PIL instrument(s)

Case number and/or case name

Sita Recycling Services NV v. Exploitatie Maatschap Domein Scholteshof BV - A.R. 04/5068 - Kh. Hasselt, 23 February 2005

Details of the court

Belgium, First Instance

Articles referred to by the court

Date of the judgement

22 February 2005

Appeal history

CJEU's case law cited by the court

Summary

The defendant in this case failed to enter an appearance. The Court correctly states that the jurisdiction of the court based on a forum selection clause is exclusive and that Art. 5(1) cannot be applied in the presence of a valid forum selection clause. The Court deems that the forum selection clause in the general conditions of the claimant is valid. On the question of the service of the writ of summons, the Court decides that Regulation 1348/2000 is applicable in civil and commercial matters, where a judicial or extrajudicial document has to be transmitted from one Member State to another for service there. Regulation 1348/2000 does not say in which cases a document should be transmitted from one Member State to another. In particular the Regulation does not say that, when a dispute contains a foreign element, the service needs to be done in accordance with the Regulation and that a service pursuant to the domestic prescriptions of the country of the claimant is outlawed. The Belgian Code of civil procedure allows for service at the Belgian branch of foreign company. This is compatible with the Service Regulation. The service in this case was regular. Short critique The Court decides that the forum selection clause in the general conditions of the seller is valid pursuant to Art. 23(1) Brussels I, but it does not motivate its decision on this point.