Members of the committee gave the go-ahead to the Commission proposal on the Rome I regulation when they voted unanimously to adopt a report by Cristian Dumitrescu (PES, RO). If adopted, this legislation will provide common EU rules on the choice of the law to apply in case of cross-border disputes.
In order to improve the mutual enforcement of court judgments among Member States, EU-wide rules are needed governing the choice of the applicable law. It is important that, if citizens are free to choose the court where they can make their claim, they cannot simply choose the courts of one Member State rather than another just because the law is more favourable to their cause there (a practice known as "forum-shopping").
Conflict-of-laws rules where court is not laid down in contract
As a basic rule, two persons who stipulate a contract are free to choose the law applicable in the event of a dispute. If no choice is made, to avoid forum-shopping, the regulation would introduce common EU rules on the choice of the applicable law.
MEPs argued that, in the case of a contract between a professional and a consumer, the latter should be advantaged by the choice of the court. One amendment adopted by the committee states that, in the event of a dispute, the applicable law should in general be the most familiar one, i.e. the law of the country where the consumer has his habitual residence.
However, in the case of a contract for the sale of goods, the committee decided that the applicable law should be that of the seller's habitual residence.
As far as individual contracts of employment are concerned, where the law applicable has not been chosen by the parties, the contract would be governed by the law of the country in which the employee habitually carries out his work.
Family matters excluded from the legislation
Obligations arising out of family relationships, from matrimonial property regimes, wills and succession are excluded from the scope of the regulation.
The committee finally called on the Commission to present, no later than two years after the date of application, a report on the implementation of this regulation.
Together with the recently approved Rome II regulation on non-contractual matters, this regulation provides a complete set of Community rules of private international law relating to contractual and non-contractual obligations.
