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Many Italian companies, and fewer Bulgarian ones, that trade or export their products or manufactured goods abroad fail to put suitable contractual safeguards in place to limit losses in the event of breach. Even substantial supplies are very often supported only by simple email exchanges and sales invoices; sometimes international CMR consignment notes are also missing or incomplete.
It is clear that the absence of a well-structured supply contract suited to actual needs provides certainty in the commercial transaction and a greater possibility of obtaining recognition of one's credit claim; simply considering oneself a creditor in fact is insufficient without the legal documents needed to obtain appropriate judicial protection as quickly as possible and without scope for dispute.
Very often, in the absence of specific agreements, even determining the competent jurisdiction for a contractual dispute concerning one or more international trade transactions between Italy and Bulgaria, in either direction, or the provision of services or simple installation works, is difficult.
Obtaining, with the assistance of international professionals, the tools needed to address possible disputes arising in ordinary commercial relationships is therefore essential to operating consciously and with full awareness in foreign markets. Investment is needed not only in sales networks but, above all, in preventive contractual and commercial advice; otherwise there is a serious risk that the first problem will undo years of work.
A business expanding internationally therefore needs appropriate legal protection, avoiding generic, context-free templates that cannot provide adequate legal safeguards.
Jurisdiction over a dispute involving parties residing or domiciled in different countries is governed by Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012, an extract of which is reproduced below.
JURISDICTION
SECTION 1 General provisions
Article 4 1. Subject to this Regulation, persons domiciled in a Member State shall, whatever their nationality, be sued in the courts of that Member State. 2. Persons who are not nationals of the Member State in which they are domiciled shall be governed by the rules of jurisdiction applicable to nationals of that Member State. Article 5 1. Persons domiciled in a Member State may be sued in the courts of another Member State only by virtue of the rules set out in Sections 2 to 7 of this Chapter. 2. In particular, the rules of national jurisdiction which Member States must notify to the Commission pursuant to Article 76(1)(a) shall not apply to the persons referred to in paragraph 1. Article 6 1. If the defendant is not domiciled in a Member State, the jurisdiction of the courts of each Member State shall, subject to Article 18(1), Article 21(2) and Articles 24 and 25, be determined by the law of that Member State. 2. Against such a defendant, any person domiciled in a Member State may, whatever their nationality, avail themselves in that Member State of the rules of jurisdiction there in force, and in particular those which Member States must notify to the Commission pursuant to Article 76(1)(a), in the same way as nationals of that Member State. SECTION 2 Special jurisdiction
Article 7 A person domiciled in a Member State may be sued in another Member State: 1) (a) in matters relating to a contract, in the courts for the place of performance of the obligation in question; (b) for the purposes of this provision and unless otherwise agreed, the place of performance of the obligation in question shall be: — in the case of the sale of goods, the place in a Member State where, under the contract, the goods were delivered or should have been delivered, — in the case of the provision of services, the place in a Member State where, under the contract, the services were provided or should have been provided; (c) point (a) applies if point (b) does not apply; 2) in matters relating to tort, delict or quasi-delict, in the courts for the place where the harmful event occurred or may occur; 3) as regards a civil claim for damages or restitution based on an act giving rise to criminal proceedings, in the court seised of those proceedings, to the extent that that court has jurisdiction under its own law to entertain civil proceedings; 4) as regards a civil claim for the recovery, based on ownership, of a cultural object as defined in Article 1(1) of Directive 93/7/EEC, brought by the person claiming the right to recover that object, in the courts for the place where the cultural object is situated when the court is seised; 5) as regards a dispute arising out of the operations of a branch, agency or other establishment, in the courts for the place where the branch, agency or other establishment is situated; 6) as regards a dispute brought against a settlor, trustee or beneficiary of a trust created by statute, or by a written instrument, or orally and evidenced in writing, in the courts of the Member State in which the trust is domiciled; 7) as regards a dispute concerning the payment of remuneration claimed in respect of the salvage of a cargo or freight, in the court under the authority of which the cargo or freight in question: (a) has been arrested to secure such payment; or (b) could have been so arrested, but bail or other security has been given; provided that this provision applies only if it is claimed that the defendant has an interest in the cargo or freight or had such an interest at the time of salvage. Article 8 A person domiciled in a Member State may also be sued: 1) where that person is one of a number of defendants, in the courts for the place where any one of them is domiciled, provided the claims are so closely connected that it is expedient to hear and determine them together to avoid the risk of irreconcilable judgments resulting from separate proceedings; 2) as a third party in an action on a warranty or guarantee or in any other third-party proceedings, in the court seised of the original proceedings, unless these were instituted solely with the object of removing that person from the jurisdiction of the court which would be competent in their case; 3) on a counterclaim arising from the same contract or facts on which the original claim was based, in the court in which the original claim is pending; 4) in matters relating to a contract, if the action may be combined with an action against the same defendant in matters relating to rights in rem in immovable property, in the court of the Member State in which the property is situated. Article 9 Where, by virtue of this Regulation, a court of a Member State has jurisdiction in actions relating to liability arising from the use or operation of a ship, that court, or any other court substituted for this purpose by the internal law of that Member State, shall also have jurisdiction over claims for limitation of such liability.
When arranging business relations between Bulgaria and Italy, it is necessary to consider the applicable legislation and regulate the relationship clearly with assistance from qualified professionals.
De Amicis & Petrova Law Firm supports Bulgarian and Italian businesses in preparing commercial contracts, partnerships, supply agreements and public and private procurement contracts.