ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. The UK is no longer bound by the Rome Convention, as a matter of international law, having left the EU. However, the substantive rules continue to apply in some cases, ie if the contract was entered into between 1 April 1991 and 16 December 2009 and meets the criteria required under the act. Consequently, the substantive rules have been retained in the C(AL)A 1990 but they are subject to amendments set out in The Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations and Non–Contractual Obligations (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/834. For guidance on the current position, see Practice Note: Contracts (Applicable Law) Act 1990—applicable law chosen by the parties. This Practice Note explains the scope of the applicable/governing law under the Rome Convention. How parties can chose the applicable law is discussed including explanations as to whether it needs to be in writing, be the law of a country/convention state and splitting of the applicable law. The mandatory rules (domestic/foreign/international)

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. The UK is no longer bound by the Rome Convention, as a matter of international law, having left the EU. However, the substantive rules continue to apply in some cases, ie if the contract was entered into between 1 April 1991 and 16 December 2009 and meets the criteria required under the act. Consequently, the substantive rules have been retained in the C(AL)A 1990 but they are subject to amendments set out in The Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations and Non–Contractual Obligations (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/834. For guidance on the current position, see Practice Note: Contracts (Applicable Law) Act 1990—parties fail to choose the applicable law. This Practice Note sets out the basic rule which applies if the parties fail to choose the applicable law which is the law of the country ‘most closely connected’ and the characteristic performance of the contract. The presumptions that apply to determine the most closely connected country are explained.

Dispute Resolution analysis: this case considered the application of Regulation (EC) 864/2007, Rome II dealing with the governing law of non-contractual obligations and whether the need for service of the claim form was a rule of procedure or fell to be considered under the rules of prescription and limitation—in this case the relevant national law in question (that of Greece) required the claim to be served as well as issued to stop the limitation period running. The court considered it to be a rule of prescription and limitation, within the meaning of Article 15(h) of Regulation (EC) 864/2007, Rome II. The claim not having been served in time, was struck out. Written by Andrew Butler QC, barrister at Tanfield Chambers, London.

Dispute Resolution analysis: The Court of Justice held that the Portuguese national provisions on limitation would only qualify as overriding mandatory provisions within the meaning of Article 16 of Regulation (EC) 864/2007, Rome II if the national court hearing the case were to find, on the basis of a detailed analysis of the wording, general scheme, objectives and the context in which those provisions were adopted, that the provisions were of such importance in the national legal order that they justify a departure from the law applicable pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) 864/2007, Rome II. Written by Kristina Lukacova, barrister at New Square Chambers.

This Practice Note is for use when determining applicable law in the courts of England and Wales in respect of events giving rise to damage, where such events occurred between 11 January 2009 and 31 December 2020 as at 11 pm. For events that arose on different dates, a different applicable law regime will be applied by the UK courts. Which regime will apply, will depend on the date on which the event occurred. For guidance on the different regimes and their interrelationship, see Practice Note: Applicable law regimes. This Practice Note provides an explanation as to when and why Regulation (EC) 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations, Rome II was introduced. It also sets out the circumstances in which it applies and those in which it does not. This regulation is referenced in this Practice Note as Rome II. For guidance on other aspects of Rome II, see Practice Notes: Rome II—the general rule (UK only) and Rome II—specific types of claims (UK only). The impact of the UK’s

This Practice Note is for use when determining applicable law in respect of events giving rise to damage, where such events occurred on or after 11 January 2009. This Practice Note provides an explanation as to when and why Regulation (EC) 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations, Rome II was introduced. It also sets out the circumstances in which it applies and those in which it does not. This regulation is referenced in this Practice Note as Rome II. For guidance on other aspects of Rome II, see Practice Notes: Rome II—the general rule and its displacement, and Rome II—special rules. When did Rome II come into force? There was some uncertainty as to the date from which Regulation (EC) 864/2007, Rome II was to be applied. Article 31 of Regulation (EC) 864/2007, Rome II is headed ‘Application in time’, and provides that ‘This Regulation shall apply to events giving rise to damage which occur after its entry into force.’ The difficulty arose in that no date was specified for when

This Practice Note is for use when determining applicable law in respect of events giving rise to damage, where such events occurred on or after 11 January 2009. This Practice Note provides an overview of the special rules that apply to specific types of claim under Regulation (EC) 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II). These cover product liability, unfair competition and acts restricting free competition, environmental damage, intellectual property (IP) rights, industrial action, unjust enrichment, negotiorum gestio—essentially agency without authority, culpa in contrahendo—fault in the formation of contract as well as insurance. See also Practice Notes: Rome II—scope, exclusions and general provisions and Rome II—the general rule and its displacement. For guidance on the application of the regulation in the UK, see: Determining applicable law in non-contractual disputes—overview. The aids referred to in interpreting the Articles are: • judgments of the Court of Justice • recitals which appear at the start of Regulation (EC) 864/2007, Rome II. The recitals provide explanations as well as additional information such as definitions. Where there is any

This Practice Note is for use when determining applicable law in the courts of England and Wales in respect of events giving rise to damage, where such events occurred between 11 January 2009 and 31 December 2020. For events that arose on different dates, a different applicable law regime will be applied by the UK courts. Which regime will apply, will depend on the date on which the event occurred. For guidance on the different regimes and their interrelationship, see Practice Note: Applicable law regimes. This Practice Note provides an overview of the special rules that apply to specific types of claim under Regulation (EC) 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II). These cover product liability, unfair competition and acts restricting free competition, environmental damage, intellectual property (IP) rights, industrial action, unjust enrichment, negotiorum gestio—essentially agency without authority, culpa in contrahendo—fault in the formation of contract as well as insurance. For guidance on: • the tools available to assist with the interpretation of Rome II, see Practice

This Practice Note is for use when determining applicable law in the courts of England and Wales in respect of events giving rise to damage, where such events occurred between 11 January 2009 and 31 December 2020. For events that arose on different dates, a different applicable law regime will be applied by the UK courts. Which regime will apply, will depend on the date on which the event occurred. For guidance on the different regimes and their interrelationship, see Practice Note: Applicable law regimes. This Practice Note considers the provisions in Regulation (EC) 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations, Rome II (transitional). When determining the relevant applicable law, Article 4(1) provides the default applicable law. However, a different law will be applied if one of the derogations in Articles 4(2) or 4(3) is engaged. The derogations involve the consideration of different issues such as the habitual residence exception and the ‘escape clause’. The regulation is referenced in this Practice Note as Rome II. For guidance on:

This Practice Note is for use when determining applicable law in respect of events giving rise to damage, where such events occurred on or after 11 January 2009. This Practice Note considers the provisions in Regulation (EC) 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations, Rome II. It considers the general rule in Article 4(1), the common habitual residence exception in Article 4(2) and the escape clause in Article 4(3). The regulation is referenced in this Practice Note as Rome II. The Practice Note is for use when considering the application of Rome II by a court in an EU Member State. It does not address the application of Rome II by UK courts. For guidance on the application of Rome II by the UK courts, see Practice Note: Rome II—the general rule (UK only). For guidance on: • the tools available when interpreting Rome II, see Practice Note: Rome II—scope, exclusions and general provisions, and • other aspects of Rome II, see Practice Notes: Rome II—special rules Interpretation of Article 4 Article

This Practice Note is for use when determining applicable law where the contract was entered into on or after 17 December 2009. This Practice Note considers the provisions in Regulation (EC) 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) dealing with the freedom of the parties to choose the applicable law for their contract. When choosing an applicable law, the parties should comply with the specific requirements set out in the regulation. The regulation sets out a number of exceptions as to when it does not apply. For guidance, see Practice Note: Rome I—scope, exclusions and general provisions. Must the applicable law be the law of a Member State? (Article 2) Article 2 of Regulation (EC) 593/2008, Rome I. The freedom of the parties to choose the governing law of their contract is not limited to a law of an EU Member State. The parties may choose the law of: • an EU Member State, or • a

This Practice Note is for use when determining applicable law where the contract was entered into on or after 17 December 2009 and before 1 January 2021. For contracts concluded into on different dates, a different applicable law regime will be applied by the UK courts. Which regime applies depends on the date on which the contract was concluded. For guidance on the different regimes and their interrelationship, see Practice Note: Applicable law regimes. This Practice Note provides an explanation as to when and why Regulation (EC) 593/2008, Rome I was introduced. It covers the implementation of Regulation (EC) 593/2008, Rome I and the countries to which it applies. It also considers the position in relation to Denmark. It sets out why the regulation applies to intra-UK contractual disputes. The Practice Note then provides assistance on the interpretation of Regulation (EC) 593/2008, Rome I. The impact of the UK’s departure from the EU The impact of the UK’s departure from the EU varies depending on whether the regulation is being