Sale of Land Abroad

Ashurst v Pollard and another (Ch D [2000] 2 All ER 7772)

A husband and wife jointly owned a property in Portugal. After the husband was made bankrupt his trustee in bankruptcy sought an order for the sale of the property with vacant possession. The bankrupt and his wife contended that the proceedings had as their object rights in rem in immovable property within the meaning of article 16(1) of the Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters 1968 and that accordingly the proceedings fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Portuguese courts.