Ministry of Justice
 Printable version
|
 E-mail this to a friend
|
'Rome i - should the UK opt in?' consultation announced
Proposals designed to protect the interests of UK businesses operating in Europe have been announced today by the Government.
The Rome I proposal will provide clarity over which law applies if a dispute arises over a contract made between people or businesses from different countries, allowing cross border trade to continue with confidence.
When the European Commission first announced the proposals in 2005, the UK Government took the unusual step of opting out of the proposals, as they would not have been in the interests of UK businesses. However, following intense negotiations, a substantially revised and hugely improved version has now been agreed.
Announcing the publication of the 'Rome I- Should the UK Opt in?' consultation today, Bridget Prentice, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State said:
"The Government has always said that we will not opt into EU measures which are not in our national interest. The original proposal was clearly not right for Britain, but the new and much improved regulation will help to ensure that the rules in this very technical area are applied uniformly. This will ensure a level playing-field for British business in Europe."
Notes to Editors
* The 1980 Rome Convention was implemented
into UK law by the Contracts (Applicable Law) Act 1990. It applies
throughout the UK.
* The original Rome I Regulation was
released by the European Commission in December 2005.
* The UK
exercised its right not to opt in to the proposed Regulation in
May 2006. This was only the second time that the UK had opted out
of a Regulation under its special arrangements on Title IV of the
Treaty establishing the European Community. To opt in, it will
have to seek the permission of the European Commission, and agree
a timetable for implementation.
* Negotiations on the Rome I
Regulation ended with political agreement among Member States in
December 2007. Jurist-linguists are presently checking the text
for linguistic integrity. The Regulation will be adopted at the
next meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council in April of
June. The main provisions of the Regulation will come into force
18 months later.
* The UK government negotiated on behalf of
all UK jurisdictions, and the consultation paper is a joint
project of the Ministry of Justice and the devolved administrations.
Full copies of the 'Rome I - Should the UK Opt In?' consultation paper are available online at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/consultations.htm. The paper contains the most recent text of the Rome I Regulation as well as the 1980 Rome Convention.
The Contracts (Applicable Law) Act 1990 is available online at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1990/Ukpga_19900036_en_1.htm
The original European Commission proposal on Rome I can be found online at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2005/com2005_0650en01.pdf.
