A Dutch company sold two trucks to a German buyer. After delivery the seller commenced action for payment of part of the price. The buyer asserted that the Dutch Court had no jurisdiction to hear the case.
The Court applied Art. 5(1) of the EC Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Brussels 1968), under which a person domiciled in a Contracting State (i.e. the buyer) may be sued in the court for the place of performance of the obligation in question (payment of price). The Court applied CISG to determine the place of payment of the price, since the parties had their places of business in Contracting States (the Netherlands and Germany) (Art. 1(1)(a) CISG).
According to Arts. 53 and 57 CISG the price must be paid at the place agreed upon in the contract. In the case at hand the contract indicated that payment was due at the place where the handing over of the goods would take place. The Court noted that the contractual provision was identical to the rule set forth in Art. 57(1)(b) CISG. Since the payment was due in Germany, the court concluded that it had no jurisdiction. |