All or nothing? The relation between the mosaic jurisdiction and the centre of interests connecting factor. Commentary on the decision of the Polish Supreme Court of 18 February 2025, ref. no. II CSKP 1586/22

Abstract

The paper discusses the Polish Supreme Court’s decision of 18 February 2025, ref. no. II CSKP 1586/22 – the continuation of the case in which the CJEU previously had the opportunity to adjudicate, i.e. Mittelbayerischer Verlag KG v. SM (judgment of 17 June 2021, C-800/19). The decision of the Polish Supreme Court addressed the issue of the scope of jurisdiction of national courts, namely, the relation between the principle of mosaic jurisdiction and the application of the centre of interests connecting factor. This case illustrates that the application of the mosaic jurisdiction alleviates the strictness of the requirements needed to establish the place of the centre of interests. The commented case concerns the violations of personality rights caused by statements that constitute a historical falsification published online. The broad protection afforded by Polish substantive law in such cases presents difficulties in relation to the jurisdictional rules of EU law. It is observed that, in the context of protecting personality rights, differences in the substantive law of Member States indirectly influence how the issue is perceived in the case law of the CJEU. Particular challenges emerge when applying infringement assessment mechanisms, used for defamation, to the protection of specific personality right