The Brussels Convention and its Effect on Traditional Jurisprudence

This essay examines the impact of the Brussels Convention and Regulation on traditional rules of jurisdiction in private international law. It discusses how the Convention has altered the traditional choice of law principles, particularly concerning the determination of jurisdiction based on the place where the cause of action arose. The analysis contrasts the traditional common law principles with the detailed regulations introduced by the Brussels Convention for determining jurisdiction in international disputes. The essay concludes that the Brussels Convention effectively fuses treaties, conventions, and customary law to establish a more formal and regulated approach to resolving international legal conflicts, thereby reshaping the landscape of international jurisprudence.

Running Head: PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
BRUSSELS CONVENTION AND REGULATION AND ITS EFFECT ON TRADITIONAL
JURISPRUDENCE
Name Of the Student
Name Of the University
Author’s Note

1PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
INTRODUCTION:
Private international law is a set of rules and regulations to resolve disputes between the
private individuals from different countries. These disputes may be related to various issues of
facts or law depending upon the conflicting situations. Brussels Convention deals with the
matters relating to jurisdiction and enforcement of judgments.
The transformation of the European International Law is the outcome of various
subversion and reversal of traditional assumptions that were the basis of the principles of
international market regulatory and its relevant authorities. Thus, it is justified by their alleged
emancitory power1. According Experts have shared their opinion that condition sine qua non is
the basis for the development and application of general principles of international relations and
legal disputes. They are classical legal thought, social legal thought, medieval legal thought and
many more that forms the thesis for various interpretations that led to the rise of the modern
international law.
DISCUSSIONS:
There is a fundamental difference between the general principles of common law rules
by Baron Descamp that the general principles of international law are laid on the legal morale of
the nations, which claim to be civilized. However, Lord Phillimore adopted a crispier review and
stated that the general principles of international law are the ones, which are recognized by
civilized nations. According to Lord Phillimore, it has been meant that the axioms of law and its
1 Azoulai, ‘The European Individual as part of Collective Entities’, Azoulai, Loïc, Ségolène Barbou des Places, and
Etienne Pataut, eds. Constructing the person in EU law: rights, roles, identities. Bloomsbury Publishing (2016)
discussed in Chapter 10, Section 2.2

2PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
principles are recognised by all the nations in foro domestico2 meaning that in the judicial
systems of the home jurisdiction are distinguished from a foreign court and its systems. Thus, it
can be said that there are two principles for international law namely; the customary law and the
international conventions and treaties, which are legally binding upon the signatories to such
treaties and conventions3.
In England and Wales, the Courts have adopted common law principles for determining
the jurisdiction of courts even if the parties are foreign companies and individuals. The private
international law does not deal with the question of law but is serves as a set of rules and
regulations to recognize the legal provisions of a nation to provide relief in a given dispute in
relation with international trade exchange of goods and services. In traditional law, the
jurisdiction is based on the choice of law wherein the jurisdiction is determined based on the
place where the cause of action arose for both intranational and international disputing matters4.
Thus, the Brussels Regulation is effective to determine the jurisdiction and forum in a given
situation.
2 Koskenniemi, Martti. Sources of international law. Routledge, 2017.
3STATUTE OF THE PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE art. 38(I)(3); STATUTE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE art. 38(l)(c).
4 All Answers ltd, 'English Traditional Rules and Brussels I Regulation' (Lawteacher.net, August 2019)
<https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/commercial-law/english-traditional-rules-and-brussels-i-regulation-
commercial-law-essay.php?vref=1> accessed 10 August 2019

3PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
CONCLUSION:
From the above discussions, it can be analysed that the Brussels Convention has
overruled the provision of choice of law as was laid down in the European traditional law with
respect to the jurisdiction of the courts. It states that the place where the course of action has
arisen, determines the jurisdiction of the court and the governing nation’s principles. On the
contrary, the Convention has laid down specifically detailed regulations for the determination of
jurisdiction in a more formal manner. Thus, it can be concluded that the international law is
basically the law based on the treaties, conventions and international meetings to which the
country becomes one of the signatory, along with the customary law which has formed as a part
of a country’s legal rule since its long time practice. Thus, Brussels convention has fused both
the sources to lay down an effective regulation with respect of international disputes.

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Bibliography:
Journals and Articles:
Clive Parry, The Sources and Evidences of International Law (1965), 83 in Koskenniemi,
Martti. Sources of international law. Routledge, 2017.
Azoulai, ‘The European Individual as part of Collective Entities’, Azoulai, Loïc, Ségolène
Barbou des Places, and Etienne Pataut, eds. Constructing the person in EU law: rights, roles,
identities. Bloomsbury Publishing (2016) discussed in Chapter 10, Section 2.2
Websites:
All Answers ltd, 'English Traditional Rules and Brussels I Regulation' (Lawteacher.net, August
2019) <https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/commercial-law/english-traditional-rules-
and-brussels-i-regulation-commercial-law-essay.php?vref=1> accessed 10 August 2019
Legislations:
STATUTE OF THE PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE art. 38(I)(3);
STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE art. 38(l)(c).