The Rome I Regulation on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations

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.

Table of Contents:
1: All Roads Lead to Rome 2: Application & Relationships 3: Classification & Interpretation 4: The Applicable Law 5: Habitual Residence 6: Contractual Obligations: Art. 1 (1) 7: Specific Exclusions: Art. 1 (2) 8: Evidence & Procedure, Presumptions of Law, Burden and Mode of Proof: Art. 1 (3), 18 9: Freedom of Choice: Art. 3 10: Applicable Law in the Absense of Choice: Art. 4 11: Contracts of Carriage: Art. 5 12: Consumer Contracts: Art. 6 13: Insurance Contracts: Art. 7 14: Individual Employment Contracts: Art. 8 15: Overriding Mandatory Provisions and Public Policy: Art. 9 & 21 16: Consent, material and formal validity, incapacity: Art. 10,11 & 13 17: Scope of the law applicable: Art. 12 18: Assignment & Subrogation: Art. 14 & 15 19: Multiple Liability: Art. 16 20: Set-off: Art. 17 21: Coda Appendices A. Rome I Regulation B. Article 25 Declarations C. Legislative Chronology 1972 Draft Convention: D. E. Rome Convention 1980

About the Author :
Michael McParland QC is a Barrister and Attorney at Law based at Quadrant Chambers in London. Michael has a wide-ranging practice in civil, commercial, and business advocacy and advice, representing UK and international clients in litigation and arbitration, both in England and Wales and overseas.

Review :
This is a marvellous book, an absolute must for anyone who is seriously concerned with the private international law of what we once called contracts but now have to call contractual obligations ... This book is a magnificent achievement, for which all serious commercial lawyers will be in the authors debt. There is no more to be said. What a debut! What an effort by a single author - and a practitioner at that. In the best tradition of English textbooks Michael McParland, a barrister at Quadrant Chambers, presents this voluminous and monolithic work on the Rome I Regulation ... The constant and meticulous recourse to the material in minute details adds to the specific flavour of the work. Anyone looking for accounts of the legislative history behind the single rules of the Rome I Regulation will find them here ... For following the single articles through the stages of their respective genesis alone this book deserves high accolade ... It is rather impressive to the extent to which major judgments from a number of jurisdictions on the Rome Convention are covered ... The praise heaped upon the work so far is well deserved ... Beyond any doubt, the overall assessment must be a positive one.