The Nature and Enforcement of Choice of Court Agreements

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:
"This constitutes a work of impressive scholarship that will become a major reference point for future discourse on choice of court agreements. Dr Ahmed advances a firm thesis in a lucid manner that will satisfy both academics and practitioners. The discussion is supported by a monumental foundation of underpinning research. Ahmed's monograph throughout shows clear understanding of underlying substantive laws and in Chapter 11 displays a refreshing willingness to engage in intelligent speculation on the implications of Brexit."
Professor David Milman, University of Lancaster

"The book is an excellent attempt to understand the theoretical underpinnings of choice of court agreements in private international law ... Anyone with an interest in the theory and practice of choice of court agreements, in particular in mechanisms for their enforcement, should read this book. They will find much of value by doing so."
Professor Paul Beaumont, University of Aberdeen (from the Series Editor's Preface)


This book examines the fundamental juridical nature, classification and enforcement of choice of court agreements in international commercial litigation. It is the first full-length attempt to integrate the comparative and doctrinal analysis of choice of court agreements under the Brussels I Recast Regulation, the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements ('Hague Convention') and the English common law jurisdictional regime into a theoretical framework. In this regard, the book analyses the impact of a multilateral and regulatory conception of private international law on the private law enforcement of choice of court agreements before the English courts. In the process, it both pre-empts and offers innovative solutions to issues that may arise under the jurisprudence of the emergent Brussels I Recast Regulation and the Hague Convention. The need to understand the nature and enforcement of choice of court agreements before the English courts from the perspective of the EU private international law regime and the Hague Convention cannot be understated. This important new study aims to fill an existing gap in the literature in relation to an account of choice of court agreements which explores and reconnects arguments drawn from international legal theory with legal practice. However, the scope of the work remains most relevant for cross-border commercial lawyers interested in crafting pragmatic solutions to the conflicts of jurisdictions.

1. Introduction
2. Private International Law, Party Autonomy and the English 'Dispute Resolution' Paradigm
3. The Analogy between Arbitration Agreements and Choice of Court Agreements: The Technique of Severability and Whether the Contractualisation Phenomenon Distorts the Fundamental Nature and Effects of Choice of Court Agreements?
4. Private Law or Public Law? An Assessment of the Fundamental Juridical Nature and Classification of Choice of Court Agreements
5. 'Dispute Resolution' Epitomised: The Damages Remedy for Breach of Choice of Court Agreements
6. An Overview of the Case Law on the Damages Remedy for Breach of Exclusive Choice of Court Agreements: Firmly Entrenched or a Nascent Remedy in Need of Development?
7. Assessing the Damages Remedy for Breach of Choice of Court Agreements
8. An In-depth Examination of the Damages Remedy for Breach of Exclusive Choice of Court Agreements under the English Common Law Jurisdictional Regime
9. The Damages Remedy and the Brussels I Regime
10. The Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements: Qualified Mutual Trust and the Scope for Remedies for Breach of Exclusive Choice of Court Agreements
11. English Choice of Court Agreements in the Post-Referendum Legal Environment: What Lies Ahead?
12. Conclusions and Contributions to Knowledge

“...highly recommendable for all who are interested in choice of court agreements!” –  Professor Dr Matthias Weller, EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht, conflictoflaws.net

“This book has been meticulously researched. It is a delight at both the conceptual/theoretical and the practical level (part of the book is so practical as to include suggestions for specific contractual clauses). Just as practitioners will enjoy its use as a reference work for case-law and statutory development particularly in the EU and its Member States, so too will those with an interest in the public/private international law divide appreciate the important scholarly contribution the author has made. A tour de force, the fruits of which are much recommended.” –  Geert Van Calster, Professor of Law, KU Leuven Faculty of Law, The Modern Law Review