Choice of court agreements in international civil and commercial law: a comparative study of Chinese law, the 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention and the Brussels I Recast Regulation
This dissertation focuses on choice of court agreements in international civil and commercial law. It introduces the terminology regarding choice of court agreements, describes different types of choice of court agreements, and examines the scopes of choice of court agreements in Chapter 2. Based on the principle of party autonomy, choice of court agreements have been an important basis of jurisdiction in many legal systems. This dissertation undertakes a detailed examination of choice of court agreements in three legal contexts, namely, Chinese law, the 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention and the Brussels I Recast Regulation, in Chapter 3, 4 and 5 respectively. In each context, the dissertation considers severability, applicable law, and the formal and essential validity of choice of court agreements, and explores the situation when there is a breach of the choice of court agreement. The 2005 Hague Convention is a great international effort to establish harmonized jurisdiction rules on choice of court agreements. Article 25 of Brussels I
Recast is a good regional example for regulating choice of court agreements within the EU. Chinese law and judicial practices also increasingly respect choice of court agreements between the parties. As the UK and the EU are negotiating Brexit and China signed the 2005 Hague Convention but has not ratified it yet, finally, in Chapter 6, this dissertation not only examines the relationship between the 2005 Hague Convention and Brussels I Recast in terms of the UK, but also reviews the relationship between Chinese law and the 2005 Hague Convention. More importantly, this dissertation recommends some law reform measures for the future of Chinese law, which would seek to enhance the enforcement of choice of court agreements in the Chinese legal system
