The Tension Between Party Autonomy and European Union Law: Some Observations on Ingmar GB Ltd V Eaton Leonard Technologies Inc1

Party autonomy is the basic principle for international contracts. By making a ‘choice of law’, the parties to a contract can agree amongst themselves which law is to regulate their contractual relationship. In international transactions, the law of the parties' choice replaces the law that wou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The International and comparative law quarterly 2002-01, Vol.51 (1), p.135-154
Main Author: Verhagen, H L E
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Party autonomy is the basic principle for international contracts. By making a ‘choice of law’, the parties to a contract can agree amongst themselves which law is to regulate their contractual relationship. In international transactions, the law of the parties' choice replaces the law that would otherwise have governed the contract, including the mandatory rules (ius cogens) of the latter law. Article 3 of the 1980 Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations (hereafter: the ‘Rome Convention’) fully recognises this principle of party autonomy. Under Article 3 the parties are free to choose whichever law they deem appropriate to govern their contractual relationship. It is not even necessary for the transaction to display some connection with the chosen law.
ISSN:0020-5893
1471-6895
DOI:10.1093/iclq/51.1.135