Summary
Pursuant to Article 11 of Law No 218/1995, a defendant who has not expressly or tacitly accepted the jurisdiction of Italian courts may object to the lack of jurisdiction at any stage of the proceedings. An insurer cannot avail himself of a clause conferring exclusive jurisdiction to certain courts that is contained in a contract of insurance to which the beneficiary of the insurance is not a party since Article 12(1) of the Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968 allows such a derogation only if the relevant agreement on jurisdiction is entered into after the dispute has arisen. In light of the interpretation given by the EC Court of Justice and of the amendment made in this respect to Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, Article 8(2) of Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968 - which provides that, in case the policyholder sues the insurer, the criterion of the domicile of the policyholder shall apply - shall be construed so that, in case of an action brought by the insured or the beneficiary of the insurance against the insurer, the criterion of the domicile of the insured or of the beneficiary of the insurance, respectively, shall also apply. Italian courts have jurisdiction over an action concerning the payment of an insurance indemnity that is brought by a company having its seat in Italy – which is the insured or beneficiary under a contract of insurance entered into by a different company as policyholder – against a German insurance company.