Asymmetric Jurisdiction Clauses and EU Exceptionalism – Società Italiana Lastre v Agora

Andreas Giannakopoulos has written a case comment for the Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly on Società Italiana Lastre SpA v Agora Sàrl (Case C-537/23), the first decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union to consider the validity of asymmetrical jurisdiction agreements under the Brussels I (recast) Regulation.

The Court’s conclusion – that such agreements are only valid if they can be interpreted as referring exclusively to the courts of EU member states or Lugano Convention contracting states – is likely to have significant implications for the enforcement in Europe of jurisdiction agreements giving one party the option of suing before the English courts.

The note critically examines the Court’s reasoning and suggests that the matter may need to be revisited.

The full case comment is available to i-law subscribers below:

Full case comment