PIL instrument(s)

Case number and/or case name

BGH, 9.7.2014 – XII ZB 661/12

Details of the court

Germany, Third Instance

Articles referred to by the court

Date of the judgement

08 July 2014

Appeal history

CJEU's case law cited by the court

Summary

The parties argued about the amount of maintenance obligations. The creditors live in Germany while their father – the debtor – lives in Switzerland. The court exercised jurisdiction, leaving open whether it did so pursuant to the Lugano Convention of 30 October 2007 or Art. 3 lit. b) Maintenance Regulation as both instruments provided for international jurisdiction of the German court. With regard to the applicable law, the court found that there was no need to give a ruling on the disputed question whether the Maintenance Protocol or the Hague Convention of 2 October 1973 on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations applied towards Switzerland because both instruments led to the application of German law to the dispute.