Not again Bill of Lading and international jurisdiction. Some observations on the issue around ruling no. 93/2019, July 5th, of the Provincial High Court of Madrid (section no. 28)

Abstract

The jurisdiction clause inserted in the Bill of Lading constitutes one of the biggest current issues of Maritime Law and International Civil Procedural Law. The Provincial High Court of Madrid, pursuant to the prevalence of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, grants validity to the clause in question, but resorts to the literal quotation of an already old ruling. The present paper seeks to carry out the necessary update of the case to understand the issue from the normative, jurisprudential and argu- mentative point of view. Likewise, it is analyzed if the clause of jurisdiction and the plea of jurisdiction constitute abuse in law, abuse in rights, or similar issues. Finally, considerations on the imperativeness or availability of art. 468 of the Spanish Maritime Act are made. Beyond the mere comment on a judicial decision, the paper also aims to reflect on other relevant issues.