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PARALLEL TEXTS
Nell’ambito di una successione di contratti, stipulati tra parti stabilite in diversi Stati membri, una clausola attributiva di competenza contenuta in un contratto di compravendita tra il produttore e l’acquirente di un bene non può essere opposta al subacquirente, a meno che quest’ultimo abbia prestato il suo consenso alla stessa
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-12_en.htm
Italiano tratto da: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-12_it.htm
Data documento: 07-02-2013
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In the context of successive contracts concluded between parties established in different Member States, a jurisdiction clause incorporated in a contract for sale between the manufacturer and the buyer of goods cannot be relied on by a sub-buyer of those goods, unless he has agreed to that clause
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Nell’ambito di una successione di contratti, stipulati tra parti stabilite in diversi Stati membri, una clausola attributiva di competenza contenuta in un contratto di compravendita tra il produttore e l’acquirente di un bene non può essere opposta al subacquirente, a meno che quest’ultimo abbia prestato il suo consenso alla stessa
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The Brussels Regulation determines the jurisdiction of the courts in civil and commercial matters, the basic principle being that the courts having jurisdiction are those in the Member State where the defendant is domiciled.
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Il regolamento n. 44/2001 determina la competenza giurisdizionale in materia civile e commerciale, articolata intorno al principio fondamentale della competenza del giudice dello Stato membro in cui è domiciliato il convenuto.
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However, in certain cases, the defendant may be sued before the courts of another Member State.
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In taluni casi, tuttavia, il convenuto può essere citato dinanzi ai giudici di un altro Stato membro.
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That is the case, in particular, where the parties – at least one of which is domiciled in the EU – have included a clause in the contract by which they agree which courts are to have jurisdiction.
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Ciò accade, in particolare, quando le parti – di cui almeno una sia domiciliata nel territorio dell’Unione – abbiano pattuito in un contratto una clausola attributiva di competenza, mediante la quale esse stesse determinano il giudice competente.
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SNC Doumer (‘Doumer’) had renovation work carried out on a building complex in Courbevoie (France). It was insured by Axa Corporate whose registered office is in France.
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La Doumer SNC ha fatto eseguire lavori di ristrutturazione di un complesso immobiliare situato a Courbevoie (Francia), assicurandosi presso la società Axa Corporate, avente sede in Francia.
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During the renovation work air conditioning units were installed, each equipped with a set of compressors which were manufactured by an Italian company Refcomp SpA, bought from that company and fitted by Climaveneta, also an Italian company and, finally supplied to Doumer by the company Liebert, to whose rights the company Emerson is subrogated, which is itself insured by Axa France both of whom have registered offices in France.
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Nell’ambito di tali lavori, sono stati installati sistemi di climatizzazione, ciascuno dei quali era munito di una serie di compressori che erano stati: 1) fabbricati dalla società italiana Refcomp SpA; 2) acquistati presso quest’ultima e assemblati dalla Climaveneta, anch’essa società italiana, e infine 3) venduti alla Doumer dalla società Liebert, alla quale è ormai subentrata la società Emerson, a sua volta assicurata presso la compagnia Axa France, le cui rispettive sedi si trovano in Francia.
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Irregularities occurred in the air conditioning system and an expert report ordered by the court revealed that those failures resulted from a manufacturing fault in the compressors.
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Sopravvenivano alcuni malfunzionamenti nel sistema di climatizzazione e una perizia giudiziaria ha rivelato che i guasti provenivano da un difetto di fabbricazione dei compressori.
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Axa Corporate, successor in title to Doumer to which it paid compensation as the insured party, sued Refcomp the Italian manufacturer, the fitter Climaveneta and the seller Emerson before the Tribunal de grande instance de Paris seeking an order for them to pay in solidum for the damage suffered.
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L’Axa Corporate, surrogata nei diritti della Doumer che aveva indennizzato quale sua assicurata, ha convenuto in giudizio il produttore italiano Refcomp, l’assemblatore Climaveneta ed il fornitore Emerson, dinanzi al tribunal de grande instance di Parigi, al fine di ottenerne la condanna in solido al risarcimento del pregiudizio subito.
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Refcomp challenged the jurisdiction of the French courts and relied on a jurisdiction clause in favour of the Italian courts in the contract concluded between it and Climaveneta.
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La Refcomp ha contestato la competenza del tribunale francese ed ha invocato una clausola attributiva della competenza ai giudici italiani contenuta nel contratto da essa stipulato con la Climaveneta.
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Since the court rejected the objection of lack of jurisdiction raised by Refcom, the latter appealed against that decision and then appealed in cassation.
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Dato che il tribunale respingeva l’eccezione di incompetenza sollevata dalla Refcomp, quest’ultima ha proposto appello avverso tale decisione e successivamente ricorso per cassazione.
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Therefore, the Court of cassation (France) asks the Court of Justice whether a jurisdiction clause in a contract for sale, concluded between the manufacturer and the initial buyer of goods, which is part of a chain of contracts concluded between parties established in different Member States, produces its effects with regard to the sub-buyer so as to allow him to bring an action for damages against the manufacturer.
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La Cour de cassation (Francia) chiede quindi alla Corte di giustizia se una clausola attributiva di competenza, contenuta in un contratto di compravendita stipulato tra il produttore e l’acquirente iniziale di un bene e che rientra in una serie di contratti stipulati tra parti stabilite in diversi Stati membri, produca i suoi effetti nei confronti del subacquirente, in modo da consentirgli di avviare un’azione di responsabilità nei confronti del produttore.
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In its judgment today, the Court states that the Brussels Regulation does not indicate whether a jurisdiction clause may be transmitted, beyond the circle of parties to the initial contract, to a third party, a party to a subsequent contract and successor to the rights and obligations of one of the parties.
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Nella sua odierna sentenza, la Corte rileva che il regolamento non precisa se una clausola attributiva di competenza possa essere trasmessa, oltre la cerchia composta dalle parti del contratto iniziale, a un terzo, parte di un contratto ulteriore e che succede nei diritti e nelle obbligazioni di una delle parti del contratto iniziale.
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The Court recalls that it is for the national court hearing the case to examine whether the parties have in fact agreed to the jurisdiction clause, because the verification as to whether the parties concerned have really consented is one of the objectives pursued by the regulation.
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La Corte ricorda che spetta al giudice nazionale adito esaminare se la clausola attribuiva della competenza ad un determinato giudice abbia effettivamente costituito oggetto del consenso delle parti, poiché la verifica dell’effettività del consenso degli interessati rappresenta uno degli scopi perseguiti dal regolamento.
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The Court concludes that the jurisdiction clause incorporated in a contract may produce effects only in the relations between the parties which have agreed to conclude that contract.
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La Corte conclude che la clausola attributiva di competenza contenuta in un contratto può esplicare i suoi effetti soltanto nei rapporti tra le parti che hanno prestato il loro accordo alla stipulazione di tale contratto.
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It follows that that clause may be relied on against a third party only if the latter has in fact consented to it.
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Ne consegue che è opponibile ad un terzo soltanto se quest’ultimo abbia effettivamente prestato il suo consenso.
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Therefore, in so far as the Court has already held, in the context of the regulation, that the sub-buyer and the manufacturer cannot be regarded as being united by a contractual link, it must be concluded that they cannot be regarded, within the meaning of the regulation, as having ‘agreed’ to the court designated as having jurisdiction in the initial contract concluded between the manufacturer and the first buyer.
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Pertanto, poiché la Corte ha già dichiarato che, ai fini dell’applicazione del regolamento, il subacquirente ed il produttore non possono essere considerati legati da un vincolo contrattuale, occorre dedurne che non è possibile ritenere, ai sensi del regolamento stesso, che essi «abbiano attribuito la competenza» di un giudice designato come competente nel contratto iniziale stipulato tra il produttore ed il primo acquirente.
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That interpretation of the regulation, which does not refer to the national legal systems, thereby avoids different solutions arising in the Member States which would be likely to compromise the objective of unifying the rules of jurisdiction pursued by the regulation.
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Tale interpretazione del regolamento – che non rinvia agli ordinamenti giuridici nazionali – evita in tal modo di dar luogo a soluzioni divergenti tra gli Stati membri, tali da compromettere l’obiettivo di unificare le norme sulla competenza che il regolamento persegue.
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Such a reference to national law would also be an element of uncertainty incompatible with the concern to ensure the foreseeability of jurisdiction which is one of the objectives of the regulation.
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Un rinvio al diritto nazionale sarebbe altresì fattore d’incertezze, incompatibili con l’obiettivo di garantire la prevedibilità della competenza giurisdizionale, che rappresenta uno degli scopi del regolamento.
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Accordingly, the Court’s answer is that the regulation must be interpreted as meaning that a jurisdiction clause in a contract for sale concluded between the manufacturer of goods and the initial buyer, may only be relied on against a third party sub-buyer who, at the end of a succession of contracts transferring ownership concluded between the parties established in different Member States, has purchased those goods and wishes to bring an action for damages against the manufacturer, unless it is established that that third party has given his consent to that clause.
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Di conseguenza, la Corte risponde dichiarando che il regolamento dev’essere interpretato nel senso che una clausola attributiva di competenza, contenuta in un contratto di compravendita stipulato tra il produttore di un bene e l’acquirente iniziale, non può essere opposta al terzo subacquirente che, in esito ad una successione di contratti traslativi di proprietà stipulati tra parti stabilite in diversi Stati membri, abbia acquistato tale bene ed intenda avviare un’azione di responsabilità nei confronti del produttore, salvo il caso in cui sia accertato che tale terzo ha prestato il suo consenso a detta clausola.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law or the validity of a European Union act.
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Il rinvio pregiudiziale consente ai giudici degli Stati membri, nell'ambito di una controversia della quale sono investiti, di interpellare la Corte in merito all’interpretazione del diritto dell’Unione o alla validità di un atto dell’Unione.
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The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
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La Corte non risolve la controversia nazionale.
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It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised.
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Spetta al giudice nazionale risolvere la causa conformemente alla decisione della Corte. Tale decisione vincola egualmente gli altri giudici nazionali ai quali venga sottoposto un problema simile.
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
In the context of successive contracts concluded between parties
established in different Member States, a jurisdiction clause incorporated in a
contract for sale between the manufacturer and the buyer of goods cannot be
relied on by a sub-buyer of those goods, unless he has agreed to that clause
The Brussels Regulation determines the jurisdiction of the courts in
civil and commercial matters, the basic principle being that the courts having
jurisdiction are those in the Member State where the defendant is domiciled.
However, in certain cases, the defendant may be sued before the courts
of another Member State.
That is the case, in particular, where the parties – at least one of
which is domiciled in the EU – have included a clause in the contract by which
they agree which courts are to have jurisdiction.
SNC Doumer (‘Doumer’) had renovation work carried out on a building
complex in Courbevoie (France). It was insured by Axa Corporate whose registered
office is in France.
During the renovation work air conditioning units were installed, each
equipped with a set of compressors which were manufactured by an Italian company
Refcomp SpA, bought from that company and fitted by Climaveneta, also an Italian
company and, finally supplied to Doumer by the company Liebert, to whose rights
the company Emerson is subrogated, which is itself insured by Axa France both of
whom have registered offices in France.
Irregularities occurred in the air conditioning system and an expert
report ordered by the court revealed that those failures resulted from a
manufacturing fault in the compressors.
Axa Corporate, successor in title to Doumer to which it paid
compensation as the insured party, sued Refcomp the Italian manufacturer, the
fitter Climaveneta and the seller Emerson before the Tribunal de grande instance
de Paris seeking an order for them to pay in solidum for the damage suffered.
Refcomp challenged the jurisdiction of the French courts and relied on
a jurisdiction clause in favour of the Italian courts in the contract concluded
between it and Climaveneta.
Since the court rejected the objection of lack of jurisdiction raised
by Refcom, the latter appealed against that decision and then appealed in
cassation.
Therefore, the Court of cassation (France) asks the Court of Justice
whether a jurisdiction clause in a contract for sale, concluded between the
manufacturer and the initial buyer of goods, which is part of a chain of
contracts concluded between parties established in different Member States,
produces its effects with regard to the sub-buyer so as to allow him to bring an
action for damages against the manufacturer.
In its judgment today, the Court states that the Brussels Regulation
does not indicate whether a jurisdiction clause may be transmitted, beyond the
circle of parties to the initial contract, to a third party, a party to a
subsequent contract and successor to the rights and obligations of one of the
parties.
The Court recalls that it is for the national court hearing the case to
examine whether the parties have in fact agreed to the jurisdiction clause,
because the verification as to whether the parties concerned have really
consented is one of the objectives pursued by the regulation.
The Court concludes that the jurisdiction clause incorporated in a
contract may produce effects only in the relations between the parties which
have agreed to conclude that contract.
It follows that that clause may be relied on against a third party only
if the latter has in fact consented to it.
Therefore, in so far as the Court has already held, in the context of
the regulation, that the sub-buyer and the manufacturer cannot be regarded as
being united by a contractual link, it must be concluded that they cannot be
regarded, within the meaning of the regulation, as having ‘agreed’ to the court
designated as having jurisdiction in the initial contract concluded between the
manufacturer and the first buyer.
That interpretation of the regulation, which does not refer to the
national legal systems, thereby avoids different solutions arising in the Member
States which would be likely to compromise the objective of unifying the rules
of jurisdiction pursued by the regulation.
Such a reference to national law would also be an element of
uncertainty incompatible with the concern to ensure the foreseeability of
jurisdiction which is one of the objectives of the regulation.
Accordingly, the Court’s answer is that the regulation must be
interpreted as meaning that a jurisdiction clause in a contract for sale
concluded between the manufacturer of goods and the initial buyer, may only be
relied on against a third party sub-buyer who, at the end of a succession of
contracts transferring ownership concluded between the parties established in
different Member States, has purchased those goods and wishes to bring an action
for damages against the manufacturer, unless it is established that that third
party has given his consent to that clause.
NOTE:
A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of
the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer
questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law
or the validity of a European Union act.
The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in
accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other
national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised. |