EUPillar NV N. v C&F - Kh. Gent, 14 September 2009

Summary

The claimant argues that the Belgian courts have jurisdiction based on a forum clause in the General terms and Conditions. These Terms and conditions were printed on the reverse side on the order form. A reference to these general terms and conditions was printed on the front of the order form. The defendant argues that the general terms and conditions were missing on her order form. The Court finds that the forum clause is valid because there was no proof that the terms and conditions were missing on the form of the applicant. The defendant ignored the reference on the front and did not ask the claimant for further information. Finally, it is a well-known usage in this branch of trade that general terms and conditions are included in an order form Art. 23(1)(c) has thus been observed. Short critique The Court quite easily applies Art. 23(1)(c), while usually it is very difficult to convince a court that a usage has been established. The court does not specify which branch of trade, it just seems to consider that the use of general conditions is widely spread among traders and therefore qualifies as a usage.