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The Brussels Convention, officially the "Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters", also known as the EEX Convention, presumably standing for European Execution Treaty , was agreed in 1968 by the member states of the European union EU, with the goal of increasing economic efficiency and promoting the single market by harmonizing the rules on jurisdiction and preventing parallel litigation. The Brussels Convention applies in civil and commercial matters whatever the nature of the court or tribunal. It shall not extend, in particular, to revenue, customs or administrative matters.
The Brussels Convention does not apply to the status or legal capacity of natural persons, rights in property arising out of a matrimonial relationship, wills and succession,bankruptcy, proceedings relating to the winding-up of insolvent companies or other legal persons, judicial arrangements, compositions and analogous proceedings;social security;arbitration. This treaty gives an Overview of International Agreements and Treaties and lays down rules governing the jurisdiction of the courts and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters in the Member States of the EU. The Regulation lays down rules governing the jurisdiction of the courts in civil and commercial matters. A judgment given in a Member State is to be recognized automatically, no special proceedings being necessary unless recognition is actually contested. A declaration that a foreign judgment is enforceable is to be issued after purely formal checks of the documents supplied. The Regulation lists grounds for non-enforcement, but the courts are not to raise these of their own motion.
The basic principle of Brussels Convention is that jurisdiction is to be exercised by the Member State in which the defendant is domiciled, regardless of his or her nationality. Domicile is determined in accordance with the domestic law of the Member State where the matter is brought before a court. If a party is not domiciled in the Member State of the court considering the matter, then, in order to determine whether the party is domiciled in another Member State, the court is to apply the law
of that other Member State. In the case of legal persons or firms, domicile is determined by the country where they have their statutory seat, central administration or principal place of business. In the case of trusts, domicile is defined by the judge of the Member State whose court is considering the case; the court applies its own rules of private international law. It is one of the Major Treaties of the World.
The provisions of Brussels Convention are not applicable, however, where the distribution of signals is made from a direct broadcasting satellite. The Brussels Convention does not provide for the institution of a Union, any governing body or a budget. It is open to any State that is a member of the United Nations or of any of the agencies belonging to the United Nations system of organizations. Instruments of ratification, acceptance or accession must be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
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