CELEX: C2004/071/04
Language: en
Date: 2004-03-20 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 5 February 2004 in Case C-18/02 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Arbejdsret ): Danmarks Rederiforening v LO Landsorganisationen i Sverige (Brussels Convention — Article 5(3) — Jurisdiction in matters relating to tort, delict or quasi-delict — Place where the harmful event occurred — Measure taken by a trade union in a Contracting State against the owner of a ship registered in another Contracting State)

20.3.2004               EN                           Official Journal of the European Union                                                   C 71/3
reimbursement of sums paid under public law by way of an education           the Sixth Chamber, J.N. Cunha Rodrigues (Rapporteur),
grant to a maintenance creditor, to whose rights it is subrogated            J.-P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen and F. Macken, Judges;
against the maintenance debtor.                                              F.G. Jacobs, Advocate General; H. von Holstein, Deputy
                                                                             Registrar, has given a judgment on 5 February 2004, in which
                                                                             it has ruled:
(1) OJ C 31 of 2.2.2002.
                                                                             1.    (a)   Article 5(3) of the Brussels 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 1978 on the Accession of the
                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                                   Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom
                                                                                         of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, by the Convention
                         (Sixth Chamber)                                                 of 25 October 1982 on the Accession of the Hellenic
                                                                                         Republic, by the Convention of 26 May 1989 on the
                                                                                         Accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese
                        of 5 February 2004                                               Republic and by the Convention of 29 November 1996
                                                                                         on the Accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic
in Case C-18/02 (Reference for a preliminary ruling                                      of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden, must be
from the Arbejdsret ): Danmarks Rederiforening v LO                                      interpreted as meaning that a case concerning the legality
               Landsorganisationen i Sverige (1)                                         of industrial action, in respect of which exclusive jurisdic-
                                                                                         tion belongs, in accordance with the law of the Contracting
                                                                                         State concerned, to a court other than the court which has
(Brussels Convention — Article 5(3) — Jurisdiction in                                    jurisdiction to try the claims for compensation for the
matters relating to tort, delict or quasi-delict — Place where                           damage caused by that industrial action, falls within the
the harmful event occurred — Measure taken by a trade                                    definition of ‘tort, delict or quasi-delict’.
union in a Contracting State against the owner of a ship
            registered in another Contracting State)
                          (2004/C 71/04)                                           (b) For the application of Article 5(3) of the Brussels
                                                                                         Convention to a situation such as that in the dispute in
                                                                                         the main proceedings, it is sufficient that that industrial
                   (Language of the case: Danish)                                        action is a necessary precondition of sympathy action
                                                                                         which may result in harm.
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
                   in the European Court Reports)
                                                                                   (c)   The application of Article 5(3) of the Brussels Convention
                                                                                         is not affected by the fact that the implementation of
                                                                                         industrial action was suspended by the party giving notice
In Case C-18/02: Reference to the Court under the Protocol of
                                                                                         pending a ruling on its legality.
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
by the Arbejdsret (Denmark) for a preliminary ruling in the
                                                                             2.    In circumstances such as those in the main proceedings,
proceedings pending before that court between Danmarks
                                                                                   Article 5(3) must be interpreted as meaning that the damage
Rederiforening, acting on behalf of DFDS Torline A/S, and LO
                                                                                   resulting from industrial action taken by a trade union in a
Landsorganisationen i Sverige, acting on behalf of SEKO
                                                                                   Contracting State to which a ship registered in another
Sjöfolk Facket för Service och Kommunikation, on the
                                                                                   Contracting State sails can be regarded as having occurred in
interpretation of Article 5(3) of the abovementioned Conven-
                                                                                   the flag State, with the result that the shipowner can bring an
tion of 27 September 1968 (OJ 1978 L 304, p. 36), as
                                                                                   action for damages against that trade union in the flag State.
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 (OJ 1978
L 304, p. 1, and — amended version — p. 77), by the
Convention of 25 October 1982 on the Accession of the
Hellenic Republic (OJ 1982 L 388, p. 1), by the Convention of                (1) OJ C 109 of 4.5.2002.
26 May 1989 on the Accession of the Kingdom of Spain and
the Portuguese Republic (OJ 1989 L 285, p. 1) and by the
Convention of 29 November 1996 on the Accession of the
Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom
of Sweden (OJ 1997 C 15, p. 1), the Court (Sixth Chamber),
composed of: V. Skouris, acting on behalf of the President of