Overview of international contracts

1. International agreement – Jurisdiction

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Parties to an international agreement may decide that any litigation arising out in connection with the contract shall be:

Settled by arbitrators
Submitted to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of one party
Finally settled by a mediator, whose decision will be binding on the parties
Submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of one party
Submitted to the jurisdiction of the courts of a neutral State

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What is the definition of an international contract?

The contract has effects in several States and/or concerns operations in several States.
The contract is governed by international law.
The contract has effects exclusively in one Sate and/or concerns operations within the same State.

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The main criterion for qualifying a contract as international is:

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Which statement is correct?

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Which statements are correct?

In order to secure their contract, the parties should always specify the governing law and the jurisdiction in case of litigation.
In any case, a judge will always apply the laws of his country that are of international public policy (mandatory laws).
The parties to an international business agreement may generally choose freely the governing laws and the courts having jurisdiction.
Contractual freedom is more important for international agreements than for internal agreements.
The parties to an internal agreement (a contract which is not international) may freely choose the governing law (they may decide that the internal contract will be governed by a foreign law).
The parties to an international agreement can exclude the application of overriding mandatory rules (imperative rules / rules of international public policy) of the State concerned by the litigation.
The parties to an international business agreement may decide that their agreement will not be governed by any laws.