Applicable law—principles

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This Overview considers the principles relevant to determining the applicable or governing law of a dispute.

For insight, see Practice Note: Applicable law—a guide for dispute resolution practitioners

For detailed guidance on determining the applicable law, see:

  1. •

    Determining applicable law—contractual disputes—overview

  2. •

    Determining applicable law—non-contractual disputes—overview

The applicable law is only one consideration when dealing with a cross border dispute. For an insight into the various considerations, see: Cross border considerations—checklist.

Applicable law

Applicable law is the law applied by the court to determine a dispute between the parties. The law may be stipulated within the contract between the parties, this is known as the governing law clause. Where there is no valid governing law clause, eg the contract does not contain such a clause or the dispute is non-contractual, the applicable law will be determined by the court in accordance with a specific applicable law regime as set out in a relevant regulation, convention or in legislation. In common law countries such as England and Wales, the court may also apply the common law. Which regime is applied by

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Latest Dispute Resolution News

CJC concludes comprehensive review of pre-action protocols with publication of final report (phase two)

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has concluded its extensive review of pre-action protocols (PAPs) with the publication of its phase two report. The first phase of the final report, published in August 2023, examined the role of PAPs in the civil justice system and explored the potential for digitalising pre-action processes. The second phase was published in November 2024. In the second (and final) phase report the CJC has set out its recommendations for the reform of various existing PAPs, including those for Personal Injury, Housing, Judicial Review, Debt, Construction and Engineering, Professional Negligence and Media and Communications. The report also recommends the creation of two new PAPs, one for dealing with child abuse and one for Multi-Track Claims in the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales (with a draft included at Appendix 1).

175th Practice Direction update—in force 20 November 2024

The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have approved the 175th Practice Direction (PD) update to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). The amendments come into force on 20 November 2024.  The 175th PD update contains amendments to the online Damages Claims Pilot under CPR PD 51ZB (the DCP), in order to correct a misalignment between the rules in CPR PD 51ZB and the operation of the DCP digital service, concerning the automatic dismissal of claims. CPR PD 51ZB is updated to state so that within four months of the date of issue of the claim, the claimant must not only notify the defendant of the claim and the claim details, but also notify the DCP that they have taken these steps to avoid automatic dismissal of the claim.

Dispute Resolution weekly highlights—21 November 2024

This week's edition of Dispute Resolution weekly highlights includes: the Ministry of Justice’s annual report and accounts for the financial year 2023–2024 and the Supreme Court decision in Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and others v Public and Commercial Services Union (Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999); dates for your diary; details of our most recently published content; and other information of general interest to dispute resolution practitioners.

176th Practice Direction update—in force 19 November 2024

The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have approved the 176th Practice Direction (PD) Update to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). The amendments come into force on 19 November 2024. The 176th PD update provides an extension of the operative period of CPR PD 51ZC (Small Claims Paper Determination Pilot) until 31 October 2025 for the purposes of completing the evaluation exercise of the pilot.

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