Assignment of Claims and the Stability of Special Jurisdiction under the Brussels I bis Regulation in Air Transport Cases. Remarks on the CJEU Judgment in Case C-551/24, Lufthansa v. AirHelp

The article titled “Assignment of Claims and the Stability of Special Jurisdiction under the Brussels I bis Regulation in Air Transport Cases. Remarks on the CJEU Judgment in Case C-551/24, Lufthansa v. AirHelp,” authored by Ph.D. candidate Ana-Maria Dimofte and Master’s student Astrid Manolea.

This article analyzes the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-551/24, Lufthansa v. AirHelp, regarding the interpretation of Article 7(1)(b), second indent, of Regulation (EU) No. 1215/2012 (Brussels I bis) concerning international jurisdiction in contractual disputes arising from the air transport of passengers. The central legal issue concerns the effects of the assignment of a claim on the special jurisdiction based on the place of performance of the contractual obligation and the possibility for a professional assignee to invoke the contractual forum provided for by the Regulation. Based on an analysis of the Court’s reasoning and its integration into the evolution of European case law, the article highlights the autonomous and functional nature of the criterion of the place of performance of the obligation in air transport contracts, demonstrating how the assignment of the claim does not alter the jurisdictional link between the dispute and the competent court, since the rule of jurisdiction set forth in Article 7(1)(b) pursues objectives of proximity, the proper administration of justice, and predictability, rather than the protection of a party deemed vulnerable.