CELEX: C2003/158/08
Language: en
Date: 2003-07-05 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 15 May 2003 in Case C-266/01 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden): Préservatrice foncière TIARD SA v Staat der Nederlanden (Brussels Convention — Article 1 — Scope — Concept of "civil and commercial matters" — Concept of "customs matters" — Action based on a guarantee contract between the State and an insurance company — Contract entered into in order to satisfy a condition imposed by the State on associations of carriers, principal debtors, under Article 6 of the TIR Convention)

C 158/6                  EN                          Official Journal of the European Union                                                5.7.2003
                  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                            to enable a third person to supply a guarantee required and
                                                                                   defined by that State, in so far as the legal relationship between
                           (Fifth Chamber)                                         the creditor and the guarantor, under the guarantee contract,
                                                                                   does not entail the exercise by the State of powers going beyond
                           of 15 May 2003                                          those existing under the rules applicable to relations between
                                                                                   private individuals;
in Case C-266/01 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from
                                                                             —     ‘customs matters’, within the meaning of the second sentence of
the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden): Préservatrice foncière
                                                                                   that provision, does not cover a claim by which a contracting
              TIARD SA v Staat der Nederlanden ( 1)
                                                                                   State seeks to enforce a guarantee contract intended to guarantee
                                                                                   the payment of a customs debt, where the legal relationship
(Brussels Convention — Article 1 — Scope — Concept of                              between the State and the guarantor, under that contract, does
‘civil and commercial matters’ — Concept of ‘customs                               not entail the exercise by the State of powers going beyond
matters’ — Action based on a guarantee contract between                            those existing under the rules applicable to relations between
the State and an insurance company — Contract entered                              private individuals, even if the guarantor may raise pleas in
into in order to satisfy a condition imposed by the State on                       defence which necessitate an investigation into the existence and
associations of carriers, principal debtors, under Article 6 of                    content of the customs debt.
                        the TIR Convention)
                           (2003/C 158/08)                                   (1 ) OJ C 275 of 29.9.2001.
                     (Language of the case: Dutch)
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                    in the European Court Reports)
                                                                                               JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
In Case C-266/01: Reference to the Court under the Protocol
                                                                                                       (Sixth Chamber)
of 3 June 1971 on the interpretation by the Court of Justice of
the Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the
Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters                                                of 15 May 2003
by the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (Netherlands) for a
preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that                    in Case C-300/01 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
court between Préservatrice foncière TIARD SA and Staat                            the Landesgericht Feldkirch): Doris Salzmann ( 1)
der Nederlanden, on the interpretation of Article 1 of the
abovementioned Convention of 27 September 1968 (OJ 1972                      (Free movement of capital — Article 73b of the EC Treaty
L 299, p. 32), as amended by the Convention of 9 October
                                                                             (now Article 56 EC) — Prior authorisation procedure for the
1978 on the Accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland                     acquisition of building plots — Purely internal situation —
and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland                 Article 70 of the Act of Accession of the Republic of
(OJ 1978 L 304, p. 1, and — amended text — p. 77), by the
                                                                             Austria — Concept of ‘existing legislation’ — Point 1(e) of
Convention of 25 October 1982 on the Accession of the                                        Annex XII to the EEA Agreement)
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 L 285, p. 1), the Court                                            (2003/C 158/09)
(Fifth Chamber), composed of: M. Wathelet, President of the
Chamber, D.A.O. Edward, A. La Pergola, P. Jann (Rapporteur)                                      (Language of the case: German)
and A. Rosas, Judges; P. Léger, Advocate General; L. Hewlett,
Principal Administrator, Registrar, has given a judgment on                  (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
15 May 2003, in which it has ruled:                                                              in the European Court Reports)
The first paragraph of Article 1 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                In Case C-300/01, reference to the Court under Article 234
1978 on the Accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the             EC by the Landesgericht Feldkirch (Austria) for a preliminary
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, by the                 ruling in the land registration case brought before that court
Convention of 25 October 1982 on the Accession of the Hellenic               by Doris Salzmann — on the interpretation of Article 73b of
Republic and by the Convention of 26 May 1989 on the Accession               the EC Treaty (now Article 56 EC) and of point 1(e) of
of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic, must be                 Annex XII to the Agreement on the European Economic Area
interpreted as follows:                                                      of 2 May 1992 (OJ 1994 L 1, p. 3) — the Court (Sixth
                                                                             Chamber), composed of: J.-P. Puissochet (Rapporteur), Presi-
—     ‘civil and commercial matters’, within the meaning of the first        dent of the Chamber, R. Schintgen, V. Skouris, F. Macken and
      sentence of that provision, covers a claim by which a contracting      J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges; P. Léger, Advocate General; M.-
      State seeks to enforce against a person governed by private law        F. Contet, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given
      a private-law guarantee contract which was concluded in order          a judgment on 15 May 2003, in which it has ruled: