Cross-border Debt Recovery Blog
by Marco Sposini
Laywer, Milan Bar Association
Worldwide debt recovery news
The Italian Supreme Court on “Ex Works” clauses to determine the jurisdiction in the contracts for the international sale of goods
21 February 2026
The Italian Supreme Court, by order No 3417/26, published on 16 February 2026, in the matter of contracts for the international sale of goods to be carried between companies located in Italy and the United States, confirmed that:
i- if the defendant is not domiciled in Italy, the jurisdiction must be determined under Article 3(2) of Italian Law No 218 of 31 May 1995, which refers to the Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968.
It follows that, even if the defendant is not domiciled in a Member State of the European Union, the Italian courts have jurisdiction on the basis of the criteria laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012, which replaced Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 and which, in turn, replaced the Convention.
ii- pursuant to Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012, the inclusion in the contract of the “Ex Works” clause provided for by the Incoterms rules also identifies the place of delivery of the goods at the seller’s premises and, consequently, determines the jurisdiction, unless the contract contains several additional elements which suggest that the parties wanted a different place for delivery.
The text is available here