Rome I Regulation
Encyclopedia
The Rome I Regulation is a regulation which governs the choice of law
in the European Union. It is based upon and replaces the Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations 1980. The Rome I Regulation can be distinguished from the Brussels Regime
which determines which court can hear a given dispute, as opposed to which law it should apply.
Pursuant to its Articles 28 and 29, the regulation came into force on 17 December 2009 and applies to contracts concluded after that date (beginning 18 December 2009).
The significant change is that the applicable law is that of the country "from which the employee habitually carries out" her work. It is intended to cover workers such as airline pilots who might not work "in" any particular country, but work "from" a country.
For a temporary worker posted in another country from her home country, article 8(2) makes the law of the home country apply. It would therefore appear that, for example, the employer of a Greek posted worker in Germany could rely on the lesser protections of Greek law. Article 7(2) of the 1980 Convention stated that 'Nothing in this Convention shall restrict the application of the rules of the law of the forum in a situation where they are mandatory irrespective of the law otherwise applicable to the contract'. Employment law is mandatory. However, article 7(2) was not retained in the Rome I Regulation. The replacement, article 9 defines mandatory provisions as,
It is clear that employment law is applicable in any situation to a contract falling within its scope, though some have insisted, sceptically, that employment law may not be "crucial" in this sense, following older case law of the ECJ.
Choice of law
Choice of law is a procedural stage in the litigation of a case involving the conflict of laws when it is necessary to reconcile the differences between the laws of different legal jurisdictions, such as sovereign states, federated states , or provinces...
in the European Union. It is based upon and replaces the Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations 1980. The Rome I Regulation can be distinguished from the Brussels Regime
Brussels Regime
The Brussels Regime is a set of rules regulating which courts have jurisdiction in legal disputes of a civil or commercial nature between individuals resident in different member states of the European Union and the European Free Trade Association...
which determines which court can hear a given dispute, as opposed to which law it should apply.
Background
The regulation sets out which law be used to interpret contracts with an international element (i.e. contracts agreed by parties in different countries).Pursuant to its Articles 28 and 29, the regulation came into force on 17 December 2009 and applies to contracts concluded after that date (beginning 18 December 2009).
Employment contracts
Article 8(2), which supersedes article 6(1) of the 1980 Convention, says,The significant change is that the applicable law is that of the country "from which the employee habitually carries out" her work. It is intended to cover workers such as airline pilots who might not work "in" any particular country, but work "from" a country.
For a temporary worker posted in another country from her home country, article 8(2) makes the law of the home country apply. It would therefore appear that, for example, the employer of a Greek posted worker in Germany could rely on the lesser protections of Greek law. Article 7(2) of the 1980 Convention stated that 'Nothing in this Convention shall restrict the application of the rules of the law of the forum in a situation where they are mandatory irrespective of the law otherwise applicable to the contract'. Employment law is mandatory. However, article 7(2) was not retained in the Rome I Regulation. The replacement, article 9 defines mandatory provisions as,
It is clear that employment law is applicable in any situation to a contract falling within its scope, though some have insisted, sceptically, that employment law may not be "crucial" in this sense, following older case law of the ECJ.
See also
- Brussels RegimeBrussels RegimeThe Brussels Regime is a set of rules regulating which courts have jurisdiction in legal disputes of a civil or commercial nature between individuals resident in different member states of the European Union and the European Free Trade Association...
- Rome II RegulationRome II RegulationThe Rome II Regulation No is an European Union Regulation regarding the conflict of laws on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations...
, relating to non-contractual obligations - Posted Workers DirectivePosted Workers DirectiveThe EU Posted Workers Directive is an EU directive concerned with the free movement of workers within the European Union. It makes an exception to the Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations 1980, which ordinarily requires that workers are protected by the law of the member...