Private international law
With an increasingly globalised economy, it is inevitable that disputes will arise involving, not only substantive questions of fault and liability, but preliminary issues regarding the appropriate forum in which to issue proceedings and the law applicable to them. Indeed, it is not surprising that more than 90% of cases in the English commercial court turn almost entirely on the question of jurisdiction. While that number is far smaller in the Irish courts, this is expected to rise with the advent of "Brexit" as more European companies find a new home in Ireland. The question of private international law is not limited to large corporations; it can include things such as Irish citizens being injured on holidays abroad, or an Irish customer purchasing defective products from a foreign company. Whatever the issue or question, we can help provide the answer in this highly specialised area of law.
Below are just some of the issues relating to private international law with which we have assisted clients:
- Advising an Irish company on whether it could issue legal proceedings in Ireland against an English company in relation to a contract made in England.
- Advising an Irish client in relation to suing a Spanish medical practitioner for negligently carrying out a procedure in Spain.
- Advising a UK company about whether Irish or English law applied to a service agreement entered into by it with an Irish company.
- Advising an English company on the best way to enforce a judgment obtained in England against a company in Ireland.
- Advising an Irish client about the governing law of a commercial agreement entered into with a company in the United States.