Facts
This case concerns an opposition claim by the tax creditors (respondents) against [A.] Ltd. (appellant) domiciled in Cyprus. The tax creditors had secured assets of [A.] Ltd. in Switzerland through a tax attachment and are now bringing a claim to deny [A.] Ltd.'s third-party claim to these assets.
The High Court of the Canton of Zurich affirmed the jurisdiction of the Swiss courts at the place of enforcement (Zurich), as this is an enforcement proceeding within the meaning of Art. 22 No. 5 of the Lugano Convention (LugC). The appellant, however, demands that the jurisdiction of the courts in its domicile state of Cyprus be affirmed.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court confirms the view of the High Court. The opposition claim of the enforcing creditor against the third-party debtor residing abroad is to be qualified as an enforcement-related claim within the meaning of Art. 22 No. 5 LugC. The decisive factor is the close connection to the enforcement proceedings, as it is solely a question of whether the item in question may be realized in the ongoing enforcement proceedings in favor of the creditor or not.
Even if one considers the opposition proceedings as a "civil and commercial matter" within the meaning of the LugC, this leads to the same…