Summary
Pursuant to Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, whose provision is identical to the one laid down at Article 3(1) of Law No 218/1995, Italian courts have jurisdiction over a claim concerning the unfair enforcement of a first demand guarantee against a bank having its registered office in Italy. Pursuant to Article 5(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, referred to by Article 3(1) of Law No 218/1995 in place of the corresponding provisions of the Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968, Italian courts do not have jurisdiction over a declaratory action for a credit claimed as a result of the performances carried out in favour of the contractor (principal), having its registered office in Qatar and over the payment resulting thereof as the place of performance of the pecuniary obligation, as agreed in the contract, is not located in Italy. Finally, pursuant to Article 6 of said Regulation, Italian courts do not have jurisdiction over a declaratory action for the credit mentioned above and for the award of the payment resulting thereof, as a result of the fact that the two claims – the claim for the ascertainment of the credit and for the payment, on the one hand, and the claim for the injunction against the collateral’s enforcement, on the other hand – are not related.