Judgment of the Court (First Chamber), 7 February 2013

Refcomp SpA v Axa Corporate Solutions Assurance SA and Others

Request for a preliminary ruling from the Cour de cassation (France)

Judicial cooperation in civil matters — Jurisdiction in civil and commercial matters — Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 — Interpretation of Article 23 — Jurisdiction clause in a contract concluded between the manufacturer and the initial buyer of goods — Contract forming part of a chain of contracts transferring ownership — Whether that clause may be relied on against the sub-buyer of the goods

Case C‑543/10


Top of the page Documents in the Case
Document Date Name of the parties Subject-matter Curia EUR-Lex Autres Liens
Judgment (OJ)
22/03/2013 Refcomp
area of freedom, security and justice
- Judicial cooperation in civil matters
  • area of freedom, security and justice
  • - Judicial cooperation in civil matters
View pdf documents
Judgment
ECLI:EU:C:2013:62		 07/02/2013 Refcomp
area of freedom, security and justice
- Judicial cooperation in civil matters
  • area of freedom, security and justice
  • - Judicial cooperation in civil matters
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Judgment (Summary)
ECLI:EU:C:2013:62		 07/02/2013 Refcomp
area of freedom, security and justice
- Judicial cooperation in civil matters
  • area of freedom, security and justice
  • - Judicial cooperation in civil matters
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Application (OJ)
12/02/2011 Refcomp
area of freedom, security and justice
- Judicial cooperation in civil matters
  • area of freedom, security and justice
  • - Judicial cooperation in civil matters
View pdf documents
Opinion
ECLI:EU:C:2012:637		 18/10/2012 Refcomp
area of freedom, security and justice
- Judicial cooperation in civil matters
  • area of freedom, security and justice
  • - Judicial cooperation in civil matters
EUR-Lex text EUR-Lex bilingual text
Top of the page Legal analysis of the decision or of the case

Reports of Cases

published in the electronic Reports of Cases (Court Reports - general)

Subject-matter

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Cour de cassation – Interpretation of Art.5(1) and 23 of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ 2001 L 12, p. 1) – Special jurisdiction in matters relating to a contract – Dispute between the sub-buyer of goods and the manufacturer – Scope of the jurisdiction clause in a chain of contracts under Community law

Systematic classification scheme

1.
-
4 Internal policy of the European Union
  4.06 Area of freedom, security and justice
    4.06.02 Judicial cooperation in civil matters
      4.06.02.01 Jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments – Civil and commercial matters
-
4 Internal policy of the European Union
  4.06 Area of freedom, security and justice
    4.06.02 Judicial cooperation in civil matters
      4.06.02.01 Jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments – Civil and commercial matters
-
4 Internal policy of the European Union
  4.06 Area of freedom, security and justice
    4.06.02 Judicial cooperation in civil matters
      4.06.02.01 Jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments – Civil and commercial matters


Citations of case-law or legislation

References in grounds of judgment

Operative part

Opinion


Dates

Date of the lodging of the application initiating proceedings

  • 22/11/2010

Date of the Opinion

  • 18/10/2012

Date of the hearing

Information not available

Date of delivery

07/02/2013


References

Publication in the Official Journal

Application: OJ C 46 from 12.02.2011, p.3

Judgment: OJ C 108 from 13.04.2013, p.2

Name of the parties

Refcomp

Notes on Academic Writings

  1. Legrand, Véronique: Inopposabilité des clauses d'élection de for dans les chaînes de contrat communautaires : La CJUE a tranché !, Petites affiches. La Loi / Le Quotidien juridique 2013 nº 72 p.6-15 (FR)
  2. Idot, Laurence: Clause attributive de juridictions et chaîne de contrats. Confirmation de l'opposition de la Cour de justice à la théorie de la chaîne de contrats translatifs de propriété : une clause attributive de juridiction conclue entre un vendeur et l'acquéreur initial est inopposable au tiers sous-acquéreur, s'il n'a pas donné son consentement effectif à ladite clause, Europe 2013 Avril Comm. nº 4 p.38-39 (FR)
  3. Skubic, Zoran: Sporazum o pristojnosti sodišč in čezmejno veriženje prodajnih pogodb po pravu EU, Pravna praksa 2013 nº 6 p.22 (SL)
  4. Strikwerda, L.: Nederlandse jurisprudentie ; Uitspraken in burgerlijke en strafzaken 2013 nº 299 (NL)
  5. Guez, Philippe: L'inopposabilité de la clause attributive de juridiction au sous-acquéreur dans les chaînes européennes de contrats, La Semaine Juridique - édition générale 2013 nº 516 p.883-887 (FR)
  6. Moebus, Christine: EuGVVO: Unwirksamkeit einer Gerichtsstandsvereinbarung zwischen Hersteller und Ersterwerber gegenüber späteren Erwerbern, Europäische Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsrecht 2013 p.319-320 (DE)
  7. Attal, Michel: Non-transmissibilité des clauses attributives de juridiction dans les groupes de contrats : le nouvel échec de la conception française dans les situations internationales ?, La Semaine Juridique - entreprise et affaires 2013 nº 23 p.37-40 (FR)
  8. Fuchs, Angelika: Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, ERA-Forum : scripta iuris europaei 2013 p.297-298 (DE)
  9. Vaquero López, Carmen: El alcance de las cláusulas de atribución de competencia en los grupos de contratos. La interpretación del TJCE en el asunto [C-543/10] Refcomp, Revista de Derecho de la Competencia y la Distribución 2013 nº 13 p.255-266 (ES)
  10. Weller, Matthias: Keine Drittwirkung von Gerichtsstandsvereinbarungen bei Vertragsketten, Praxis des internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts 2013 p.501-505 (DE)
  11. Clavel, Sandrine: Conflits de juridictions, Journal du droit international 2013 p.1201-1213 (FR)
  12. Bureau, Dominique: De la transmission d'une clause attributive de juridiction dans une chaîne de contrats, Revue critique de droit international privé 2013 p.710-725 (FR)
  13. Adam-Caumeil, Judith: Unwirksame Gerichtsstandsklauseln in "Lieferketten", Recht der internationalen Wirtschaft 2014 n° 1 p.I (DE)
  14. Idot, Laurence: Opposabilité et force obligatoire des clauses processuelles, Revue des contrats 2014 p.704-708 (FR)
  15. Villata, Francesca C.: Choice-of-Courts Agreements and "Third Parties" in Light of Refcomp and Beyond, Cross-Border Litigation in Europe: The Brussels I Recast Regulatin as Panacea ( Ed. Kluwer - Milanese) 2015 p.127-151 (EN)



Procedural Analysis Information

Source of the question referred for a preliminary ruling

Cour de cassation - France

Subject-matter

  • area of freedom, security and justice
  • - Judicial cooperation in civil matters

Provisions of national law referred to

Information not available

Provisions of international law referred to

Information not available

Procedure and result

  • Reference for a preliminary ruling

Formation of the Court

première chambre (Cour)

Judge-Rapporteur

Berger

Advocate General

Jääskinen

Language(s) of the Case

  • French

Language(s) of the Opinion

  • French