Color Drack GmbH v Lexx International Vertriebs GmbH.
Date: 2007-05-03
18. Consequently, the first indent of Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation No 44/2001 must be interpreted in the light of the origins, objectives and scheme of that regulation (see, to that effect, Case C‑103/05 Reisch Montage  [2006] ECR I‑6827, paragraph 29, and Case C‑283/05 ASML  [2006] ECR I‑0000, paragraph 22).
20. In that context, the regulation seeks to strengthen the legal protection of persons established in the Community, by enabling the plaintiff to identify easily the court in which he may sue and the defendant reasonably to foresee before which court he may be sued (see Reisch Montage , paragraphs 24 and 25).
21. To that end the rules of jurisdiction set out in Regulation No 44/2001 are founded on the principle that jurisdiction is generally based on the defendant’s domicile, as provided for in Article 2 thereof, complemented by the rules of special jurisdiction (see Reisch Montage , paragraph 22).
22. Thus, the rule that jurisdiction is generally based on the defendant’s domicile is complemented, in Article 5(1), by a rule of special jurisdiction in matters relating to a contract. The reason for that rule, which reflects an objective of proximity, is the existence of a close link between the contract and the court called upon to hear and determine the case.
23. Under that rule the defendant may also be sued in the court for the place of performance of the obligation in question, since that court is presumed to have a close link to the contract.
24. In order to reinforce the primary objective of unification of the rules of jurisdiction whilst ensuring their predictability, Regulation No 44/2001 defines that criterion of a link autonomously in the case of the sale of goods.
26. In the context of Regulation No 44/2001, contrary to Lexx’s submissions, that rule of special jurisdiction in matters relating to a contract establishes the place of delivery as the autonomous linking factor to apply to all claims founded on one and the same contract for the sale of goods rather than merely to the claims founded on the obligation of delivery itself.
30. The first indent of Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation No 44/2001, determining both international and local jurisdiction, seeks to unify the rules of conflict of jurisdiction and, accordingly, to designate the court having jurisdiction directly, without reference to the domestic rules of the Member States.
36. Conseq uently, the first indent of Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation No 44/2001 is applicable where there are several places of delivery within a single Member State.
38. With regard, secondly, to the question whether, where there are several places of delivery within a single Member State and the claim relates to all those deliveries, the plaintiff may sue the defendant in the court for the place of delivery of its choice on the basis of the first indent of Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation No 44/2001, it is necessary to point out that one court must have jurisdiction to hear all the claims arising out of the contract.
40. In that regard it is necessary to take account of the fact that the special jurisdiction under the first indent of Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation No 44/2001 is warranted, in principle, by the existence of a particularly close linking factor between the contract and the court called upon to hear the litigation, with a view to the efficient organisation of the proceedings. It follows that, where there are several places of delivery of the goods, ‘place of performance’ must be understood, for the purposes of application of the provision under consideration, as the place with the closest linking factor between the contract and the court having jurisdiction. In such a case, the closest linking factor will, as a general rule, be at the place of the principal delivery, which must be determined on the basis of economic criteria.
41. To that end, it is for the national court seised to determine whether it has jurisdiction in the light of the evidence submitted to it.
42. If it is not possible to determine the principal place of delivery, each of the places of delivery has a sufficiently close link of proximity to the material elements of the dispute and, accordingly, a significant link as regards jurisdiction. In such a case, the plaintiff may sue the defendant in the court for the place of delivery of its choice on the basis of the first indent of Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation No 44/2001.