Eu contract law services

Contractual obligations in the EU - determining which national law applies

WHAT DOES THIS REGULATION DO?

The regulation does not apply to revenue, customs or administrative matters, or to issues of evidence and procedure during legal proceedings. It also does not apply to obligations including those relating to:

Scope of the applicable law

The regulation determines the applicable national law on different aspects of contracts, including:

Applicable law in the absence of a choice being made

Where the parties have not chosen the applicable law, the type of contract determines the rules:

If, however, the contract is related more closely to another country than provided by these rules, the law of that country applies. The same applies when no applicable law can be determined.

For certain specific types of contract, the regulation also sets outs the options for choice of law and determines the applicable choice where no choice has been made. These include:

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

The regulation applies to contracts concluded after 17 December 2009.

* Prescription : the role that the passage of time has in the making and ending of rights

Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) (OJ L 177, 4.7.2008, pp. 6–16)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Regulation (EC) No 864/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II) (OJ L 199, 31.7.2007, pp. 40–49)

Council Regulation (EU) No 1259/2010 of 20 December 2010 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the law applicable to divorce and legal separation (OJ L 343, 29.12.2010, pp. 10–16)