The European Union having recently approved the Hague Convention
on Choice of Court Agreements, that Convention will go into effect in the
European Union (except Denmark) and in Mexico on October 1, 2015.
The convention facilitates international
business by giving weight to choice of court clauses, also known as forum
selection clauses, in the dispute resolution provisions in international
contracts. Among other things, the Convention compels
courts to respect such clauses, e.g. to accept jurisdiction over a dispute
where mandated by such clause, and to not exercise jurisdiction if parties to a
contract have agreed not to litigate in that court. For details
of the Convention, see my April 27, 2015 post, “Some Progress for the Hague
Choice of Court Convention”, or the Hague Conference on Private International
Law website, www.hcch.net.
The Convention applies presently in only the
European Union and Mexico, the only two states to have ratified it. There are just two other signatories: the
United States and Singapore; there is no indication as to when they might
ratify it. It is
unfortunate that Canada has not even signed, let alone ratified, the
Convention. There is much to be done before the full
potential of this convention can be realized. Choice of Court Convention to go into Effect October
1, 2015
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