Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) 9 June 1994

In Case C-292/93, REFERENCE to the Court pursuant to Article 1 of the Protocol of 3 June 1971 on the interpretation by the Court of Justice of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters by the Oberlandesgericht (Higher Regional Court), Frankfurt am Main, Germany, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between

THE COURT (Fifth Chamber), composed of: J. C. Moitinho de Almeida, President of the Chamber, D. A. O. Edward (Rapporteur), R. Joliét, G. C. Rodríguez Iglesias and F. Grévisse, Judges, Advocate General: M. Darmon, Registrar: R. Grass,

after considering the written observations submitted on behalf of: Norbert Lieber, by Thilo Krause-Palfner, Rechtsanwalt, Frankfurt am Main, Willi S. Göbel and Siegrid Gobel, by Reinhard Patzina, Rechtsanwalt, Frankfurt am Main, the German Government, by Christof Böhmer, Ministerialrat in the Federal Ministry of Justice, acting as Agent, the French Government, by Catherine de Salins, Foreign Affairs Adviser in the Directorate of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Fabien Moury, Assistant Secretary of Foreign Affairs in that Directorate, acting as Agents, the Commission of the European Communities, by Pieter van Nuffel, of its Legal Service, assisted by Hans-Jürgen Rabe, Rechtsanwalt, Hamburg and Brussels, acting as Agents,

having regard to the report of the Judge-Rapporteur,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 22 March 1994,

gives the following

Judgment

Costs

1 Language of the case: German.