Internationalisation Of Contracts - Contract

INTERNATIONALISATION OF CONTRACTS Cross Border Contracts: * Cross--border transactions are increasingly common. * This refers to contracts in which the parties are from different legal systems; or in which some obligations under the contract are to be performed in another legal system. * Different legal systems regulate contracts differently, which creates the possibility of a 'conflict of laws'. * Consideration is not a requirement in some legal systems. * Legislation often modifies the common law of contracts in particular ways, as in the Australian Consumer Law and the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth). * There are some differences in contract law within Australia. * In the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia, third parties can claim under contracts made for their benefit, but there are no equivalent provisions in other jurisdictions. * In some states and territories, there is specific legislation dealing with contracts - e.g. the Misrepresentation Act 1972 (SA) and the Contracts Review Act 1980 (NSW). Resolving cross border contract issues: * Specialist dispute resolution methods o international commercial arbitration; international litigation. * When a conflict of laws occurs, choice of law rules determine which law applies. o in contract disputes, the choice of law rule is that the law chosen by the parties determines the parties' contractual rights and liabilities. o In tort disputes, the choice of law rule is that the law of the place of the tort governs the parties' rights and liabilities in tort. * Conflicts of laws can be avoided by legal unification. Contracting in cross border transactions: * In most legal systems, the parties are free to use the contract to determine many aspects of the transaction, including: o method of dispute resolution (e.g. mediation, arbitration, expert determination, litigation), o choice of 'forum', o choice of the 'governing law' of the contract.