Summary
Pursuant to Article 43 of the Vienna Convention of 24 April 1963 on Consular Relations, Italian courts have jurisdiction over disputes concerning employment relationships with embassies of foreign States located in Italy, not only in case of employees with merely ancillary duties, but also in case of employees performing consular functions, provided that the claim concerns only the payment of the relevant remuneration or in any case involves exclusively economic issues that do not interfere with the organisation of the consular functions. Pursuant to the combined provision of Articles 18(2) and 19 of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, Italian courts have jurisdiction over a dispute brought by an employee against an embassy of a foreign State located in Italy, since the place of business of the employer is located in the Italian territory. Pursuant to the combined provision of Articles 21 and 23 of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, an agreement conferring jurisdiction entered into by an employee and his/her employer, an embassy of a foreign State located in Italy, is not valid if it is not entered into in writing after the dispute has arisen.