Philip Britton
A paper based on the first prize entry in the Hudson Prize Competition 2002 presented to the Society of Construction Law in London on 6th May 2003
This paper aims to answer two questions on the rules of choice of law, contained in the ome Convention (the Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations of 1980) implemented for the UK by the Contracts (Applicable Law) Act 1990: how do these uniform European rules of choice of law work? and do they produce clear and intelligible outcomes for cases related to construction? The author considers the Convention and the case law, in particular Samcrete Egypt Engineers and Contractors, Kenburn Waste Management Ltd and Ennstone Building Products Ltd (a construction case) and sets out the lessons to be learnt from these cases.
Introduction - Background - Status of the Convention - Scope of the Convention - The choice of law rules in the Convention - The Convention in the Court of Appeal - Construction: the lessons from the Court of Appeal - Conclusion: and the future
Philip Britton LLB BCL is Director of the Centre of Construction Law & Management, King's College London and part-time Director of Professional Education at solicitors Farrer & Co.
Text 18 pages.
PDF file size: 175k