PROTOCOL drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Communities of the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Matrimonial Matters

THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES to this Protocol, Member States of the European Union,

REFERRING to the Council Act of 28 May 1998 drawing up, on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, the Protocol on the Interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Communities of the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Matrimonial Matters,

REFERRING to Article 45 of the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Matrimonial Matters, which provides that the Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have jurisdiction to give rulings on the interpretation of that Convention and this Protocol,

WISHING to regulate the conditions under which the Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have jurisdiction to give rulings on questions of interpretation of the Convention and this Protocol,

HAVE AGREED UPON THE FOLLOWING PROVISIONS:

Article 1

In accordance with Article 45 of the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Matrimonial Matters, hereinafter referred to as 'the Convention`, the Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have jurisdiction, under the conditions laid down in this Protocol, to give rulings on the interpretation of the Convention and this Protocol.

Article 2

1. At the time of the notification referred to in Article 9(2), each Member State shall indicate which courts may request the Court of Justice to give preliminary rulings on questions of interpretation.

2. The courts to which this right may be granted shall be either:

a) the highest courts of Member States listed in Article 3, or

b) the highest courts listed in Article 3 and the other courts of the Member States where they are sitting in an appellate capacity.

Article 3

1. For the purposes of applying this Protocol, the highest courts of Member States are those listed below:

- in Belgium: the 'Cour de Cassation` or the 'Hof van Cassatie` and the 'Conseil d'Etat` or the 'Raad van State`,

- in Denmark: the 'H酶jesteret`,

- in Germany: the 'Obersten Gerichtsh枚fe des Bundes`,

- in Greece: '脕铆镁么谩么茂 脜é盲é锚眉 脛é锚谩贸么脼帽é茂`, '脕帽氓é茂貌 脨脺茫茂貌`, '脫玫矛芒茂媒毛é茂 脜冒é锚帽谩么氓脽谩貌`, '脜毛氓茫锚么é锚眉 脫玫铆脻盲帽é茂`,

- in Spain: the 'Tribunal Supremo`,

- in France: the 'Cour de Cassation` and the 'Conseil d'Etat`,

- in Ireland: the Supreme Court,

- in Italy: the 'Corte Suprema di Cassazione`,

- in Luxembourg: the 'Cour supérieure de justice` sitting as a Cassation Court,

- in the Netherlands: the 'Hoge Raad`,

- in Austria: the 'Oberste Gerichtshof`, the 'Verwaltungsgerichtshof` and the 'Verfassungsgerichtshof`,

- in Portugal: the 'Supremo Tribunal de Justiça`,

- in Finland: 'korkein oikeus/h枚gsta domstolen` and 'korkein hallinto-oikeus/h枚gsta f枚rvaltningsdomstolen`,

- in Sweden: 'H枚gsta domstolen and Regerings麓rtten`,

- in the United Kingdom: the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords.

2. At the request of the Member State concerned, the list of Member States' highest courts referred to in paragraph 1 may be amended by a decision of the Council.

Article 4

1. Where a question of interpretation is raised in a case pending before one of the highest courts listed in Article 3(1), that court shall, if it considers that a decision on the question is necessary to enable it to give judgment, request the Court of Justice to give a ruling thereon.

2. Where such a question is raised before a court sitting in an appellate capacity, that court may, under the conditions laid down in paragraph 1, request the Court of Justice to give a ruling thereon.

Article 5

The Council, the Commission and the Member States shall have the right to submit to the Court statements of cases or written observations in cases brought before it under Article 1.

Article 6

1. The competent authority of a Member State may request the Court of Justice to give a ruling on a question of interpretation if judgments given by courts of that State conflict with the interpretation given either by the Court of Justice or in a judgment of one of the courts of another Member State referred to in Article 2, if that Member State is a Party to this Protocol. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply only to judgments which have become res judicata.

2. The interpretation given by the Court of Justice in response to such a request shall not affect the judgments which gave rise to the request for interpretation.

3. The Procurators-General of the Courts of Cassation of the Member States, or any other authority designated by a Member State, shall be entitled to request the Court of Justice for a ruling on interpretation in accordance with paragraph 1.

4. The Registrar of the Court of Justice shall give notice of the request to the Member States, to the Commission and to the Council. They shall then be entitled within two months of the notification to submit statements of case or written observations to the Court.

5. No fees shall be levied or any costs or expenses awarded in respect of the proceedings provided for in this Article.

Article 7

The Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Community and the Rules of Procedure of that Court shall apply.

Article 8

This Protocol may not be subject to any reservation.

Article 9

1. This Protocol shall be subject to adoption by the Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional rules.

2. Member States shall notify the depositary of the completion of their respective constitutional requirements for the adoption of this Protocol.

3. This Protocol shall enter into force 90 days after the notification referred to in paragraph 2 by the third State which, being a member of the European Union at the time the Council adopts the act drawing up this Protocol, completes that formality. However, it shall at the earliest enter into force at the same time as the Convention.

Article 10

1. This Protocol shall be open to acession by any State that becomes a member of the European Union.

2. Instruments of accession shall be deposited with the depositary.

3. When depositing its instruments of accession, the acceding Member State shall indicate in a declaration:

a) the conditions for the application of Article 2 with respect to it;

b) which of its highest Courts has, or shall have, the right to ask the Court of Justice to give preliminary rulings on questions of interpretation in accordance with Article 3(1).

4. Before the date on which this Protocol enters into force in respect of the acceding Member State, the Council shall adopt, in accordance with Article 3(2), amendments to the list of highest Courts in Article 3(1).

5. The text of this Protocol in the language or languages of the acceding Member State, as drawn up by the Council, shall be authentic.

6. This Protocol shall enter into force with respect to any Member State that accedes to it 90 days after the date of deposit of its instrument of accession or on the date of entry into force of this Protocol if it has not already entered into force at the time of expiry of the said period of 90 days.

Article 11

1. Without prejudice to Article 3(2) and Article 10(4), amendments to this Protocol may be proposed by any Member State party to this Protocol or by the Commission. Any proposal for an amendment shall be sent to the depositary, who shall forward it to the Council.

2. Amendments shall be drawn up by the Council, which shall recommend that they be adopted by the Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional rules.

3. Amendments thus adopted shall enter into force in accordance with the provisions of Article 9.

Article 12

1. The Secretary-General of the Council shall act as depositary of this Protocol.

2. The depositary shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Communities the notifications, instruments or communications concerning this Protocol.

En fe de lo cual los plenipotenciarios abajo firmantes suscriben el presente Protocolo.

Til bekr忙ftelse heraf har undertegnede befuldm忙gtigede underskrevet denne protokol.

Zu Urkund dessen haben die unterzeichneten Bevollm盲chtigten ihre Unterschrift unter dieses Protokoll gesetzt.

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In witness whereof, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have signed this Protocol.

En foi de quoi, les plénipotentiaires soussignés ont apposé leurs signatures au bas du présent protocole.

D谩 fhian煤 sin, chuir na L谩nchumhachtaigh th铆os-s铆nithe a l谩mh leis an bPr贸tacal seo.

In fede di che i plenipotenziari sottoscritti hanno apposto le loro firme in calce al presente protocollo.

Ten blijke waarvan de ondergetekende gevolmachtigden hun handtekening onder dit protocol hebben gesteld.

Em fé do que, os plenipotenci谩rios abaixo-assinados apuseram as suas assinaturas no presente protocolo.

T盲m盲n vakuudeksi alla mainitut t盲ysivaltaiset edustajat ovat allekirjoittaneet t盲m盲n p枚yt盲kirjan.

Till bekr盲ftelse h盲rav har undertecknade befullm盲ktigade ombud undertecknat detta protokoll.

Hecho en Bruselas, el veintiocho de mayo de mil novecientos noventa y ocho, en un ejemplar 煤nico en lenguas alemana, danesa, espa帽ola, finesa, francesa, griega, inglesa, irlandesa, italiana, neerlandesa, portuguesa y sueca, siendo cada uno de estos textos igualmente auténtico, que ser谩 depositado en los archivos de la Secretar铆a General del Consejo de la Uni贸n Europea.

Udf忙rdiget i Bruxelles, den otteogtyvende maj nitten hundrede og otteoghalvfems, i ét eksemplar p氓 dansk, engelsk, finsk, fransk, gr忙sk, irsk, italiensk, nederlandsk, portugisisk, spansk, svensk og tysk, idet hver af disse tekster har samme gyldighed; de deponeres i arkiverne i Generalsekretariatet for R氓det for Den Europ忙iske Union.

Geschehen zu Br眉ssel am achtundzwanzigsten Mai neunzehnhundertachtundneunzig in einer Urschrift in d盲nischer, deutscher, englischer, finnischer, franz枚sischer, griechischer, irischer, italienischer, niederl盲ndischer, portugiesischer, schwedischer und spanischer Sprache, wobei jeder Wortlaut gleicherma脽en verbindlich ist; die Urschrift wird im Archiv des Generalsekretariats des Rates der Europ盲ischen Union hinterlegt.

赂茫é铆氓 贸么é貌 脗帽玫卯脻毛毛氓貌, 贸么é貌 氓脽锚茂贸é 茂锚么镁 脤谩脌茂玫 梅脽毛é谩 氓铆铆é谩锚眉贸é谩 氓铆氓铆脼铆么谩 茂锚么镁, 贸氓 脻铆谩 矛眉铆茂 谩铆么脽么玫冒茂 贸么ç铆 谩茫茫毛é锚脼, 茫谩毛毛é锚脼, 茫氓帽矛谩铆é锚脼, 盲谩铆é锚脼, 氓毛毛ç铆é锚脼, é帽毛谩铆盲é锚脼, é贸冒谩铆é锚脼, é么谩毛é锚脼, 茂毛毛谩铆盲é锚脼, 冒茂帽么茂茫谩毛é锚脼, 贸茂玫ç盲é锚脼 锚谩é 枚é铆毛谩铆盲é锚脼 茫毛镁贸贸谩. 录毛谩 么谩 锚氓脽矛氓铆谩 氓脽铆谩é 氓卯脽贸茂玫 谩玫è氓铆么é锚脺. 脭茂 冒帽霉么眉锚茂毛毛茂 è谩 锚谩么谩么氓è氓脽 贸么谩 谩帽梅氓脽谩 么ç貌 脙氓铆é锚脼貌 脙帽谩矛矛谩么氓脽谩貌 么茂玫 脫玫矛芒茂玫毛脽茂玫 么ç貌 脜玫帽霉冒谩煤锚脼貌 赂铆霉贸ç貌.

Done at Brussels on the twenty-eighth day of May in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight, in a single original in the Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish languages, each text being equally authentic, such original being deposited in the archives of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union.

Fait 脿 Bruxelles, le vingt-huit mai mil neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-huit, en un exemplaire unique, en langues allemande, anglaise, danoise, espagnole, finnoise, française, grecque, irlandaise, italienne, néerlandaise, portugaise et suédoise, chaque texte faisant également foi, cet exemplaire étant déposé dans les archives du secrétariat général du Conseil de l'Union européenne.

Arna dhéanamh sa Bhruiséil, ar an ocht煤 l谩 is fiche de Bhealtaine sa bhliain m铆le naoi gcéad n贸cha a hocht, i scr铆bhinn bhunaidh amh谩in sa Bhéarla, sa Danmhairgis, san Fhionlainnis, sa Fhraincis, sa Ghaeilge, sa Ghearm谩inis, sa Ghréigis, san Iod谩ilis, san Ollainnis, sa Phortaingéilis, sa Sp谩innis agus sa tSualainnis, agus comh煤dar谩s ag gach ceann de na téacsanna sin; déanfar an scr铆bhinn bhunaidh sin a thaisceadh i gcartlann Ardr煤na铆ocht Chomhairle an Aontais Eorpaigh.

Fatto a Bruxelles, add矛 ventotto maggio millenovecentonovantotto, in unico esemplare in lingua danese, finlandese, francese, greca, inglese, irlandese, italiana, olandese, portoghese, spagnola, svedese e tedesca, ciascun testo facente ugualmente fede; l'esemplare è depositato negli archivi del Segretariato generale del Consiglio dell'Unione europea.

Gedaan te Brussel, de achtentwintigste mei negentienhonderd achtennegentig, in één exemplaar in de Deense, de Duitse, de Engelse, de Finse, de Franse, de Griekse, de Ierse, de Italiaanse, de Nederlandse, de Portugese, de Spaanse en de Zweedse taal, zijnde alle teksten gelijkelijk authentiek, dat wordt nedergelegd in het archief van het Secretariaat-generaal van de Raad van de Europese Unie.

Feito em Bruxelas, em vinte e oito de Maio de mil novecentos e noventa e oito, em exemplar 煤nico, nas l铆nguas alem茫, dinamarquesa, espanhola, finlandesa, francesa, grega, inglesa, irlandesa, italiana, neerlandesa, portuguesa e sueca, fazendo igualmente fé cada um dos textos, ficando esse exemplar depositado nos arquivos do Secretariado-Geral do Conselho da Uni茫o Europeia.

Tehty Brysseliss盲 kahdentenakymmenenten盲kahdeksantena p盲iv盲n盲 toukokuuta vuonna tuhatyhdeks盲nsataayhdeks盲nkymment盲kahdeksan englannin, espanjan, hollannin, iirin, italian, kreikan, portugalin, ranskan, ruotsin, saksan, suomen ja tanskan kielell盲 yhten盲 kappaleena, jonka jokainen teksti on yht盲 todistusvoimainen ja joka talletetaan Euroopan unionin neuvoston p盲盲sihteerist枚n arkistoon.

Som skedde i Bryssel den tjugo氓ttonde maj nittonhundranittio氓tta i ett enda exemplar p氓 danska, engelska, finska, franska, grekiska, iriska, italienska, nederl盲ndska, portugisiska, spanska, svenska och tyska spr氓ken, varvid varje text 盲ger samma giltighet, och detta exemplar skall deponeras i arkiven hos generalsekretariatet f枚r Europeiska unionens r氓d.

Pour le gouvernement du Royaume de Belgique

Voor de regering van het Koninkrijk Belgi毛

F眉r die Regierung des K枚nigreichs Belgien

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For regeringen for Kongeriget Danmark

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F眉r die Regierung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

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Por el Gobierno del Reino de Espa帽a

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Pour le gouvernement de la République française

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Thar ceann Rialtas na h脡ireann

For the Government of Ireland

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Per il governo della Repubblica italiana

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Pour le gouvernement du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg

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Voor de regering van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden

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F眉r die Regierung der Republik 脰sterreich

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Pelo Governo da Rep煤blica Portuguesa

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Suomen hallituksen puolesta

P氓 finska regeringens v盲gnar

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P氓 svenska regeringens v盲gnar

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For the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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