Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Pil 1335
Pil 1335
RELATED TO CONTRACT
SUBMITTED BY
KUMAR NARUN
SUBMITTED TO
Dr. P. P. RAO
SEPTEMBER, 2019
PATNA (BIHAR)
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENT............................................................................................................ 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY............................................................................................... 4
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 6
1. COMMON LAW PRACTICE ........................................................................................... 7
2. ROME CONVENTION ..................................................................................................... 8
2.1 Scope ................................................................................................................................ 8
2.2. Principle of part autonomy.............................................................................................. 9
2.3. Choice of law in absence of express or implied choice .................................................. 9
2.4. Limitation on party autonomy ...................................................................................... 10
2.5. Material and formal validity ......................................................................................... 12
3. HAGUE PRINICPLES ON CHOICE OF LAW IN INTERNATIONAL
COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS.............................................................................................. 13
3.1.Scope .............................................................................................................................. 13
3.2. Depecage ....................................................................................................................... 13
3.3. Selection of Non-State Law .......................................................................................... 14
3.4. The Expression of the Choice of Law........................................................................... 14
3.5. Severability of a Choice of Law ................................................................................... 14
3.6. Exclusion of Renvoi...................................................................................................... 15
3.7. Scope of the Chosen Law ............................................................................................. 15
3.8.Public Policy .................................................................................................................. 15
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 17
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................... 18
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I take this opportunity to express our humble gratitude and personal regards to
faculty of Private international law for inspiring us and guiding us during the course
of this project work and also for his cooperation and guidance from time to time
during the course of this project work on the topic
The Present Project Report is attempted to explain for the benefit of the general
readers. Dealing with this topic in a material form has naturally involved a great deal
of compression and omission of many matters of interest. I hope that my selection of
material will give a fair outline of the general picture.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
CONCEPT: As business transactions and contractual obligations may cross jurisdictional
borders within a nation, as well as international borders, both physically and
electronically, choice of law issues may arise in the event that it is necessary to interpret the
terms of a contract or in the event of litigation over a contract dispute. As laws vary between
jurisdictions, it is possible that contract terms could be interpreted differently between
jurisdictions, or that portions of a contract that are enforceable in one jurisdiction would not
be enforceable under the laws of another. The parties may therefore agree in advance to
interpret the contract in accord with the laws of a jurisdiction that is identified within their
contract.
In some situations a court may find that there are public policy reasons to disregard a choice
of law clause, and instead interpret a contract under the laws of the jurisdiction in which a
lawsuit is filed. For example, a jurisdiction may find as a matter of public policy, it will apply
its own consumer protection laws to a dispute between a consumer and a business even if the
contract calls for the application of the laws of a different jurisdiction
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: the researcher intends to find out the following during the
course of research:
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: The researcher will use only doctrinal method of
research.
SOURCES OF DATA:
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INTRODUCTION
The choice of law in contract has emerged from three main factors the first factor is the place
where contract is made, the performance of the contract and the nationality or the place where
contract is made. The issue of choice of law in contract becomes more pertinent when there
are number of connecting factors involved in the contract. This issue is very common in all
countries and almost all countries have tried various methods to solve it out. The English law
has applied “the proper law of contract” which is almost sufficient to ascertain the factor
which covers the contract. The doctrine of proper law is of common law origin the main
feature of this theory is that the parties to contract can chose it with very little restrictions and
if there is no expression of choice and the choice cannot be inferred by court than the
problem can be solved by looking for the system of law with which the transaction is closely
related. In these cases proper law is relevant but the court can go beyond the proper law while
taking in to considerations various other issues such as illegality in this scenario the court will
not only concerned with illegality of proper law but also with the act of illegality at the place
of action.
The above mentioned three factors laid the foundation on which the common law laid the
structure. In common law the choice of contract has emerged from Rome convention and
Rome One regulation. This assignment will explain certain features of Rome convention and
Rome One Regulation and in the end of assignment critical evaluation will be given to
explain why this convention and regulation has failed to lived up to expectation. 1
A contract may have a different meaning in English conflict of laws compare to its meaning
in domestic law. When a contract is materialized due to common law than this contract is
know as proper law of contract, Lord Diplock has defined proper law as that law through
which the rights of parties can be judged and both the parties have chosen that law. As
explained above there are number of factors through which are consider hallmark of the
proper law of the contract but the two most important factors are, the law of place where
contract was concluded and the law of the area where action of contract was done.
1
Collier, J.G. (2001). Conflict of Laws. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England. (377)
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1. COMMON LAW PRACTICE
A contract may have a different meaning in English conflict of laws compare to its meaning
in domestic law. When a contract is materialized due to common law than this contract is
know as proper law of contract, Lord Diplock has defined proper law as that law through
which the rights of parties can be judged and both the parties have chosen that law. As
explained above there are number of factors through which are consider hallmark of the
proper law of the contract but the two most important factors are, the law of place where
contract was concluded and the law of the area where action of contract was done.
Both these factors are not absolute as both have certain limitations. One such limitation of the
contracts on which law of a place applies may have no saying or affect in a scenario when a
Arab business man who is from Saudi Arabia and a Turkish business man agree a deal in
London to the sale of Goods located in Italy. In this case the English law has no real or close
link but it will be proper law of contract.
The law of the place for performance of the contract was due may be not be appropriate for
two reasons, the first one is that parties respective obligations may take place in different
countries e.g. the seller agrees to deliver goods in Germany in exchange for the buyers
promise to pay the price in New York . it would be illogical for the parties to have their
respective obligations governed by different laws secondly at the time of the formation of the
contract the place of the formation of contract may not be have been determined than in this
case it will be determined unilaterally, e.g. a port for the delivery may not be known until or
unless that vessel is at sea.
Keeping in view the above points it can be ascertained that there is no connecting factor that
can be used in English Law as Lord Wright has said English law has refused while
determining connecting factors to treat Lex loci contracts and lex loci solutionis as rigid or
arbitrary standard and has treated the matter on the intention of the parties to be ascertained in
each case on the consideration of the terms of the contract, the situation of the parties and
generally all surrounding facts 2
2
Lowenfeld, A. (1996). International Litigation and the Quest for Reasonableness: Essays in Private
International Law. Clarendon Press, Oxford. (230)
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2. ROME CONVENTION
On the 19th of June 1980 in Rome, the European Union, together with some other nations,
ratified a unification system for the application of contractual obligations that would be
followed for the European Economic Community and its members. The Rome Convention, as
it came to be known, is the Applicable Law to Contractual Obligations and was convened to
create at least a harmonized, if not a unified, body of law within the scope of the European
Union. The text of the Convention has a total of 33 articles, and a preamble. Although the
system was set up in 1980, it was not until 1 April 1991 that the Convention came into force.
Like other Conventions, the Rome Convention was established in order to address specific
issues that involve the legal relations among organisations and other parties that are protected
by different national laws. The Rome Convention can be considered as a further step in the
unification process of the European Community.
2.1 Scope3
The convention applies to contractual obligations in situations involving a choice between
national laws even where the law it designates is that of a non-contracting country with the
exception of:
3
Article 1, Rome Convention,1980
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2.2. Principle of part autonomy4
Article 3 is the first uniform rule under the Rome Convention. Article 3 expresses the general
rule that the parties to a contract have the freedom of choice over the Applicable Law. This
can be expressed either in words or by the terms of the contract or the circumstances of the
case. The choice may apply to the whole or just a part of the contract and the choice can be
revoked
The important aspect of this provision is that the contracting parties can initially clarify the
scope and the limitations of the contract within the context of a particular law. The presence
of different contracting parties represented by different laws can somehow challenge the
stability of the contract especially if the laws of contract of a particular jurisdiction are not as
favourable towards the nature of the business and transaction of the Rome Convention. In this
regard, through express selection, there is an initial agreement as to how the contract
generally works within the legal context. The advantage in this is that both parties have
established a sense of harmonization, especially when it comes to referring to a certain set of
laws throughout the course of the contract. An example of this is the case between a German
company and a Dutch construction company who got into a dispute on the remaining
remuneration for a project. In order to resolve the dispute, a solution is to identify which
applicable law would serve best the interests of the contracting parties. In the end, both
companies agreed to apply the German DIN rules (general standards for construction works)
and the German Civil Code. According to the Rome Convention, such exercise is allowed
since both parties agreed as to which jurisdiction would govern the contract and which
system would resolve the conflict.
Based on this, the choice of law is up to the contracting parties. Although there can be some
form of influence, the Convention basically demonstrates that contract cases are not
automatically subject to a specific set of laws, and that the involved parties have the freedom
to choose the jurisdiction that would be most applicable to the case.
4
Article 3, Rome Convention,1980
5
Article 4, Rome Convention,1980
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contract is closely related and at common law this close relationship refers to the country
with which the contract is closely connected and not the legal system with which the common
law provision is associated. There is also a presumption in Rome convention provisions to
determine the closest connection. The relevant provision which deals with this presumption is
article 4(2) which explains that the contract is closely connected with the country where the
party at the time of conclusion of contract resides or he is habitual resident of that specific
country and this presumption has turned the clock back as far as English law is concerned.
The article 4 of the convention further explains that if the contract is made in the course of
party’s trade or profession than in this case the country of closest connection shall be the
country in which the principal place of business is situated or where under the terms of the
contract the performance is to be effected through a place of transaction other than the main
place of business
However:
where the contract concerns immovable property, the law applicable by default is that of the
country in which the property is situated;
where the contract concerns the transport of goods, the applicable law is determined
according to the place of loading or unloading, or the principal place of business of the
consignor.
According to article 5 of the Rome convention consumer contract is that type of contract
whose main aim is to provide goods or services to a person for a purpose which can be
regarded as being outside his trade or profession or a contract for the provision of credit for
that object.
And where a consumer contract exists the article 5 provides that a choice of law by the
parties shall not have the result of depriving the consumer of the protection afforded to him
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by the mandatory rules of law of the country in which he has his habitual residence and one
must not forget that this type of protection is only given to the consumer only.
In a case, a French couple filed a loan from a German bank, with the contract initially
establishing that it would refer to German laws. However, the court decided that this situation
should not utilize German laws given that the transaction took place within French
jurisdiction, in addition to the fact that the consumers are subject to the French consumer law.
Although it can be argued that Article 3 allows the freedom of choice in terms of the
applicable law according to the Rome Convention, Article 4 actually applied because of the
principle behind Article 5 in which consumers are given the right to preserve consumer
6
protection and rights which are usually found in the consumer’s home country.
Under Article 6, the rights of the employees are emphasized. Again, there is the consideration
with respect to Articles 3 and 4 when the selection of laws becomes an issue. Article 6 states:
Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 3, in a contract of employment a choice of law
made by the parties shall not have the result of depriving the employee of the protection
afforded to him by the mandatory rules of the law which would be applicable under
paragraph 2 in the absence of choice.
Evidently, the provision on employment contracts in the Convention can be seen in the
initiative to simplify this complex of laws, especially since the movement of labor within the
European region has become more dynamic as brought by the recent expansion. There is also
the similarity between this article and the provision on consumer contracts 7
6
Article 5, Rome Convention,1980
7
Article 6, Rome Convention,1980
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2.5. Material and formal validity
Material validity
Under Article 8, the material validity of a contract, or of any term in a contract, shall be
determined by the law which would govern it under the Convention if the contract or term
were valid (i.e. the putative Applicable Law). But, if this would produce an obviously unfair
result, a party may rely upon the law of the place of habitual residence to establish that he did
not give a free consent.8
Formal validity
Under Article 9, a contract concluded between persons who are in the same country is
formally valid if it satisfies the formal requirements of either the Applicable Law or the law
of the country where it is concluded.
A contract concluded between persons who are in different countries is formally valid if it
satisfies the formal requirements of either the Applicable Law or the law of one of those
countries. Where a contract is concluded by an agent, the country in which the agent acts is
the relevant country for the purposes of the earlier tests. But a contract relating to immovable
property is always subject to the mandatory provisions of the lex situs.9
8
Article 8, Rome Convention,1980
9
Article 9, Rome Convention,1980
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3. HAGUE PRINICPLES ON CHOICE OF LAW IN INTERNATIONAL
COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS
3.1.Scope
The Hague Principles apply to international contracts of a commercial nature in respect of
which the parties have chosen a system of law. This scope of operation parallels that of the
Hague Convention, which generally applies in international cases to exclusive choice of court
agreements concluded in civil or commercial matters. The enactment of these two
instruments in a single International Civil Law Act may result in some cross-pollination in
the course of judicial construction of the provisions as to scope. This section outlines the
kinds of cases which will be captured by the Hague Principles. First, a contract must be
‘international’ in order to fall within the Principles’ scope. This requirement limits the
application of the Principles to circumstances to which private international law would apply;
that is, to cases with a foreign element. Article 1(2) defines ‘international contracts’ as
excluding purely domestic contracts, capturing circumstances in which either party, the
relationship between the parties, or other relevant elements, have some connection with more
than one state. Secondly, the principles are limited to ‘commercial’ contracts. Although the
title and the Preamble each refer to ‘commercial contracts’, the term is not explicitly defined.
Instead, art 1(1) refers to contracts in which each party is ‘acting in the exercise of its trade or
profession’.
Article 1(3) provides a laundry list of specific exclusions, including in respect of the
contractual capacity of individuals, jurisdiction and arbitration clauses, companies and trusts,
insolvency, proprietary effects of contracts, as well as the issue of whether an agent is able to
bind a principle to a third party. 10
3.2. Depecage
Parties to a contract captured by the Hague Principles may select either the applicable law for
the whole contract, or the law applicable to only part of it. They may also explicitly select
different laws for different parts of the contract. This gives rise to the prospect of depecage
10
Article 1, Hague principles on choice of law in international commercial contract
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where a court applies more than one system of law to the same dispute in a case with a
foreign element.11
If the parties’ intentions are neither expressed explicitly nor appear clearly from the
provisions of the contract or from the particular circumstances of the case, there is no choice
of law agreement. In such a case, the Principles do not determine the law governing the
contract. The second sentence of art 4 provides that a jurisdiction or arbitration agreement is
not ‘itself equivalent’ to a choice of law. 13
11
Article 2, Hague principles on choice of law in international commercial contract
12
Article 3, Hague principles on choice of law in international commercial contract
13
Article 4, Hague principles on choice of law in international commercial contract
14
Article 7, Hague principles on choice of law in international commercial contract
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3.6. Exclusion of Renvoi
For private international law enthusiasts, art 8 is perhaps a lamentable aspect of the Hague
Principles because it removes an opportunity to talk about renvoi. Renvoi is a notorious
doctrine of private international law that involves a court applying the choice of law rules of a
foreign system of law because a forum choice of law rule provides that the foreign system is
the applicable law.
The Hague Principles were crafted with such sentiments in mind: renvoi is excluded, but may
apply if the parties expressly provide that is should.15
Consider the law applicable to the assessment of damages under art 9(1)(c). Another point of
note is art 9(1)(f), which provides that burden of proof and legal presumptions are subject to
the chosen law. At common law, whether such things ought to be characterised as procedural
will vary between cases.16
3.8.Public Policy
Once an International Civil Law Act is in force, the most frequently-litigated aspect of the
enacted Hague Principles is likely to be art 11, the provision which gives effect to the core
principle that the autonomy of parties to choose the proper law of the contract is not absolute.
Article 11 is comprised of five paragraphs but it contains a core theme: a choice of foreign
law will not be upheld where to do so would contravene certain forum policy. The difficult
question is what kinds of public policy will warrant the invocation of the escape device in the
face of a contrary choice of foreign law, and what policies would not. On this issue, state
15
Article 8, Hague principles on choice of law in international commercial contract
16
Article 9, Hague principles on choice of law in international commercial contract
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practice and the views of commentators ‘vary wildly’, particularly in respect of the proper
approach to so-called ‘mandatory’ forum statutes.
1 Mandatory Forum Law Article 11(1) makes it clear that mandatory law can justify a court
applying its own law rather than the chosen law. This should be taken as a reference to
principles of statutes which prohibit ‘contracting out’ of the operation of the statute, or
provide that they apply irrespective of parties’ choices to the contrary. An example is s 11 of
the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1991, which provides that an agreement has no effect so far
as it purports to preclude or limit the application of the law of the place of shipment to certain
kinds of contracts, and mandates the application of the law of the place of shipment to those
kinds of contracts.
These Principles shall not prevent a court from applying overriding mandatory provisions of
the law of the forum which apply irrespective of the law chosen by the parties.
2. The law of the forum determines when a court may or must apply or take into account
overriding mandatory provisions of another law.
3. A court may exclude application of a provision of the law chosen by the parties only if and
to the extent that the result of such application would be manifestly incompatible with
fundamental notions of public policy (ordre public) of the forum.
4. The law of the forum determines when a court may or must apply or take into account the
public policy (order public) of a State the law of which would be applicable in the absence of
a choice of law.17
17
Article 11, Hague principles on choice of law in international commercial contract
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CONCLUSION
The Rome Convention provides a charter which serves as a legal reference for cases in which
contractual obligations and relations involve parties from different national jurisdictions.
Given the differences of laws, the Convention therefore provides a venue where courts find
applicable laws in order to come up with means to resolve any disputes or conflicts.
However, although there is a strong legal nature of the Convention as agreed by the
participating nations, legal systems and courts are still left with the discretion as to how
applicable laws can be utilized depending on the case at hand. This is why the Convention is
not absolutely exclusive in addition to the fact that there are other applicable conventions that
can be referred to.
The Hague Principles’ enactment would remove some eccentricities in private international
law, bringing it closer to international practice. The Hague Principles have sought to address
the fundamental tension between party autonomy and public policy in favour of the former,
although the tension would remain under an International Civil Law Act. The scope of the
public policy exceptions in art 11 is likely to be a focus of choice of law disputes under the
Act. The Hague Principles’ character as a non-binding instrument is a novel move for the
Hague Conference, and one which will hopefully drive their uptake by states. The soft law
model avoids some of the pitfalls of binding instruments like the Hague Convention: states
may be reluctant to join a certain convention as a party, notwithstanding their substantive
agreement with the text, on the basis of some particular sticking point. Where unification is
not possible, the harmonisation of international commercial law is a desirable alternative.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Lowenfeld, A. (1996). International Litigation and the Quest for Reasonableness:
Essays in Private International Law. Clarendon Press, Oxford
North, P. (1993). Essays in Private International Law. Clarendon Press, Oxford
Collier, J.G. (2001). Conflict of Laws. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
England.
Websites
http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=text.display&tid=26
http://www.rome-convention.org/instruments/i_conv_orig_en.htm
http://curia.europa.eu/common/recdoc/convention/en/c-textes/brux-idx.htm
Journals
Hill, J. “Choice of Law in Contract under the Rome Convention”, Journal: The
International and Comparative Law Quarterly Publication: Oxford: Apr 2004. Vol.
53, Iss. 2; p. 325
Atrill, S. "Choice of Law in Contract" Author: Simon Atrill. Journal: The
International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Publication: Oxford: Jul 2004. Vol. 53,
Iss. 3; p. 549
Harris, J. "Contractual Freedom in the Conflict of Laws“Journal: Oxford Journal of
Legal Studies, Publication: Oxford: 2000. Vol. 20, Iss. 2; p. 247
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