to Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on                the Portuguese Republic (OJ 1989 L 285, p. 1) — the Court
      pollution caused by dangerous substances discharged into the          (Sixth Chamber) composed of: J.C. Moitinho de Almeida,
      aquatic environment of the Community, the Portuguese Republic         President of the Chamber, R. Schintgen (Rapporteur), J.-P. Puis-
      has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 7 of that          sochet, G. Hirsch and F. Macken, Judges; N. Fennelly, Advocate
      directive;                                                            General; D. Louterman-Hubeau, Principal Administrator, for
                                                                            the Registrar, has given a judgment on 13 July 2000, in which
                                                                            it has ruled:
2.    Orders the Portuguese Republic to pay the costs.
                                                                            1.    Title II of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction
(1) OJ C 278 of 5.9.1998.                                                         and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial
                                                                                  Matters, 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, by the
                                                                                  Convention of 25 October 1982 on the Accession of the
 ---pagebreak--- 4.11.2000                EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                              C 316/5
      Hellenic Republic and by the Convention of 26 May 1989 on             Article 73b of the EC Treaty (now Article 56 EC) precludes national
      the Accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese              legislation of a Member State which, on grounds relating to the
      Republic, is in principle applicable where the defendant has its      requirements of defence of the national territory, exempts the nationals
      domicile or seat in a Contracting State, even if the plaintiff is     of that Member State, and only them, from the obligation to apply
      domiciled in a non-member country. It would be otherwise only         for an administrative authorisation for any purchase of real estate
      in exceptional cases where an express provision of that               situated within an area of the national territory designated as being
      convention provides that the application of the rule of jurisdic-     of military importance.
      tion which it sets out is dependent on the plaintiff’s domicile
      being in a Contracting State.                                         The position would be different only if it could be demonstrated to
                                                                            the competent national court that, in a particular area, non-
2.    The rules of special jurisdiction in matters relating to insurance    discriminatory treatment of the nationals of all the Member States
      set out in Articles 7 to 12a of that convention do not cover          would expose the military interests of the Member State concerned to
      disputes between a reinsurer and a reinsured in connection with       real, specific and serious risks which could not be countered by less
      a reinsurance contract.                                               restrictive procedures.
(1) OJ C 1 of 4.1.1999.                                                     (1) OJ C 48 of 20.2.1999.
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                                        JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                          (Sixth Chamber)                                                              (First Chamber)
                            of 13 July 2000                                                             of 13 July 2000
in Case C-423/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from                   in Case C-456/98 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
    the Corte d’Appello di Napoli): by Alfredo Albore(1)                    the Pretore di Brescia): Centrosteel Srl v Adipol GmbH (1)
(Freedom of establishment — Free movement of capital                        (Directive 86/653/EEC — Self-employed commercial agents
— Articles 52 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment,                       — National legislation providing that commercial agency
Article 43 EC) and 73b of the EC Treaty (now Article 56 EC)                 contracts concluded by persons not entered in the register of
— Authorisation procedure for the purchase of immovable                                                 agents are void)
property — Areas of military importance — Discrimination
                     on grounds of nationality)
                                                                                                       (2000/C 316/09)
                           (2000/C 316/08)
                                                                                                 (Language of the case: Italian)
                     (Language of the case: Italian)
                                                                            (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                                                                                                in the European Court Reports)
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                    in the European Court Reports)                          In Case C-456/98: reference to the Court under Article 177 of
                                                                            the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Pretore di Brescia
In Case C-423/98: reference to the Court under Article 177 of               (Magistrates’ Court, Brescia), Italy, for a preliminary ruling in
the EC Treaty (now Article 234 EC) from the Corte d’Appello                 the proceedings pending before that court between Centrosteel
di Napoli, Italy, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings               Srl and Adipol GmbH — on the interpretation of Council
pending before that court by Alfredo Albore — on the                        Directive 86/653/EEC of 18 December 1986 on the coordi-
interpretation of Articles 6, 52 and 56 of the EC Treaty (now,              nation of the laws of the Member States relating to self-
after amendment, Articles 12 EC, 43 EC and 46 EC) and                       employed commercial agents (OJ 1986 L 382, p. 17) and of
Article 67 of the EC Treaty (repealed by the Treaty of                      the provisions in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of Title III of Part
Amsterdam) — the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of:                        Three of the EC Treaty concerning, respectively, freedom of
J.C. Moitinho de Almeida, President of the Chamber, C. Gul-                 establishment and freedom to provide services — the Court
mann, J.-P. Puissochet (Rapporteur), V. Skouris and F. Macken,              (first chamber) composed of: L. Sevón, President of the Chamb-
Judges, G. Cosmas, Advocate General; D. Louterman-Hubeau,                   er, P. Jann (Rapporteur) and M. Wathelet, Judges, F.G. Jacobs,
Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment            Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given a judgment
on 13 July 2000, in which it has ruled:                                     on 13 July 2000, in which it has ruled: