English Partnership

Phillips and Others v Symes and another (Ch D TLR 2 October)

Under article 21 of the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters 1968 where proceedings involving the same cause of action and between the same parties were brought in the courts of different contracting states, any court other than the court first seised should of its own motion stay its proceedings until such time as the jurisdiction of the court first seised was established. A court was seised of an action for the purpose of article 21 if proceedings were definitely pending. Proceedings were definitely pending once they had been served on the defendant to those proceedings. The defendant had commenced proceedings in Greece against the claimant and served them on the Greek public prosecutor and on the first and second claimants before the claimants had served their English proceedings on the defendants. Although service on the Greek public prosecutor was not good service for the purpose of article 21, service on the claimants, as administrators appointed under a grant of representation at their place of business in London was good service for the purposes of the Brussels Convention. However, where the dispute concerned an English partnership it came within article 16(2) of that Convention and the English court had exclusive jurisdiction concerning that part of the dispute concerning the partnership. The remaining issues were within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Greek court which was first seised of them.