Part 2 National and Regional Reports, Part 2.5 Latin America: Coordinated by Lauro Gama and José Antonio Moreno Rodríguez, 60 Guatemala: Guatemalan Perspectives on the Hague Principles

Author(s):  
Montano Pedro Mendoza ◽  
Guzman Enrique Martinez

This chapter describes Guatemalan perspectives on the Hague Principles. In Guatemala, the sources of Private International Law for international commercial contracts are: (i) international treaties, comprised of: the Convention on Private International Law (Bustamante Code) and the Inter-American Convention on General Rules of Private International Law (Second Inter-American Specialized Conference on Private International Law); and (ii) national laws. In general terms, the Guatemalan private international law regime applicable to international commercial contracts recognizes the ability of parties to a contract to choose the applicable law. Notwithstanding, important differences deriving from such regime may apply, and will ultimately depend on the type of dispute resolution mechanism the parties are using: litigation or arbitration. Currently, there are no on-going revisions or proposed revisions of the Guatemalan national laws or international treaties that provide rules of private international law for international commercial contracts. In the event that the rules of private international law would be revised, the Hague Principles could play a role, as they facilitate the legislative body’s task of creating a new statute and put forward the most advanced developments in the matter. For this to happen, however, the Hague Principles should be disseminated and made available and known to all relevant parties.

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):  
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):  
Rodríguez José Antonio Moreno

This chapter highlights Paraguayan perspectives on the Hague Principles. Paraguay does not have a law dealing comprehensively and organically with Private International Law. The Civil and Commercial Code of 1987 contains the basic regulation on conflict of laws, and other provisions on the field can be found scattered in several special laws dealing with specific matters. Paraguay adhered, as a Member State, to the Hague Conference on Private International Law via Law 2555 of 2005. It is the first country in the world to legislate on international contracts heavily influenced by the Hague Principles. The Paraguayan law on international contracts drawn upon the Hague Principles openly allows the application of non-State law, and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) Principles clearly qualify as such.


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):  
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):  
Gebremeskel Fekadu Petros

This chapter reflects on Ethiopian perspectives on the Hague Principles. Ethiopia does not have a codified law regulating matters of private international law, nor is there detailed case law from which one could derive key principles of the subject. While the shortage of private international law in Ethiopia is evident, the problem is most severe in the area of applicable law. In relation to party autonomy in choice of law, the Federal Supreme Court’s Cassation Division has handed down some interesting decisions, and these indeed have the force of law in Ethiopia. Nevertheless, the approach of the Ethiopian courts in respect of party autonomy is not very developed and clear, including in the field of international commercial contracts. While it would be prudent for Ethiopian courts to refer to the Hague Principles as persuasive authority, this requires awareness of the existence of the Hague Principles. In the long term, the Hague Principles will surely find their way into Ethiopian law.


Author(s):  
Ekşi Nuray

This chapter explores Turkish perspectives on the Hague Principles. The content of Turkish Private International Law is highly comprehensive. In addition to choice of law and international procedural law, it also covers nationality law, as well as the law on foreign nationals. Private international law rules and issues regarding international procedural law are codified in Law No 5718 on Private International Law and Procedural Law (PILA), which has been in force since 2007. Besides the PILA, the Turkish Commercial Code contains conflict of laws rules regarding bills of exchange, checks, and promissory notes. According to Article 1(2) PILA, the application of international treaties ratified by Turkey takes priority over the application of PIL rules. Consequently, in each case, the court, before taking into account PILA’s Articles, has to determine whether any international treaty exists regarding international commercial contracts. If an international treaty exists, then it takes priority unless otherwise expressed in the treaty itself. For the time being, the Turkish Parliament has no intention to revise the PILA and supplement it with the Hague Principles.


Author(s):  
Elrifai Silke Noa

This chapter describes the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) perspectives on the Hague Principles. Whereas the DIFC is bound by international treaties ratified by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a federal level, the DIFC’s domestic sources of private international law are laid down in several statutory enactments and, as a common law jurisdiction, also case law. The most important rules on choice of law in international contracts are codified in the DIFC Law No 10 of 2005 (the DIFC Law Application Law), which govern the law applicable to contractual obligations. It sets out clearly and succinctly the most important applicable law rules, which respect the parties’ autonomy to choose the applicable law. Although Article 30(1) of the DIFC Court Law clearly instructs the DIFC Courts what law they must apply, Article 30(2) authorizes the DIFC Courts to ‘consider decisions made in other jurisdictions for the purpose of making its decision’. Accordingly, so far as the Hague Principles have been referenced in decisions in other jurisdictions, the Court may also refer to them.


Author(s):  
Oppong Richard Frimpong

This chapter studies the common law African countries Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Their main source of private international law rules is judicial decisions or case law. Because of the relatively underdeveloped nature of their private international law regimes, foreign case law often serves as an important source of persuasive authority. In this regard, the jurisprudence of the English courts is particularly persuasive and is often referred to by the courts. In general, an international convention or treaty does not have the force of law in the legal systems of the countries under study, unless it is expressly incorporated into national law. In essence, they are dualist countries. However, courts in some of the countries under study have demonstrated a willingness to seek guidance from international treaties that are not yet domestically in force, if the circumstances are appropriate. Thus, it is possible, that courts in the countries under study may be receptive to the Hague Principles, especially if argued by counsel.


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