ABSTRACT
A number of questions need to be addressed in any reinsurance dispute before getting to what is usually the heart of the matter: jurisdiction under an exclusive jurisdiction agreement or founded on matters relating to a contract or tort. Reinsurance disputes often involve the possibility of arbitration, and this exclusion is potentially very important. Article 22 of the Brussels Regulation confers exclusive jurisdiction on particular courts in respect of specific international proceedings. The significance of Article 24 is that it confers jurisdiction on a court in circumstances where the court would otherwise not have jurisdiction under the Brussels Regulation. Since reinsurance contracts often contain an agreement as to jurisdiction Article 23 is of great importance. In Reunion, the European Court of Justice denied a subrogation claim made by the third party to the original contract on the basis that an obligation to the party had not been freely assumed.
