Invalidity of a Jurisdiction Clause in a Contract between a Swiss Bank and a Swiss Musician

Facts

The appellant X., a musician from Geneva, concluded a contract for stock exchange transactions with Bank Y. in Zurich on November 8, 1961. The contract contained a jurisdiction clause in Section 6, which stated that "venue is Zürich, Switzerland". The bank later filed a claim against X. with the District Court of Zurich for payment of a debt. X. disputed the local jurisdiction of the court.

The High Court of the Canton of Zurich dismissed X.'s appeal and declared the jurisdiction clause valid. X. then filed a constitutional appeal with the Federal Supreme Court for violation of Art. 59 of the Federal Constitution (guarantee of the ordinary judge at the place of residence).

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court states that a waiver of the guarantee of Art. 59 of the Federal Constitution should not be readily assumed. It requires an express declaration, clearly distinguished from the rest of the contract text, whose content is unambiguous and clearly expresses the will to establish a different place of jurisdiction.

In the present case, the jurisdiction clause is well placed in the contract, but not easily understandable for the appellant, who is a musician and not experienced in business. The term "venue" may be translated as "place of jurisdiction" in…