Defining times – art 5(1)(b)

It currently seems fashionable to refer to the European Court of Justice (‘ECJ’) questions relating to art 5(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (‘the Regulation’).

Jennifer Lavelle, Research Assistant, Institute of Maritime Law, University of Southampton School of Law

Wood Floor Solutions v Silva Trade SA

The latest judgment of the Court is that in Wood Floor Solutions v Silva Trade SA (Case C-19/09), handed down on 11 March 2010. The dispute between the parties arose out of the termination of a commercial agency contract that was performed in several member states. Wood Floor relied on art 5(1)(b) of the Regulation to found jurisdiction in Austria, where the company had established its seat. Silva Trade challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that more than three quarters of Wood Floor’s turnover was generated in countries other than Austria, and that art 5(1) did not provide for such a case. Silva Trade argued that if the place of performance could not be established because the obligation in question was not subject to geographical limitations, art 5(1) was inapplicable and jurisdiction should instead be founded on art 2.