MAERSK A/S V ALLIANZ SEGUROS Y REASEGUROS SA (C-345/22 AND C-347/22); MAPFRE ESPAÑA COMPAÑÍA DE SEGUROS Y REASEGUROS SA V MACS MARITIME CARRIER SHIPPING GMBH & CO (C-346/22)

Joined Cases C-345/22 to C-347/22, Court of Justice of the European Union, Judgment of the Court, Sixth Chamber, P G Xuereb, acting as President of the Chamber, A Kumin (Rapporteur) and I Ziemele, 25 April 2024

Contracts (bills of lading) – Jurisdiction – Contract for the carriage of goods evidenced by a bill of lading – Jurisdiction clause incorporated in that bill of lading – Enforceability against the third-party holder of the bill of lading – Applicable law – National legislation requiring the individual and separate negotiation of the jurisdiction clause by the third-party holder of the bill of lading – Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012, article 25

The parties were respectively carriers and insurers of cargo carried under bills of lading. Each of the three disputes concerned cargo shipped on board vessels and discharged in a damaged condition, but arose from separate bills of lading with different parties.