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Bruxelles I bis Regulation: The Italian Court of Cassation again on the jurisdiction of the place of performance in international sales contracts

Foreign court decisions

Bruxelles I bis Regulation: The Italian Court of Cassation again on the jurisdiction of the place of performance in international sales contracts

The united senates of the Italian Court of Cassation reaffirmed on 10.11.2022 (decision no. 33246/2022) that the agreement of an ex-works clause is basically irrelevant for the place of jurisdiction. An Incoterms EXW clause ("pick-up clause") states that the seller sells his goods ex-works and that he does not bear the transport, or the costs incurred for this.

An Italian seller sued for payment in Italy and the Polish buyer was successful in claiming international lack of jurisdiction. According to the Italian Court of Cassation, the agreed EXW clause only regulates the costs and risks of the delivery, but this was not a sufficient indication for determining the place of performance within the meaning of Art. 7 of EU Regulation No. 1215/2012. In the absence of any other contractual provision about the place of delivery, the Polish courts had international jurisdiction because the goods were delivered there. The Court of Cassation therefore confirms the orientation expressed in its recent judgment of 24/5/2022 (Judgment No. 83521/2020).