Case number and/or case name
Continental Cargo Carriers NV v. Zust Ambrosetti, H. Bongaerts and Peter Hodgeman Transport - C.02.0250.N - Cass., 29 April 2004
Details of the court
Belgium, Third Instance
Articles referred to by the court
Date of the judgement
28 April 2004
CJEU's case law cited by the court
Summary
The case is concerned with the validity of a choice of court clause in a contract of carriage governed by the CMR Convention. Art. 31(1) CMR Convention provides that in legal proceedings arising out of carriage under this Convention, the plaintiff may bring an action in any court or tribunal of a contracting country designated by agreement between the parties. It does not, however, provide the validity requirements of such a choice of court agreement. These are governed by national law – also considering Art. 71(1) Brussels I Regulation. Under Belgian law, between professional parties the existence of an agreement can be proven by the tacit acceptance of an invoice, including the general invoicing terms and conditions.