Jurisdiction in Actions for Damages Against Private-law Companies Acting on Behalf of and upon Delegation from a Third State

This paper deals with the legal characteristic of the classification and certification of ships in the context of jurisdiction in actions for damages against private-law corporations acting on behalf of and upon delegation from a third state which is generally the ship’s flag state. The aim of the analysis was to determine whether the activities of ship classification and certification societies fall within acta iure imperii or acta iure gestionis. This is a key issue in determining the jurisdiction of courts in case of an action for damages against private-law corporations engaged in the classification and certification of ships on behalf of and upon delegation from a third state. Analysis showed that a private-law entity performing classification and certification activities does not act as a public authority. Thus, the activities of ship classification and certification corporations fall within acta iure gestionis. As a result, actions for damages against private-law corporations engaged in the classification and certification of ships on behalf of and upon delegation from a third state fall within the concept of “civil and commercial matters” and, consequently, are not excluded from the scope of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters and, consequently, of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.