ICC calls on governments to facilitate cross-border litigation

Despite strong interest from various states, as well as the signature of both the EU and the US, the ratification of the Convention has not progressed as swiftly as hoped, to the detriment of business.

The Convention, which was adopted in 2005 by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, fills a gap in international law concerning the enforcement of choice of court agreements (or forum selection clauses) and foreign judgments. To date it has only received the accession of Mexico.

ICC advocates large-scale ratification of the Convention which covers international commercial transactions and effectively addresses the need for business to rely on secure cross-border dispute resolution mechanisms.

As businesses face difficulties in seeking to enforce foreign judgments due to conflicting national procedural laws, this Convention is a necessary tool towards effective cross-border dispute resolution. It has the potential to achieve for litigation what the New York Convention has achieved for arbitration.

The Convention ensures the effectiveness of choice of court agreements in international commercial transactions and secures the enforcement of foreign judgments rendered pursuant to those agreements. It therefore provides international commercial transactions with increased certainty and reduces, as stressed in a previous ICC statement, “the workload of courts and the expense to business of long court battles over essentially procedural points”, thereby contributing to a favourable climate for trade and investment.

For more information on the Convention, including the explanatory report and the status of signatures, ratifications and accessions visit the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

Download the Convention on Choice of Court Agreements.

For more ICC information on this topic visit the ICC Commission on Commercial Law and Practice.