Foreign jurisdiction (udenlandsk værneting)
Also known as international jurisdiction, cross-border jurisdiction, jurisdiction abroad
Foreign jurisdiction is the question of which country's court can hear the case when the debtor is based in another country.
- General rule
- The debtor's home country
- Can be agreed
- By a jurisdiction clause
- Within the EU
- Common rules
In practice
The general rule is the same as at home, only across borders: the case is heard where the debtor belongs. If the customer sits in Poland, the starting point is a Polish court — with everything that brings in language, local counsel and a process nobody in the building has been through before.
Within the EU there are common rules on which court has jurisdiction, and they recognise a jurisdiction agreement between businesses. That is what makes the clause worth having: it moves the case home before it even arises.
Outside the EU the picture is more mixed. It then depends on that country’s own rules and on whether there is an arrangement between the countries for recognising each other’s judgments. That is not a reason to give up on collecting — but it is a reason to know before you sell.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- The jurisdiction clause appears only on the invoice. It has to be part of the contract, agreed before the deal, or it has not been agreed at all.
- Assuming a Danish judgment can always be used. Within the EU enforcement is straightforward. Outside it is a separate question, best settled in advance.