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CISG-online number
6319
Case name
Rev’it! Sport International B.V. v. ZBK Zena Bikers S.n.c. di Petrolo Giuseppe Luca & C.
Jurisdiction
Netherlands
Court
Rechtbank Oost-Brabant (District Court Oost-Brabant)
Judge
L.S. Frakes (Sole judge)
Date of decision
26 April 2023
Case nr./docket nr.
C/01/386958 / HA ZA 22-581
Claimant 1
Respondent 1
Seller 1
Buyer 1
Category of goods
84: Articles of apparel and clothing accessories
Goods as per contract
Motorcycle clothing
Price
27'288.65 EUR (Euro)
CISG applied
no, held that the CISG does not apply to the formation of a forum selection agreement
(Domestic) law applied in addition
EU Brussels Ia (or Brussels I (recast)) Regulation No. 1215/2012
Non-provision-specific issues addressed
Formation of party agreement on dispute resolution clause
European Case Law Identifier (ECLI)
ECLI:NL:RBOBR:2023:2102
Full text of decision 1
by Ulrich G. Schroeter
The present decision only deals with the jurisdiction of the Dutch District Court Oost-Brabandt over a dispute between a Dutch seller and an Italian buyer under the EU's Brussels Ibis (or Brussels I (recast)) Regulation. The main issue was whether the seller's standard terms that contained a forum selection clause had been validly agreed upon between the parties under Art. 25(1) of the Brussels Ibis Regulation. In assessing whether an "agreement" on the forum selection clause had been reached by the parties, the Court (in para. 15 of the decision) rejected the application of the CISG (although both parties had based their arguments on the CISG), holding that Art. 25(1) of the Brussels Ibis Regulation has not only to be autonomously interpreted, but also provides the standards for the existence of such an agreement, thus displacing the CISG's contract formation rules [in Arts. 8, 14–24 CISG].
(It should be noted that most courts – including most Dutch courts – have in the past taken the opposite view and have readily applied Arts. 8, 14–24 CISG to the formation of forum selection agreements, including in the frequent constellations in which the formal validity of such agreements was governed by Art. 25(1) of the Brussels Ibis Regulation.)