On the court jurisdiction in case of litigation between entrepreneurs

According to the Romanian legislation, the parties may agree in writing that the disputes concerning goods and other rights deriving from the non-performance of the contract be judged by other courts that, according to the law, would have territorial jurisdiction to hear the case, unless the competence of the court is exclusive. By decision no. 18/2016 the Romanian High Court of Cassation and Justice, through the competent division to judge the appeal in the interest of the law, decided that in matters of procedural substantive (material) jurisdiction of the specialized courts, the competence of the specialized courts is determined depending on the object or the nature of disputes such as those considered examples by art. 226 paragraph 1 of Law no. 71/2011 on the application of Law no. 287/2009 on Civil Code. Considering also this decision, the article aims to analyze the practical implications of another recent decision of the Romanian supreme court, namely Decision no. 561/2018, on the competence of the specialized court in litigations between entrepreneurs and, without claiming to cover extensively the subject, to offer a view on the Romanian current legal framework, on the court jurisdiction and the notion of professional, underlining the freedom of entrepreneurs or professionals of choosing the relevant court.