Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 15 November 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Gerichtshof — Austria) — Hellenische Republik v Leo Kuhn

(Case C-308/17) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 - Jurisdiction in civil and commercial matters - Scope - Article 1(1) - Concept of ‘civil and commercial matters’ - Bonds issued by a Member State - Involvement of the private sector in the restructuring of public debt of that State - Unilateral and retroactive adjustment of the borrowing terms - Collective action clauses - Action brought against the State by private creditors who hold those bonds as natural persons - Liability of the State for acts and omissions in the exercise of State authority))

(2019/C 16/17)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Oberster Gerichtshof

Parties to the main proceedings

Defendant and appellant on a point of law: Hellenische Republik

Applicant and respondent in the appeal on a point of law: Leo Kuhn

Operative part of the judgment

Article 1(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters is to be interpreted as meaning that a dispute, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, relating to an action brought by a natural person having acquired bonds issued by a Member State, against that State and seeking to contest the exchange of those bonds with bonds of a lower value, imposed on that natural person by the effect of a law adopted in exceptional circumstances by the national legislator, according to which those terms were unilaterally and retroactively amended by the introduction of a CAC allowing a majority of holders of the relevant bonds to impose that exchange on the minority, does not fall within ‘civil and commercial matters’ within the meaning of that article.

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(1)  OJ C 283, 28.8.2017.