A French seller and a Spanish buyer concluded a contract for the sale of construction materials with delivery to be made by instalments. In the course of performance of the contract, the buyer refused to pay the price alleging non-conformity of the materials. The seller commenced action before the French interim relief court which held that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.
The appellate court applied Art. 5(1) of the EC Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters (Brussels 1968), pursuant to 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 the price). The court applied French private international law rules, and held that French law and as such CISG, as the law of a contracting State (Art. 1(1)(b) CISG), was the applicable law to determine the place of payment of the price. In accordance with Art. 57(1)(a) CISG the court held that the price must be paid at the place of business of the seller (France). The court therefore affirmed its jurisdiction. |