Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Applicable law definition

What does Applicable law mean? Applicable law describes the body of law that actually governs a dispute, transaction or issue in practice—either because the parties have made a valid governing law (choice‑of‑law) clause, or, absent such a clause, because conflict‑of‑laws rules select it. The term is descriptive rather than a defined statutory label and is used across contracts, tort/delict, property and regulatory compliance. In England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, if no valid choice is made, the applicable law of contractual obligations is identified under Rome I as retained EU law; for non‑contractual obligations, Rome II as retained EU law applies. In...

Determining applicable law in cross-border disputes before the English courts: contracts and torts under Rome I/II, renvoi, foreign law evidence, and the procedural v substantive divide (post-Brexit)

Published by a LexisNexis Dispute Resolution expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note

This Practice Note clarifies the meaning of applicable law—sometimes, depending on context, called governing law, proper law or the choice of law—namely the law applied to resolve a dispute between parties. It does not encompass procedural law.

It identifies which applicable law regime operates in the courts of England and Wales (English courts). The regime engaged will differ according to whether the dispute is contractual or non-contractual and, for contractual matters, whether the parties selected the applicable law via a choice of law (governing law) clause, including any subsequent variation of that agreement.

In a world where international travel, trade and communication are routine, cross-border complications arise with ease. Parties conclude contracts daily across different countries and continents. Goods and services move across frontiers, and individuals suffer accidents outside the states where they ordinarily live and work.

When a claim has a cross-border element, parties and their lawyers must consider three key questions:

in which country should the claim be commenced?...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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