Brussels Regulation Prevails Over Carriage Convention

When a carriage convention and an EU Regulation both offer provisions on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, which of the two prevails over the other? In this case, the Advocate General swayed in favour of the Brussels Regulation.

Earlier this year, the European Court of Justice was consulted by a Dutch court which sought a preliminary ruling on the issue of whether the CMR Convention took precedence over Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on Jurisdiciton and the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters ("the Brussels Regulation").

The question arose out of an international road carriage incident. TNT, the road carrier of goods which failed to arrive at their destination, was keen to limit its liability in respect of this loss and sought a declaration before the courts in Rotterdam that its liability towards the insurers of the goods, AXA, did not extend beyond the limits set out under the