Deciding which courts have jurisdiction to hear complaints involving employees can be complex - particularly where the employment crosses borders.
The general rule is that an employer may only bring proceedings against an employee in the courts of the member state in which the employee is domiciled.
However, this general rule can be departed from in circumstances where a jurisdiction agreement has been entered into after the dispute has arisen.
In this case, proceedings had been brought and settled in the Dutch courts. It was specified that any disputes arising from the settlement agreement would be dealt with under Dutch law and would be heard by the Dutch courts.
However, the employer (Yukos International) subsequently chose to bring a claim against the employee (Merinson) in the UK. The High Court allowed the claim to be brought in the UK, deciding that the clause dictating jurisdiction was not binding, because it pre-dated the employment dispute.