The 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements

Ronald A. Brand is Professor of Law and Director of the Center for International Legal Education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He received his B.A. from the University of Nebraska and his J.D. from Cornell Law School. He regularly teaches courses in international business transactions, international trade law, and transnational litigation, as well as an introduction to American law course for foreign law students. His books include Fundamentals of International Business Transactions; International Civil Dispute Resolution; Beyond the Draft UNCITRAL Digest; Private Law, Private International Law, & Judicial Cooperation in the EU-US Relationship; and Forum Non Conveniens: History, Global Practice, and Future Under the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. Professor Brand was a member of the U.S. Delegation to the Special Commissions and Diplomatic Conference of The Hague Conference on Private International Law that negotiated and concluded the 2005 Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. He is a past Chairperson of the Interest Group on International Economic Law of the American Society of International Law, a former Fulbright Scholar in Belgium, and a former Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Bologna. Paul M. Herrup is an attorney with the Office of Foreign Litigation of the United States Department of Justice. He has extensive experience in transnational litigation and treaty negotiation, including participation in the negotiation of the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements.

Part I. A Basic Introduction to the 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention: 1. The context and history of the Hague negotiations; 2. The Convention structure and content; 3. Interpretation and use of the Convention; Part II. Article-by-Article commentary on the Convention: 4. Chapter i – scope and definitions (articles 1–4); 5. Chapter ii – jurisdiction (articles 5–7); 6. Chapter iii – recognition and enforcement (articles 8–15); 7. Chapter iv – general clauses (articles 16–26); 8. Chapter v – final clauses (articles 27–34); Part III. Choice of Court in the Absence of a Multilateral Convention: 9. Treatment of Choice of Court clauses in U.S. courts; 10. Recognition and enforcement of judgments in the United States: with and without Choice of Court agreements; Part IV. Litigation and the Arbitration Choices after the Hague Convention: 11. Planning the Choice of Forum: Choice of Court under the Hague.