Convention of 30 June 2005 on the Choice of Court Agreements

General Information

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What is it about?

Adopted under the auspices of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the Convention on the Choice of Court Agreements represents the litigation counterpart to the 1958 New York Arbitration Convention. The Choice of Court Agreement establishes rules for enforcing private party agreements regarding the forum for the resolution of disputes, and rules for recognizing and enforcing the decisions issued by the chosen forum. The Convention governs international civil and business-to-business agreements that designate a single court, or the courts of a single country, for resolution of disputes. It does not apply to agreements that include a consumer as a party, or to purely domestic agreements in which the parties are resident in the same Contracting State and all other elements relevant to the dispute are connected only with that State. The Convention sets out three basic rules: - the court chosen by the parties in an exclusive choice of court agreement has jurisdiction; - if an exclusive choice of court agreement exists, a court not chosen by the parties does not have jurisdiction, and must decline to hear the case; and - a judgment resulting from jurisdiction exercised in accordance with an exclusive choice of court agreement must be recognized and enforced in the courts of other Contracting States.

Why is it relevant?

The Convention is designed to promote and facilitate international trade and investment through enhanced judicial co-operation.

Additional Information

The Convention contains amendments to the Hague Conference Statute that will allow the European Community, and similar Regional Economic Integration Organizations to become members of the Hague Conference and parties to its conventions.

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