Ousting Jurisdiction and the European Conventions

The Brussels and Lugano Conventions together create a common European regime for regulating jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. This was never intended to replace entirely the equivalent rules of national law, and local rules conferring jurisdiction generally govern if the defendant is not domiciled in a Contracting State. But it remains unclear when, if at all, national rules for declining jurisdiction may be employed if a court’s competence derives from the European regime.