The article is devoted to the role of a branch of a foreign business as a connecting factor for the purposes of determining specific jurisdiction of a court and the applicable law. In particular, the authors analyse the concept of "branch, agency or any other establishment" in light of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It is explained that the concept is functionally understood by the Court as an "extension" of the parent entity's activities constituting the "appearance of permanency". The analogous basis of jurisdiction provided by the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure is also discussed. Moreover, the authors analyse the role of the secondary place of business for determining the law applicable to the contract under the relevant conflict of law rules, i.e. the Private International Law Act of 1965, the Rome Convention of 1980 and the Rome I Regulation. In particular, the question of the link that the contract must have with the operations of that secondary place of business is discussed.