The concept of “the other party contract” in the application of international jurisdiction rules in consumer contracts

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to study the concept of “the other party contract” as set out in Articles 17 to 19 of the Brussels I bis Regulation, which, together with the concept of consumer, defines the subjective scope of jurisdiction in consumer contracts under the Regulation. In the absence of a precise definition, this concept is constructed based on the notion of consumer and the requirement that the contract has been effectively concluded. As with the notion of consumer, the body of EU secondary legislation based on directives in this area serves as a key tool for the systematic interpretation of this concept, particularly in cases where the consumer is contractually bound, in an inseparable manner, to two co–contracting parties.