In Cartier v Ziegler, Case C-1/13, the Court of Justice held that the application of Article 27′s Lis Albi pendens rule (Brussels I Regulation) does not require a formal decision by the national court first seized (or exhaustion of national remedies against such acceptance of jurisdiction). In a multi-party case involving insurance companies, forwarders and transporters (sub-sub contracted) of a shipment of Cartier goods, the UK High Court was undeniably first seized vis-a-vis at least some of the parties involved in the litigation in France, however the question was how Article 27′s lis alibi pendens rule needs to be applied.
Under Article 27(1) of Regulation 44/2001, where there are parallel proceedings before the courts of different Member States, the court second seised must stay its proceedings of its own motion until the jurisdiction of the court first seised is established. Furthermore, Article 27(2) provides that, where the jurisdiction of the court first seised is established, any court other than the court first seised must decline jurisdiction in favour of that court.
The French Cour de Cassation asked essentially whether Article 27(2) of the Brussels I-Regulation must be interpreted as meaning that it is sufficient, for the jurisdiction of the court first seised to be established within the meaning of that provision, that no party has contested its jurisdiction or whether it is necessary that that court has impliedly or expressly assumed jurisdiction by a judgment which has become final.
The referring court referred to scholarship suggesting that the jurisdiction of the court first seised may be established only by a judgment from that court explicitly rejecting its lack of jurisdiction or by the exhaustion of the remedies that are available against its decision to assume jurisdiction.
The ECJ held ‘Article 27(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 (…) must be interpreted as meaning that, except in the situation where the court second seised has exclusive jurisdiction by virtue of that regulation, the jurisdiction of the court first seised must be regarded as being established, within the meaning of that provision, if that court has not declined jurisdiction of its own motion and none of the parties has contested its jurisdiction prior to or up to the time at which a position is adopted which is regarded in national procedural law as being the first defence on the substance submitted before that court.’
The Court’s finding does of course require the court seized layer (or the lawyers appearing before it) to be au fait with the procedural law of the alternative court (such as in France, the possibility to raise objection against jurisdiction verbally only).
The ECJ’s overall consideration here lies with obliging but also enabling the court seized second, not to linger indefinitely with the application of Article 27.
Geert.
