#14714 - Jurisdictional Issues - Civil Litigation

Does the Regulation Apply?

Before the regulation can apply the court needs to see whether it has jurisdiction over the claim.

Is there an international element?

Is the claim within the material scope? There needs to be a connection between the claim and the member state, this can be established using the defendant’s domicile (Article 4), if the jurisdiction is exclusive to a Member State (Article 24) or if there is a jurisdictional clause in a contract or the parties have agreed upon jurisdiction (Article 25).

Is the type of claim covered by the regulation? The claim must be a ‘civil and commercial matter’ or else it will be excluded by Article 1.

If the answer is ‘yes’ to all of these questions then the rules in the Regulation can apply.

Do the Courts of England and Wales have Jurisdiction?

Parallel Proceedings & Related Matters

If there are parallel proceedings (i.e. the same case being heard in another jurisdiction) then the court must stay the proceedings under Article 29.

If there are related matters (i.e. the cases should be heard together as they are so similar/involve the same people) the court has discretion and may stay proceedings under Article 30.

Serving Documents

Under the Regulation the following time limits apply:

Time from issuing the claim form to service on the defendant = 6 months (CPR 7.5(2));

Time to serve an acknowledge of service or file a defence = 21 days (CPR 6.35(3)(a));

Time to file a defence if an acknowledgement of service is filed = 35 days (CPR 6.35(3)(b)(ii)).

Chapter 15

Does the Regulation Apply?

Before the common law can apply the court needs to see whether the regulation will dictate the jurisdiction of whether the common law should be used.

Is there an international element?

Is the claim within the material scope? There needs to be a connection between the claim and the member state, this can be established using the defendant’s domicile (Article 4), if the jurisdiction is exclusive to a Member State (Article 24) or if there is a jurisdictional clause in a contract or the parties have agreed upon jurisdiction (Article 25).

Is the type of claim covered by the regulation? The claim must be a ‘civil and commercial matter’ or else it will be excluded by Article 1.

If the answer is ‘no’ to one of these questions then the Regulation cannot apply and the common law rules will be used to determine jurisdiction.

Presence

Is the defendant present in the jurisdiction - whether it be permanently or temporarily - if they are then the court of England and Wales have jurisdiction.

Submission

The defendant can submit to proceedings by either appointing an agent within the jurisdiction, or by filing an acknowledgement of service/defence and entering an appearance in proceedings.

Permission

The court may give permission for the case to be heard within the jurisdiction. In order to do so the following must be established:

Firstly, there...