Facts
A. AG with its registered office in Switzerland, B. SA with its registered office also in Switzerland, and C. Limited with its registered office in the United Kingdom (appellants) filed a negative declaratory action with the Commercial Court of the Canton of Bern. They requested a declaration that they have no obligation to supply D. Limited with its registered office in the United Kingdom (respondent) with spare parts for products of their group and that they owe nothing to the respondent due to the termination of the supply.
The Commercial Court did not enter into the action, as the appellants lacked a legally sufficient interest in obtaining a declaratory judgment. The appellants challenged the decision by way of a civil law appeal.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upholds the appeal and remands the case for new consideration to the lower instance.
The Federal Supreme Court states that the Lugano Convention (LugC) does not regulate the issue of the interest in obtaining a declaratory judgment, but that this is to be assessed according to national law. As a procedural requirement, the interest in obtaining a declaratory judgment is to be attributed to the law of civil…