DETERMINING THE PROPER LAW OF CONTRACT UNDER PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
Abstract:
Where a dispute arises from the breach of a term or terms of a contract between ‘A’ a Nigerian and ‘B’ an Italian, the court which entertains the action will employ an objective test in order to determine the law to govern the resolution of this dispute. Before arriving at this law, the court considers the intention of the parties regarding their choice of law. The parties’ intention could be expressed where they provide that “Nigerian law shall govern the construction of this contract”, or their intention could be implied where, from the terms of the contract, the court could hold that the parties’ intention is that Italian law should govern the contract. Where their intention is neither expressed nor to be inferred from the terms of the contract, the court could hold that the system of law with which the transaction has its closest and most real connection shall be the proper law of the contract and this is arrived at by looking at the surrounding circumstances of the case. The above explanation is what “Determining the Proper Law of Contract under Private International Law” is all about and it is that proper law so determined that 13 is applied in all issues or matters arising from international contract disputes brought before the court for resolution.
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