Asymmetric jurisdiction clause is where one of the parties agrees that the English courts has jurisdiction, whereas the other party can bring proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The court held that the clause in this case conferred exclusive jurisdiction on the English court, meaning it could hear the case even though it was not the court first seised. Article 25 of EU Regulation 1215/2012 provides that if the parties agree that the courts of an EU Member State have jurisdiction, those courts will have exclusive jurisdiction unless the parties agree otherwise. Accordingly, if the courts of any other Member State are seised, those courts are obliged to stay their proceedings.
Commerzbank v Liquimar [2017] EWHC 161 (Comm)
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