Clarifying the Enforce ability of Jurisdiction Clauses for Private Actions of Competition Law: Case C-59/19 Wikingerhof

摘要

Legal actions initiated before the court of the place where the damage caused by the alleged abuse of dominant position occur may lead to exclude the enforceability of jurisdiction clauses set out under standard terms and conditions in accordance to Point 2 of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council dated 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. The decision dated 24 November 2020 of the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) (the 'Court') represents an important milestone in favour of private actions in competition law. Its holding sheds light on the distinction between contractual disputes and tort disputes for the purposes of determining the competent court. On a reference for a preliminary ruling made in the context of a dispute between Booking.com and a hotel (Wikingerhof) in Germany, the Court held that: 'Point 2 of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters [jurisdiction rules in matters relating to tort, delict or quasi-delict] must be interpreted as applying to an action seeking an injunction against certain practices implemented in the context of the contractual relationship between the applicant and the defendant, based on an allegation of abuse of a dominant position by the latter in breach of competition law'.