Part 2 National and Regional Reports, Part 2.2 Asia: Coordinated by Yuko Nishitani and Béligh Elbalti, 39 United Arab Emirates: Emirati Perspectives on the Hague Principles

Author(s):  
Bälz Kilian

This chapter presents Emirati perspectives on the Hague Principles. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) are a federal State that was established in 1971. Private international law, civil procedure, and arbitration all are federal matters that are covered by federal laws. Private international law is codified in a section of the UAE Civil Code (Federal Law No 5 of 1985) that deals in Articles 10 to 28 with ‘The application of the law regarding the place’. The section also contains the conflict of law rules applicable to international commercial contracts. The statutory provisions of the Civil Code are, in practical terms, the most important source of law when determining the law applicable to an international contract in the UAE. According to Article 22 of the Civil Code, international treaties, to the extent they apply, override the provisions of municipal law. Moreover, Article 23 of the Civil Code provides that in the absence of any statutory provision, ‘the [general] principles of private international law’ shall apply. This provides the UAE courts with the option to make reference to international standards such as the Hague Principles.

Author(s):  
Chan Anayansy Rojas ◽  
París Mauricio

This chapter assesses Costa Rican perspectives on the Hague Principles. Costa Rica does not have a systematic and codified system that regulates conflicts of law, usually known in Costa Rica as private international law (PIL). Instead, the main sources of PIL in Costa Rica are: (i) international treaties; (ii) the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedures, and other domestic laws; and (iii) the Law on International Commercial Arbitration. In general, Costa Rica’s private international law regime, applicable to international commercial contracts, allows for parties to select the law of their choice as long as it does not breach public policy or harm a third party’s interest. According to Article 5 of the Organizational Law of the Judiciary, courts cannot excuse themselves from exercising their authority or from ruling in matters of their competence for lack of a rule to apply and they must do so in accordance with the written and unwritten rules. Unwritten rules refer to the general principles of law, usages and practices, and case law, according to the hierarchical order of their legal sources. Such rules serve to interpret, integrate, and delimit the field of application of law. Therefore, the local courts have limited themselves to only apply domestic law and have consequently restrained themselves from applying the Hague Principles or other soft law instruments as a persuasive authority source.


Author(s):  
Elrifai Silke Noa

This chapter addresses Qatari perspectives on the Hague Principles. The State of Qatar has two legal frameworks: the onshore civil law system and the offshore common law-based the Qatar Financial Centre, established in 2005 and not covered in this chapter. In onshore Qatar, private international law is codified in Articles 10–38 of Subchapter 3 (conflict of laws in space) of Chapter 1 of the Qatar Civil Code (Federal Law No 22 of 2004). In comparison to its European counterparts, the Qatari private international law codification contains significant gaps. Though only promulgated in 2004, Articles 10–38 are near copies of the conflict of law rules contained in the Egyptian Civil Code of 1949, with a few differences. In accordance with Article 34 Civil Code, ‘the [general] principles of private international law’ shall apply in the case of a conflict of laws absent any statutory provision. The provision opens the doors for Qatari courts to refer to the Hague Principles.


Author(s):  
Karayanidi Milana

This chapter addresses Russian perspectives on the Hague Principles. It analyses choice of law rules applicable to international commercial contracts in Russia. These rules apply to contracts that have a foreign element from a Russian standpoint and they are codified in a variety of sources, including the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Arbitrazh Procedure, the Federal Law on Fundamentals of State Regulation of International Trade, and numerous other statutes on specific issues. International treaties to which Russia is a signatory State also regulate private international law issues, and the provisions of such treaties prevail over Russian domestic law in case of a conflict. Generally, courts in Russia are also not forbidden to refer to other international instruments when such sources are directly incorporated into an agreement between private parties. Russian courts will also enforce terms of customary business practices, where parties to international commercial contract agree to use them. Although there is no ongoing reform relating to the law applicable to cross-border contracts in Russia, the comparison of Russian private international law rules and the Hague Principles shows that the Hague Principles may play a role in improving relevant rules in Russia.


Author(s):  
Dias Rui ◽  
Nordmeier Carl Friedrich

This chapter explores Angolan and Mozambican perspectives on the Hague Principles. The rules of Angolan and Mozambican civil law, and with them private international law, currently in force correspond to the Portuguese rules as they stood in 1975. As to private international law, the 1966 Portuguese Civil Code (hereafter CC) contains a codification of this field of the law in Articles 15 to 65. Meanwhile, rules on international civil procedure are to be found in the Angolan and the Mozambican Civil Procedure Codes. They concern, inter alia, international jurisdiction and the enforcement of foreign judgments. Party autonomy is recognized as the principal connecting factor for contractual relationships (Art 41(1) CC). Nevertheless, the choice of law is not unlimited: it is necessary that either some of the elements of the contract having relevance in private international law are connected with the law chosen, or that the choice of the applicable law corresponds to a serious interest. It is clear from this backdrop that a set of rules, such as the Hague Principles, which present themselves as an embodiment of current best practices is well placed to help interpret, supplement, or develop the choice of law rules of the 1966 Civil Code.


Lex Russica ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 84-103
Author(s):  
O. F. Zasemkova

In May 2018, at the 4th and final meeting of the Special Commission of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the draft Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters that had been developed since 1992 was represented. It is expected that after the Diplomatic Session that will be held in the mid-2019 the draft will be finalized and the Convention will be adopted and opened for signature.In this regard, the article attempts to analyze the main provisions of the draft Convention and assess the appropriateness for the Russian Federation to access it, taking into account the fact that Russia has a limited number of international treaties permitting recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Russia and decisions of Russian courts abroad. Based on the results of the analysis, the author concludes that the adoption of this Convention will provide for a simple and effective basis for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments eligible for States with different legal, social and economic circumstances. This, in turn, will increase the practical value of court decisions ensuring the most comprehensive protection of the rights and interests of the party in whose favour the decision has been made and, as a consequence, will contribute to the attractiveness of this method of dispute resolution for parties involved in cross-border private law relations.However, the mixed attitudes of the EU and the USA to the Draft Convention raises the question of their accession to the future Convention and may significantly reduce the impact of the adoption of the document under consideration.


Author(s):  
Hook Maria

This chapter examines the choice of law rules that determine the law applicable to international contracts in New Zealand, comparing them to the Hague Principles. Private international law in New Zealand is still largely a common law subject, and the choice of law rules on international commercial contracts are no exception. The general position, which has been inherited from English common law, is that parties may choose the law applicable to their contract, and that the law with the closest and most real connection applies in the absence of choice. There are currently no plans in New Zealand for legislative reform, so the task of interpreting and developing the choice of law rules continues to fall to the courts. When performing this task, New Zealand courts have traditionally turned to English case law for assistance. But they may be willing, in future, to widen their scope of inquiry, given that the English rules have long since been Europeanized. It is conceivable, in this context, that the Hague Principles may be treated as a source of persuasive authority, provided they are consistent with the general principles or policies underlying the New Zealand rules.


Author(s):  
Heiss Helmut

This chapter looks at Liechtenstein perspectives on the Hague Principles. Rules on choice of law, including international commercial contract law, have been codified by virtue of the Act on Private International Law 1996 (Liechtenstein PILA). The Liechtenstein PILA does not expressly state that conventions will take precedence over national laws. However, it has been held by the Liechtenstein Constitutional Court that international treaties are of at least equal status to regular national laws and that national law must be interpreted in line with public international law. Moreover, an international convention will often be considered to be a lex specialis and be given precedence over national rules on that ground. Liechtenstein courts will refer first of all to (old) Austrian case law and legal literature when dealing with matters pertaining to the parties’ choice of law. Whenever these sources leave ambiguity to a specific question, Liechtenstein courts may and most likely will consider other persuasive authorities. The Hague Principles may constitute such persuasive authority.


Author(s):  
Kupelyants Hayk

This chapter explores South Caucasian perspectives on the Hague Principles. The rules of private international law in all three South Caucasian countries—Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan—are primarily contained in statutes: the Chapter of Private International Law in Armenia (1998) and separate statutes on Private International Law in Azerbaijan (2000) and Georgia (1998). Article 1253(1) of the Armenian Civil Code and Article 1(2) of the Azerbaijani Act provides that the courts may apply international customs in the area of private international law. In so far as the Hague Principles amount to or eventually crystallize into customary international law, the courts may give effect to the Hague Principles in that manner. Before that happens, there is nothing in the legal systems of either of the three jurisdictions preventing the courts from citing for explanatory and persuasive reasons soft law instruments, such as the Hague Principles. That said, stylistically the judgments of the South Caucasian jurisdictions are often drafted in a very concise and skeletal manner. Soft law instruments and commentary might influence the reasoning of the judges, but they would rarely refer to them in the text of the judgment.


Author(s):  
Cupido Robin

This chapter discusses Mauritian perspectives on the Hague Principles. The Code Civile Mauricien (Mauritian Civil Code) governs most private and commercial law matters and is thus one of the main sources of Mauritian law. Another main source is the Constitution of Mauritius 1968. It is important to note that there is no constitutional imperative for courts to consider international law when interpreting legislation, which could be a contributing factor to the lack of development of a cohesive private international law regime in Mauritius. The Law Reform Commission of Mauritius has thus been reviewing the status of private international law in Mauritius over the past five years and has issued several reports and studies on the matter. The chapter then investigates the extent to which Mauritian private international law already reflects the content of the Hague Principles and how this set of principles could influence the future development of the conflict of laws in Mauritius.


Author(s):  
Zaher Khalid

This chapter examines Moroccan perspectives on the Hague Principles. In Morocco, the sources of private international law applicable to international commercial contracts are both of a national and an international nature. International sources include mainly treaties and, to a lesser extent, international customs to which the Moroccan courts may refer in particular cases. National sources are statutory law, case law, and scholarly writings. Case law has always played a vital role in the development and the interpretation of the rules applicable to international commercial contracts. It is indeed the role of the courts to determine the scope of law chosen by the parties and to delimit the boundaries of international public policy as a limit to the application of the law chosen by the parties. Moroccan courts consider international customs as important sources in respect of international contracts and arbitration. Having frequently used the universally accepted principles of private international law, Moroccan courts could easily draw on the Hague Principles to find solutions to certain questions that have not been addressed by the legislature.


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