The European Court of Justice facilitated jurisdiction agreements between international business partners with its judgment of November 24, 2022 (Ref.: C-358/21).
In commercial law, the question of jurisdiction also plays an important role in cross-border business relationships. The choice of jurisdiction can be of significant importance for the outcome of a legal dispute. Therefore, it is crucial to determine whether a jurisdiction agreement made between the parties was effectively concluded. A jurisdiction agreement should therefore be on legally secure footing, explains the commercial law firm MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte, which advises its national and international clients also in commercial law and contract law.
With its decision of November 24, 2022, the ECJ contributed to making it easier to effectively regulate a jurisdiction clause contractually among business people. According to this, a jurisdiction agreement in the general terms and conditions is already effectively agreed if the written contract contains a hyperlink that refers to the terms and conditions and the terms and conditions can be viewed and downloaded online.
In the case before the ECJ, a company based in Belgium and a company in Switzerland had entered into a commercial contract. The contract included a hyperlink to the general terms and conditions of the company in Switzerland, which also included a jurisdiction agreement. The Belgian company was neither provided with the terms and conditions in writing, nor were they expressly accepted by clicking when concluding the contract. When the legal dispute arose, the Belgian company did not want to accept the jurisdiction agreement in favor of the company based in Switzerland.
The case ultimately ended up before the ECJ. It decided that the jurisdiction agreement had been effectively made. It reasoned that the hyperlink in the written contract made it possible to take note of the terms and conditions. An express acceptance by clicking was not required. This is also intended to facilitate commercial transactions and the conclusion of contracts. Although written form is still required for the main contract.
Lawyers experienced in commercial and contract law provide advice at MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte.
