CONFLICT OF LAWSJurisdiction under European Convention - trustee in bankruptcy's application for sale of English bankrupt's immovable property in Portugal - English court's jurisdiction not ousted by conventionPollard and another v Ashurst: CA (Kennedy, Potter and Jonathan Parker LJJ): 21 November 2000A husband and wife, who were domiciled in England, jointly owned immovable property in Portugal registered in their names.

A bankruptcy order was made in England against the husband and a trustee in bankruptcy appointed in respect of his estate.

The trustee obtained an order from the county court for the sale of the Portuguese property with vacant possession.

The husband and wife appealed on the grounds that by virtue of art.16(1) of the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters 1968, incorporated into English law by s.2(1) of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, the Portuguese courts had exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine the trustee's claim.

Jacob J [2000] 2 All ER 772 dismissed the appeal.

The husband and wife appealed.Sebastian Prentis (instructed by Harkavys) for the husband and wife.

David Marks (instructed by Lita Gale) for the trustee.Held, dismissing the appeal, that a trustee in bankruptcy's application for sale of the bankrupt's property which had vested in him on his appointment did not fall within the bankruptcy exception in art.1(1) of the convention and so was a civil or commercial matter to which the convention applied; but that, since the application was in personam and did not directly involve rights in rem or changes to the public records relating to property in Portugal, it did not fall within art.16(1); and that, accordingly, the English court's jurisdiction to make the order for sale had not been ousted by art.16(1).