Part II The Private Law of Monetary Obligations, 4 Monetary Obligations and the Conflict of Laws

Subject(s):

Legal proceedings and monetary obligations — Money and the conflict of laws — Monetary law of inter-state obligations — Performance of monetary obligations

This chapter reflects on the system of law which will govern the solution to the various problems and difficulties which may arise in the area of monetary obligations. It focuses on monetary obligations arising under the terms of a contract, which may involve either a liquidated claim or an unliquidated claim. The chapter then considers the law applicable to the contract, the law of the place of performance, the law of the countries in which the parties are established; the law of the State in which legal proceedings arise with respect to that monetary obligation, and the law of third countries with which the monetary obligation may have some connection. Every State is entitled to establish its own system of private international law for the purpose of resolving conflict questions. Yet there is a considerable degree of uniformity amongst the systems which have emerged. The Member States of the European Union adopted a uniform code on the conflict rules applicable in a contractual context, and that code in turn reflects principles which had been developed in England and in civil law countries. For convenience, it is proposed to work by reference to Rome I, but it should not be thought that these general principles are confined to a European context.