REGULATION (EU) No 1215/2012 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL<BR/>of 12 December 2012<BR/>on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters<BR/>(recast) | Art. 16 Brussels Ia REG, Art. 17 Brussels Ia REG, Art. 18 Brussels Ia REG, Art. 19 Brussels Ia REG

pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II).

SECTION 4. Jurisdiction over consumer contracts

Art. 17 1. In matters relating to a contract concluded by a person, the consumer, for a purpose which can be regarded as being outside his trade or profession, jurisdiction shall be determined by this Section, without prejudice to Article 6 and point 5 of Article 7, if:

(a): it is a contract for the sale of goods on instalment credit terms;
(b): it is a contract for a loan repayable by instalments, or for any other form of credit, made to finance the sale of goods; or
(c): in all other cases, the contract has been concluded with a person who pursues commercial or professional activities in the Member State of the consumer’s domicile or, by any means, directs such activities to that Member State or to several States including that Member State, and the contract falls within the scope of such activities.

2. Where a consumer enters into a contract with a party who is not domiciled in a Member State but has a branch, agency or other establishment in one of the Member States, that party shall, in disputes arising out of the operations of the branch, agency or establishment, be deemed to be domiciled in that Member State.

3. This Section shall not apply to a contract of transport other than a contract which, for an inclusive price, provides for a combination of travel and accommodation.

Art. 18 1. A consumer may bring proceedings against the other party to a contract either in the courts of the Member State in which that party is domiciled or, regardless of the domicile of the other party, in the courts for the place where the consumer is domiciled.

2. Proceedings may be brought against a consumer by the other party to the contract only in the courts of the Member State in which the consumer is domiciled.

3. This Article shall not affect the right to bring a counter-claim in the court in which, in accordance with this Section, the original claim is pending.

Art. 19 The provisions of this Section may be departed from only by an agreement:

(1): which is entered into after the dispute has arisen;
(2): which allows the consumer to bring proceedings in courts other than those indicated in this Section; or
(3): which is entered into by the consumer and the other party to the contract, both of whom are at the time of conclusion of the contract domiciled or habitually resident in the same Member State, and which confers jurisdiction on the courts of that Member State, provided that such an agreement is not contrary to the law of that Member State.