A German seller and a Italian buyer concluded in 1986 a framework contract for the sale of equipment. Five years later the buyer placed several orders in performance of the said contract. The seller commenced an action against the buyer before a German court, claiming payment of price as well as interest. At first instance the Court held that it had jurisdiction. The buyer appealed.
The Court confirmed the first instance decision and held that it had jurisdiction to hear the case. It applied Art. 5(1) of the EC Convention on Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters, Brussels 1968), which states that 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 (i.e. payment of price). The Court held that German law was applicable to determine the place of payment.
The Court did not decide whether the 1964 Hague Convention relating to a Uniform Law on the International Sale of Goods (ULIS) or CISG was applicable in the case at hand, since according to both instruments the buyer must pay the purchase price at the sellers place of business (Art. 57(1)(a) CISG as well as Art. 59(1) ULIS). |