Judgment_paragraph 44 · KP v LO (C-83/17)

44As regards the special rules set out in Article 4(2) to 4(4) of the Hague Protocol, which provide a range of primary and secondary connecting rules applicable in “cascade” and intended to counter the risk that the creditor is not able to obtain maintenance under the laws successively designated, Article 4(3) of the Hague Protocol designates first of all the law of the forum in cases where the creditor has seized the competent authority of the State in which the debtor has his habitual residence. As is apparent from point 59 of the Advocate General’s Opinion, that State has a connection with the family situation of the creditor and the debtor, at least in so far as the possibilities of the satisfaction of the creditor’s needs by the debtor are concerned. The predictability of that law is also attributable to the fact that it is dependent on the jurisdiction of the court chosen, which in the present case coincides with the jurisdiction under the traditional rule that the claimant must bring his action before the court of the defendant.