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...

Navigating applicable laws in international arbitration: capacity, governing law, arbitration agreement and seat, with English law guidance and the 2025 default rule for seats in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Published by a LexisNexis Arbitration expert

Practice notes

A key distinction between domestic arbitration and international arbitration is the need to determine which system of law governs specific questions. In a domestic arbitration, it is highly probable that a single jurisdiction’s law will regulate all matters. In international arbitration, the situation can be markedly different. The potential bodies of applicable law include:

the law governing the parties’ capacity to enter into the arbitration agreement
the law applicable to the substance of the dispute
the law applicable to the arbitration agreement
the law of the seat of the arbitration
the law and procedure of the courts for recognition and enforcement of an award

When making their choice of applicable law, parties should recognise the risk of inconsistencies between these various laws. For example, whether a particular dispute is capable of being referred to arbitration may attract different conclusions under the law governing the substance of the dispute, the law governing the arbitration agreement, the law of the arbitral seat, and the law governing recognition and enforcement of the award...

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Vivek Kapoor

39 Essex Chambers

Vivek Kapoor is a barrister and arbitrator at 39 Essex Chambers. He is specialist advocate with a practice in international arbitration and commercial litigation. He is recognised for his expertise in high-value, multijurisdictional cases related to energy, infrastructure and construction, natural resources, mining and commodities, banking and financial services, civil fraud and asset tracing, sanctions, investor-state dispute settlement and public international law. He is described in leading legal directories as “an excellent litigator”, “an expert in law”, “an excellent advocate” and “a great strategic decision maker”. Clients rate “his ability to find novel legal solutions to some of the most difficult situations is remarkable” and that he “thinks of every scenario for a case and prepares for each one, including complex and difficult ones”. His “ability to make simple arguments explaining complex legal points in both law and fact” is described as “a case...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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