Cross-border—principles

Tool to determine the different issues

When dealing with cross-border disputes, a myriad of issues will need to be considered such as the impact of a defendant being domiciled outside the jurisdiction or a contractual agreement making provision for the courts of another country to have jurisdiction. The main examples can be seen here:

For a route map through the different issues, in a Q&A table format providing links to underlying content, see: Cross border considerations—checklist.

Applicable/governing law

When dealing with cross-border disputes, the court may determine the substantive dispute by applying either English law or a foreign law. The law applied is known as the applicable law—also known as the governing law, proper law or the choice of law. The parties can agree the applicable law, generally through the use of a governing law clause within a contract, or the court will apply a specific applicable law regime to determine the applicable law. Which regime is applied will vary depending