COURT OF APPEAL (ENGLAND AND WALES) 18 December 2020 [2020] EWCA Civ 1707

摘要

An asymmetric jurisdiction clause in an aircraft finance agreement can be read as containing two distinct jurisdiction agreements, i.e. an exclusive jurisdiction agreement in which the lessee agrees only to bring claims in the court of a specific jurisdiction and a distinct non-exclusive jurisdiction agreement by which the lessor is entitled to bring its claims in that court or any other court with jurisdiction. Although both the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements and the Recast Brussel Regulation provide that where parties agree an exclusive choice of court, unless the designated court refuses to uphold the jurisdiction, the courts in other contracting states must stay or dismiss proceedings, the court rejected the argument that the asymmetric clause should not constitute an exclusive jurisdiction clause under the Recast Brussels Regulation because it probably wouldn 't under the Hague Convention, to which the UK became a party of its own right following its departure from the EU.