Regressing into the right direction: Non-contractual claims in proceedings between contracting parties under Article 7 of the Brussels Ia Regulation
| Date | 01 June 2021 |
| Author | Michiel Poesen |
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X211014719 |
| Published date | 01 June 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Case Notes |
Case Note
Regressing into the right
direction: Non-contractual
claims in proceedings between
contracting parties under
Article 7 of the Brussels
Ia Regulation
Michiel Poesen*
Abstract
This case comment addresses the interpretation of ‘matters relating to a contract’ in the EU law of
civil jurisdiction, contained in the Brussels Ia Regulation. Recently, this topic received renewed
attention in the Wikingerhofv.Booking.com judgment of the CJEU. More particularly, the judgment
addressed whether non-contractual claims in proceedings between contracting parties can be
characterized as a ‘matter relating to a contract’. This seemingly trivial question has been a
recurring source of trouble in the case law of the CJEU as well as national courts. The annotation
will side with the approach taken in this judgment, but criticize it for taking a long way round to
settling the issue.
Keywords
Contract, tort, concurrent liability, characterization, adjudicative jurisdiction, Brussels Ia
Regulation
1. Introduction
Private lawyers have dedicated a whole lot of effort to defining and refining the border between
contract and tort (or any other non-contractual obligation for that matter, such as statutory, fidu-
ciary, equitable or quasi-contractual duties). A similar pursuit is taking place in the EU law of civil
* KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Corresponding author:
Michiel Poesen, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 41, Box 3417, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
E-mail: michiel.poesen@kuleuven.be
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
2021, Vol. 28(3) 390–398
ªThe Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/1023263X211014719
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