A Comparative Study of the Fundamental Juridical
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A Comparative Study of the Fundamental Juridical Nature, Classification and Private Law Enforcement of Jurisdiction and Choice of Law Agreements in the English Common Law of Conflict of Laws, the European Union Private International Law Regime and the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements A thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Law at the University of Aberdeen Mukarrum Ahmed LLB (Hons) (University of London), LLM (City University London), Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln’s Inn) 2015 1 Declaration This thesis has been composed solely by the candidate, Mukarrum Ahmed. It has not been accepted in any previous application for a degree. The work has been carried out solely by the candidate. All quotations have been distinguished clearly and the sources of information specifically acknowledged. Signed: ..................................................... Mukarrum Ahmed 16 December 2015 2 Hypotheses are nets: only he who casts will catch. Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg, Novalis Schriften (Friedrich Schlegel and Ludwig Tieck ed, 1802) Dialogue 5, 429. There is nothing more necessary to the man of science than its history, and the logic of discovery . : the way error is detected, the use of hypothesis, of imagination, the mode of testing. Lord Acton cited in Karl Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery (Routledge Classics, Routledge 2005) xvii. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to my doctoral supervisor, Dr Jonathan Fitchen, whose encouragement and guidance were at all times generous and cheerfully administered. I am indebted to Professor Paul R Beaumont, the internal examiner of my PhD thesis and a mentor at the Centre for Private International Law, University of Aberdeen. The monthly meetings of the Centre for Private International Law under Professor Beaumont’s dynamic leadership will be cherished as a valuable source of inspiration on the long and arduous path to the PhD. I would like to thank the College of Arts and Social Sciences and the School of Law, University of Aberdeen for facilitating my research project with a fully funded doctoral scholarship. The Principal’s Excellence Fund Award deserves credit for funding my participation in the 10th Anniversary of the Journal of Private International Law Conference at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge. Both Professor Robin Evans-Jones and Dr Christa Roodt played a significant role as second supervisors during the latter part and the formative stages of my PhD respectively at the School of Law, University of Aberdeen. Dr Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm of Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh deserves special mention for acting as the external examiner of my PhD thesis. At a more personal level, a full time commitment such as the PhD could not have been possible without the unflinching support and encouragement of my wife, Nau’ma and the endearing yet momentary lapses of focus on the intellectual juggernaut of the PhD stimulated by my daughter, Nurayn. My parents have been a very strong pillar of support all along and I cannot fathom the culmination of my academic endeavours save for the indelible impact that they have had on my life. Mukarrum Ahmed King’s College, Aberdeen December 2015 4 Contents 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 10 Point of Departure .................................................................................................................... 10 Thesis Statement ...................................................................................................................... 11 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 12 Contribution to Knowledge ....................................................................................................... 22 2. Private International Law, Party Autonomy and the English ‘Dispute Resolution’ Paradigm ................................................................................................................................................... 25 The ‘Public’ Role and Function of Private International Law .................................................... 25 Private International Law Norms as Secondary Rules for the Allocation of Regulatory Authority and the Separation of Functions within Jurisdiction and Choice of Law Agreements ................................................................................................................................................... 32 The Emerging Third Paradigm of Jurisdiction and the Quest for a More Comprehensive Understanding of Party Autonomy ........................................................................................... 37 The Emerging Paradigm of Party Autonomy and the Continued Viability of Private Law Remedies for Breach of Jurisdiction and Choice of Law Agreements ................................... 41 The Emerging Paradigm of Party Autonomy and the Proposed Reorganization of Private International Law Rules on the Basis of a Systematic Distinction between Agreements and Non Agreements ....................................................................................................................... 47 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 49 3. The Analogy between Arbitration Agreements and Jurisdiction Agreements: The Technique of Severability and Whether the Contractualization Phenomena Distorts the Fundamental Nature and Effects of Jurisdiction Agreements? .................................................................... 51 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 51 Severability in Dispute Resolution Agreements ........................................................................ 52 Interim Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 55 Deconstructing the Arbitration Agreement Analogy ................................................................ 56 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 67 4. Private Law or Public Law?: An Assessment of the Fundamental Juridical Nature and Classification of Jurisdiction Agreements ............................................................................... 70 Fundamental Juridical Nature and Classification of Choice of Court Agreements ................... 70 Can a Non-Exclusive Jurisdiction Agreement be Breached? ..................................................... 73 Interim Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 76 Hybrid Jurisdiction-Arbitration Agreements ............................................................................. 76 Asymmetric or Unilateral Choice of Court Agreements .......................................................... 78 Effectiveness of Asymmetric Jurisdiction Agreements and Article 25 of the Recast Regulation ................................................................................................................................................... 82 5 Validity ...................................................................................................................................... 83 Certainty .................................................................................................................................... 85 Form .......................................................................................................................................... 86 Fairness ..................................................................................................................................... 88 Interim Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 89 Effectiveness of Asymmetric Jurisdiction Agreements and Article 23 of the Brussels I Regulation ................................................................................................................................. 90 Asymmetric Agreements Subject to National Law ................................................................... 91 Fundamental Juridical Nature and Classification of Choice of Court Agreements under the Brussels I Regulation (Recast) ................................................................................................... 92 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 97 5. ‘Dispute Resolution’ Epitomized: An Assessment of the Damages Remedy for Breach of Jurisdiction Agreements .......................................................................................................... 99 Preliminary Issue: Practical Solutions for Enforcing English Exclusive Choice of Court Agreements by Drafting Clauses to Guarantee the Secondary Enforcement of Jurisdiction Agreements ............................................................................................................................... 99 Undertakings Not to Breach the Choice of Court Agreement ................................................ 100 Indemnity Clauses and Liquidated