Austrian OGH: Jurisdiction Agreement in Contracts for Work and Services

Sept 3, 2026 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

The Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH) has recently addressed the question of what requirements must be met for a valid jurisdiction agreement in a contract for work and services.

In the present case, the plaintiff contractor had sought payment for work performed under a contract. The plaintiff had sent the defendant customer, whose registered office is in Germany, several offers along with his General Terms and Conditions of Sale and Delivery, which included an agreement on jurisdiction in Austria. In the order placed by the defendant, reference was made to the plaintiff’s offer (‘according to your offer A240853 dated …’)                However, the order contained quantities and prices that differed from those in the plaintiff’s offer.

Does a deviation from the offer affect a jurisdiction agreement?

When the legal dispute arose, the defendant contested the validity of the jurisdiction agreement, arguing that the order deviated from the original offer.

The appellate court overturned the first-instance court’s dismissal order, holding that the jurisdiction clause contained in the plaintiff’s General Terms and Conditions of Sale and Delivery was agreed upon by virtue of the customer’s reference to the plaintiff’s offer in its order.

Declaration of intent by the parties regarding the establishment of jurisdiction is required

The OGH upheld this decision.

A jurisdiction agreement requires a mutual, clear, and unambiguous declaration of intent by the parties regarding the establishment of jurisdiction. Such an agreement constitutes an arrangement that is independent from the main contract. The fact that the customer, in its order, referred to the plaintiff’s offer—and thus to the jurisdiction clause underlying that offer—could reasonably be understood by the plaintiff to mean that the order was to be placed under the terms and conditions forming the basis of the contractual negotiations. This includes the jurisdiction agreement contained therein.

1 Ob 79/26p (24 June 2026)