Abstract
LL.M. (International Commercial Law)
In 2006 the governing body of the Hague Conference on Private International Law furnished the Secretariat with a mandate to conduct a series of feasibility studies on the development of an instrument, relating to the choice of law in international contracts. The outcome of these studies was largely successful, finding that there was a need for an instrument of this nature and additionally it would be welcomed by the international legal community. In 2009 the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law was invited to form a Working Group (WG) to draft a soft-law instrument affirming party autonomy in international contracts on an international level. The Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts (P) was, thus, born.
The P were drafted by a panel of experts representing the majority of the world’s legal systems. The working group commentary (WGC will be used to refer to the commentary, whilst WG will be used to refer to refer to the working group itself) which provided the discussions in respect of, and the reasoning behind, the principles has been invaluable in writing this dissertation. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the compatibility of Australian and South African law with the P. One of the aims of the P mentioned specifically in the preamble is that these principles are to be used by countries as a model with which to develop their own rules of private international law. A study of the current law as it stands in comparison to the P marks the first step in this exercise, through finding where the law differs we can begin to bridge the disparity between a specific country’s legal system and that of the P. Should the P become an important part of the private international law discourse comparative studies such as this will become common-place.
The fact that the principles were drafted as a soft-law instrument is in line with the growing world trend. The flexibility that is achieved through the use of a soft-law instrument may lead to greater legal certainty down the road as contracting parties and international lawyers alike become more familiar with the principles. This familiarity may lead to consensus among experts from around the world and eventually invite the prospect of a binding instrument being drafted...