Rome I Regulation

The Rome I Regulation applies to all EU Member States (except Denmark) in relation to 'contractual obligations in civil and commercial matters' in 'situations involving a conflict of laws' that arise out of contracts concluded from 17 December 2009. The Rome I Regulation has been described by the European Commission as 'a central element of the Community acquis in the area of civil justice'. This book is the most comprehensive work on the development of the Rome I Regulation that studies in detail the historical background, the legislative development and the teleological purpose of the Regulation. Beginning with the work that led up to the 1972 Draft Convention and the much neglected original French rapporteur's commentary, the author traces developments in the text through the 1980 Convention, highlights the legislative developments that began with the 2003 Green Paper, the Commission's 2005 Proposal and the subsequent negotiations that took place in the European Council and European Parliament that led to the final text of the Rome I Regulation itself. Particular emphasis is placed on highlighting the legislative intent reflected in the changes to the text of the draft Regulation that were made by the Civil Law Committee (Rome I) of the Council. The book marks out the borderline between the Rome I and Rome II Regulations, and considers in detail the application of the conflict-of-law rules in the Rome I Regulation to the specifically protected contracts such as consumer, insurance, carriage of passengers and individual employment contracts. It provides a primary source of reference for all readers involved in the practical interpretation of the Rome I Regulation, or who are interested in choice of law issues arising in international commercial contractual disputes.

Will the new Rome I Regulation meet its goals - to improve the predictability of the outcome of litigation? - to bring certainty as to the law applicable and the free movement of judgments? - to designate the same national law irrespective of the country of the court in which an action is brought? The most important features of this instrument were outlined and discussed by distinguished legal experts from all over Europe and beyond at the conference "The Rome I Regulation", held in Verona on March 2009. This first book in English on the Rome I Regulation contains the papers submitted to that conference.

A succinct, dogmatically sound commentary to the most relevant EU instrument on international contracts.

The law applicable to contractual and non-contractual obligations in cross-border civil and commercial matters in the European Union (EU) is the remit of the so-called Rome I and II Regulations that entered into force in 2009, supplemented by the Rome III Regulation of 2012 dealing specifically with divorce and legal separation. This article-by-article commentary – now updated to its third edition – has become a cornerstone resource in handling European cases involving conflict of laws. The occasion for publishing a third edition is that several landmark judgments on the conflict of laws have been recently rendered both by the Court of Justice of the EU and by domestic courts. Moreover, with Brexit, one of the largest European states will enter into a new form of relationship with the EU, which will specifically impact the conflict of laws. The effects of these major developments are reflected throughout the new edition’s extensively revised article-by-article commentary. The commentary, authored by leading scholars of conflict of laws and drawing on a wide spectrum of case law and scholarship, highlights, among much else, such long-term implications of the Rome Regulations as the following: principles of interpretation; limiting the effects of forum shopping; limiting the trade-restricting effects of the fragmentation of national private laws; ensuring the free movement of persons; enhancement of legal certainty and predictability; and potential solutions for an agreement-based Brexit. It provides black letter law as represented by the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the EU and the Member State courts, as well as the latest academic opinion. In the current era of globalization, where communication, transaction, and migration across borders have transformed from exceptional to omnipresent phenomena, the pressing question is no longer if the state has to grant access to justice in international situations but how that right can be implemented effectively. To this end, renowned conflict of laws scholars analyse every provision of the Regulations in a systematic and thorough manner, making them accessible to a broad international legal audience. The result is an indispensable companion for academics, judges, lawyers, and legal professionals in their day-to-day work.

As of 17 December 2010, the Rome I Regulation (EU Regulation 593/2008) on the law applicable to contractual obligations is directly applicable in all EU Member States with the exception of Denmark. The Rome I Regulation replaces the Rome Convention of 1980 in the EU Member States and will apply to all contracts concluded as of 17 December 2010. However, and herein lies the utility and great importance of this work, the Rome Convention and the Rome I Regulation will be applied in parallel for a significant time to come (the author himself anticipates a ten-to-fifteen year period); in the latter case to contracts made after 17 December, 2010. This is why this commentary takes into account both sources of law, in their mutual interaction and broader context. The comprehensiveness of the Rome Convention / Rome I Regulation is clearly apparent, but one of the great achievements of the author is his amassing of over 1,800 judicial decisions, most of which are furnished with a detailed commentary; where these decisions apply national laws, the latter are cited both in the original and in translation. For a number of rulings, the commentary include not only a case summary of the facts and an analysis of the conclusions drawn by the court, but also takes them as models to hypothesize what conclusions would be reached if the Rome I Regulation were to be applied.

In Europe, will the new Rome I Regulation meet its goals, which include: improving the predictability of the outcome of litigation, bringing certainty as to the law applicable and the free movement of judgments, and designating the same national law irrespective of the country of the court in which an action is brought? The most important features of this instrument are outlined and discussed in this book, which is a product of the conference "The Rome I Regulation," held in Verona in March 2009, and attended by legal experts from Europe and beyond. The book contains a collection of papers submitted at the conference.

From 2005 on the Yearbook of Private International Law is published by S.ELP in cooperation with the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law. This English-language annual publication provides analysis and information on private international law developments world-wide. The Editors commission articles of enduring importance concerning the most significant trends in the field. The Yearbook also devotes attention to the important work and research carried out in the context of the Hague Conference, The Hague Academy, UNCITRAL and UNIDROIT. The authority of the editors and the lasting nature of the works included make the Yearbook an integral addition to the libraries of international law scholars and practitioners.

This updating supplement brings the Main Work up to date and incorporates substantive developments since publication of the book. It is an essential purchase for all who already own the Main Work, and maintains its currency.