The contractual jurisdiction of civil cases is one of the most pressing issues facing an official making a decision on initiating proceedings. He needs to indicate the limits of competence of the dispute resolution instance. 
Terminology
First of all, the difference between jurisdiction and jurisdiction should be clarified. Both of these terms refer to the determination of the authority of a court to resolve a specific dispute. Upon receipt of the application, the judge must first establish that the case is to be considered in court, and not in any other jurisdictional body.
Next, you need to understand the level of the system at which the substantive review will be carried out. Ultimately, it should be established in which of the many homogeneous vessels proceedings will be instituted.
Explaining the difference between the above concepts, it is advisable to refer to previously existing legislation. In particular, according to the Civil Procedure Code of 1964, the institution of jurisdiction served as a delimitation of competence between courts and other jurisdictional bodies, and jurisdiction determined competency between instances within the judicial system. Prior to the adoption of the current Code of Civil Procedure, the latter term combined two concepts. Jurisdiction encompassed two definitions: jurisdiction itself and jurisdiction.
Currently, there are two independent systems. The first group includes instances of general jurisdiction. They are headed by the Supreme Court. Under the second system, other disputes are considered. It is composed of arbitration courts, headed, respectively, by the Supreme Arbitration. 
Institutions of general jurisdiction
This system includes courts of three levels:
- City (district).
- Regional: St. Petersburg and Moscow, regional, provincial, republican, autonomous regions and districts.
- Supreme Court.
The military authorities of general jurisdiction are equal to city (district) or regional authorities.
Competence
The judiciary has a variety of functions. In particular, they carry out:
- Consideration, resolution of disputes in essence. This task is implemented by the courts of first instance.
- Verification of the validity and legality of the definitions and decisions of the above bodies that have not yet entered into force. This task is performed by the courts of second instance.
- A supervisory review of definitions and decisions that have entered into force.
- Revision on new circumstances of decisions, definitions, decisions that have entered into force.
In some cases, one court may perform several functions. 
First Instance Bodies
They are implied in determining jurisdiction. A common feature is the right of all courts to resolve civil disputes as a body of first instance. But each of them can initiate production only within its competence. It is also possible to distinguish jurisdiction of civil case and court. In the latter case, the range of applications is determined, which is the competence of this body. In the first case, the authority is directly established in which the proceedings will be instituted.
Contractual jurisdiction
As one of the conditions for the proper implementation of the opportunity to sue, compliance with the rules governing jurisdiction is advocated. Article 120 of the Code of Civil Procedure contains a special provision.In accordance with it, territorial jurisdiction can be changed. This is possible by agreement of the parties to the dispute. Due to the fact that one of the varieties in which territorial jurisdiction can be represented is contractual, it can also be changed.
Registration
Contractual jurisdiction (a model agreement where it is fixed is presented in the article) is sometimes referred to as voluntary (voluntarily elected). The agreement must be in writing. It can be presented as an independent document. It expresses the will of the parties to the dispute regarding the choice of the body that will consider their case. The agreement may also be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. This is implemented in the case when a request was submitted for the transfer of proceedings to another authority. The agreement may act as a separate clause in the contract between the parties. Due to the fact that the legislation prescribes a certain written form, it can be recorded in any act reflecting the will of the parties to the dispute regarding the choice of the body to consider the dispute. 
Important point
Quite often, contractual jurisdiction in the contract is indicated in general terms. In particular, it is determined that disputes that may arise under such contracts are subject to review by the general jurisdiction. It should be located where the creditor or its branch is located. In practice, difficulties often arise in interpreting this condition. This, in turn, increases the likelihood that the contracted jurisdiction will not be applied by the authorized body. When the phrase "at the location of the organization" is used in the agreement, it is assumed to use the possibility of determining the body. This is possible with a creditor address. According to it, in fact, it is possible to establish the authority in which the dispute will be considered if the contractual jurisdiction is fixed in the loan agreement.
So, in the Decree of the Presidium of the St. Petersburg GS explained. In particular, it states that a loan agreement is inherently related to accession agreements. They are public in nature. According to Part 1 of Art. 428 of the Civil Code as an agreement of accession, such an agreement acts in which the conditions are determined by one of the participants in the forms or other standard forms. They can be accepted by the other party only by accession to the proposed document as a whole. However, this position is in conflict with the rules of the Civil Code. The contract, including the loan and guarantee, which is concluded between the plaintiffs and defendants, acts as an expression of the agreed will of the parties. In this regard, the fact of its signing indicates an optional (voluntary) action, committed at personal discretion. The same should be said when a clause is included in the agreement on the basis of which contractual jurisdiction is established. 
Consumer rights Protection
Within this sphere, disputes arise quite often. The competent authorities in some cases misinterpret Art. 17 in part 2 of the law governing the protection of consumer rights, which does not provide for exclusive jurisdiction. The agreement of the parties on the choice of authority in this case does not violate this requirement and complies with the provisions of Art. 32 GK. In accordance with it, the parties to the dispute, the contractual jurisdiction may be changed.
Justification
In credit agreements and surety agreements concluded with defendants, the parties change their contractual jurisdiction. As a result, it was established that all disputes arising from these documents or relating to their violation, termination or nullity should be considered in the body of general jurisdiction located where the branch of the plaintiff’s organization is located.Based on the principle of dispositiveness in the civil process, the participants, taking advantage of the right to make a choice between several instances, established the jurisdiction of all cases that are related to the fulfillment of the terms of the contract.
The legislation does not prescribe the mandatory conclusion of an agreement on this directly in the event of a dispute. However, authorities often take a different approach. According to it, contractual jurisdiction is considered unlawful. Based on a violation of the general filing rules, they return applications. This is justified by the fact that the condition specified in the contract does not allow to clearly establish the court in which it is necessary to consider the claim. 
Controversial moment
In some cases, courts do not use the rules governing contractual jurisdiction. In civil proceedings, this applies, in particular, to the consideration of accession agreements. They proceed in this case from the fact that the defendant acts as a potentially weak side. When concluding a contract, he actually joins him, unable to influence or change his terms.
Example
The text of what the court ruling will look like is below:
“The argument in the cassation appeal on the consideration of a case with a violation of jurisdiction, since under the terms of the contract the proceedings should have been carried out at the place where the creditor is located, must be rejected. In this case, there is a misunderstanding of the rules. The trial court reasonably did not take into account the paragraph on contractual jurisdiction contained in the contract of guarantee. This condition is contrary to Article 32 of the Code of Civil Procedure. According to its provisions, voluntary jurisdiction is based on the agreement of the parties. The guarantee refers to the agreement to joining.
According to the situation in Part 1 of Art. 528th as an agreement of accession is recognized as one in which the conditions are determined by one of the parties in the forms or other standard forms. They can only be accepted by joining the proposed agreement as a whole. Moreover, freedom of contract should not be used in violation of the guarantees provided by law. The provisions set forth in Part 2 of Article 17 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights are not of a dispositive nature.
In this regard, they cannot be changed by agreement of the parties. The bank's indication of contractual jurisdiction in the contract ignores the main meaning of this norm. In particular, on providing guarantees to the economically and socially weak side participating in a deliberately unequal relationship with the counterparty performing banking operations. This significantly limits consumers, often living away from the organization, in the ability to exercise their right to protect interests. Thus, the clause of the agreement is contrary to the Law. By virtue of Part 1 of Art. The 16th condition shall be declared null and void. "
Settlement of disputes in other instances
In this case, it will be about how contract jurisdiction is applied in the arbitration process. In particular, Art. 35 of the relevant Code establishes that the consideration of disputes is carried out at the place of residence or location of the defendant. In the AIC, contractual jurisdiction is also defined in Art. 36, 37. Parties may change the general rules by entering into an agreement. However, it must be signed before the application is submitted for consideration. If the agreement specifies the contractual jurisdiction in the arbitration, the participants can determine the specific authority in which the proceedings will be conducted. Before sending the application to the authorized body, you should make sure that the statute of limitations has not expired. 
General rules
The law establishes that the plaintiff in some cases may, at its discretion, determine the arbitral tribunal to protect its interests. The rules in this case are as follows:
- An application to the defendant, whose location is not established, may be presented at the location of his property or at the last known address of residence.
- There may be several parties to the agreement. If they live in different places, then the lawsuit is filed at the place of residence or the location of one of them.
- The defendant may reside in another state. In this case, international contractual jurisdiction may apply. In particular, a lawsuit is filed at the location of the property of the obligated party in the Russian Federation.
- A claim arising from the terms of the contract in which the place of execution is indicated is submitted there.
- A lawsuit against a legal entity arising from the activities of a branch or representative office located in another district / city / region and so on may be brought where the subsidiary is located.
World practice
In private international law, jurisdiction is understood as the division of competence of national courts of different states in the settlement of disputes having international characteristics. This issue is regulated by the new Code of Civil Procedure (as amended in 2002). Art. 402 of chapter 44 sets the general (general) rule. According to it, if a legal entity or citizens acting as defendants are located or reside in the Russian Federation, then Russian courts consider disputes involving foreign claimants. Paragraph 3 of this article also provides for a number of additional criteria by which the competence of domestic authorities is recognized if the defendant is abroad.