PIL instrument(s)

Case number and/or case name

BGH, 7.3.2013 – IX ZR 123/12

Details of the court

Germany, Third Instance

Articles referred to by the court

Date of the judgement

06 March 2013

Appeal history

CJEU's case law cited by the court

Summary

The dispute concerned a decision on a penalty payment that had been ordered by a German court against the plaintiff because of an infringement of a former judgment on the omission of selling of plant protection products. The enforcement of the penalty payment order had been claimed in Germany and in the Netherlands. The Dutch court stayed the proceedings in order to obtain a preliminary ruling by the CJEU. The plaintiff considered the enforcement resulting from the penalty payment order decision to be inadmissible as the limitation period for the enforcement had passed. The court held that the limitation period on the enforcement concerning a penalty payment on behalf of the implementation of an injunction was not suspended during the proceedings of the declaration of enforceability in another Member State. The question whether the limitation period was suspended is to be assessed by the courts of that Member State under the application of their national law. Therefore, the court stated the penalty payment order’s enforceability in Germany.