As international trade and travel expand, so too does the risk that a company or an individual might be involved in a dispute having an international element. The international element could be because the parties are of different nationality or that they reside in different countries or that they have entered into a contract concerning a transaction taking place abroad.
In the event of a dispute, it is not enough to determine which court has international jurisdiction to hear and determine the case; it also has to be established which law will be applicable to determine the substance of the matter.
Finally, if a foreign law is applicable to a case, the content of that foreign law needs to be established with as much legal certainty as possible. To help the court, the parties and their lawyers, an international convention has established a cooperation between its contracting States (all EU countries have ratified this Convention except Ireland) : the European Convention of 7th June 1968 on Information on Foreign Law. See the CoE webpage on the European Convention on Information of Foreign Law and its Additional Protocol.
The European Judicial Network in civil an commercial matters (EJN-civil) may also assist the courts and judicial authorities in finding the content of foreign law, through the information on national law provided by the EJN-civil factsheets or the assistance of EJN-civil contact points.
Finally, the factsheet on National Legislation can be consulted for an overview of the various sources of law in the different Member States.
Please select the relevant country's flag to obtain detailed national information.