What does private international law mean?
Private international law deals with disputes with an international dimension and thus extends across national borders. An example of an international dimension is when two contracting parties reside in different countries. The legal field mainly regulates three issues, which are:
- The question of which court is competent to hear the issue in dispute (jurisdiction),
- The question of which country’s law should apply (conflict of law rules).
- The question of whether a judgment that has been issued in one country can be recognized and enforced in another country (enforceability). An example is when a foreign judgment or decision regarding the conclusion of marriage can be recognized and enforced in Sweden.
Each individual state regulates the issues in its national legal text, but there are conventions and international agreements that harmonize the legislation of states so that these do not conflict.
Our lawyers and legal experts can help you with international private law issues such as:
- Applicable law
- Choice of law agreements (prorogation agreements)
- Enforcement of judgments
- International estate investigations and property divisions
- International sales contracts
Swedish private international law is now largely regulated by EU legislation.
In the event of conflicts of law, the applicable law for contractual obligations is regulated by an EU regulation, the so-called Rome I Regulation. The regulation constitutes law in Sweden and is applied to determine which country’s law is applicable to contractual obligations with international connections, in cases where the parties have not agreed otherwise. The contractual obligation may, for example, concern the purchase of goods or services. The regulations exclude, among other things, obligations that are based on family relationships and obligations that are based on the property relations of spouses.
The Rome II Regulation regulates, in the event of a conflict of laws, the applicable law for other types of private law obligations. The Regulation applies to non-contractual obligations, such as damages. The main rule is that the law of the country where the damage occurred applies, regardless of the country in which the event giving rise to the damage occurred. However, if both the person whose liability is claimed and the person who suffered the damage have their habitual residence in the same country at the time the damage occurs, the law of that country shall apply.
The Brussels I Regulation regulates the question of which court has jurisdiction to decide a dispute within the EU. The regulation also regulates the recognition and enforcement of private law judgments. Most private law disputes are regulated by this regulation, but a number are excluded from the application of the regulation. For example, the Brussels I Regulation does not apply to the legal status of natural persons, matrimonial property regimes, arbitration proceedings, wills and inheritances. The court where the action should or can be brought is called the “proper forum” and constitutes the competent court. The main rule in private international law is that the action should be brought in the court of the member state where the defendant lives, but there are several exceptions to this.
The Brussels II Regulation regulates the jurisdiction of courts and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and matters of parental responsibility within the EU. Matters of parental responsibility include matters of custody, residence, access or temporary placement of a child outside the home, as well as matters of child abduction.
At a global level, the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters is regulated by the 2019 Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters. The purpose of this convention is to promote access to justice for all in cross-border trade and investment. The convention will enable EU citizens and companies to have judgments given by EU courts recognised and enforced in non-EU countries that are parties to the convention. Some matters are excluded from the scope of the convention, such as tax matters, customs matters and administrative law matters. Family law matters are also excluded from the scope of the convention.
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