A Dutch buyer bought textiles from a French seller. After delivery the buyer alleged that the goods were non conforming. At first instance it was decided that Dutch Courts did not have jurisdiction over the case. The buyer appealed to the Supreme Court (Hoge Raad).
The Court confirmed the decision of the Gerechtshof's Hertogenbosch (09.10.1995, see Abstract and Full Text in UNILEX), applying Art. 5(1) of the EC Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters (Brussels 1968) which states that a person domiciled in a contracting State may be sued in the Court for the place of performance of the obligation in question (in this case, delivery of the goods). When the contract of sale (as in the case at hand) involves carriage of the goods, the obligation to deliver consists in handing the goods to the first carrier (Art. 31(a) CISG). Since the goods had to be delivered to the buyer in Maastricht, but were to be handed over to a first carrier in Lyon, the place of performance of the obligation was France. |