APPLICABLE LAW TO DISTRIBUTION CONTRACTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION REGULATION 593/2008 (ROME I)

Résumé 0

"The applicable law to the International Contract of Distribution of the European Union presented a lot of difficulties under the application of the Rome Convention of 1980, subsequently this uniform legal norm required establishing the law applicable to the international contract, to identify the characteristic performance in such legal relationship. The characteristic performance of the distribution contract could not be determined in a uniform way, because some of the courts of the Estates which made part of it understood that it was carried out by the distributor, others maintained that is was the grantor of the merchandize, while others considered that this contract could not be established under characteristic performance theory. The Rome I Regulation from the European Union has made important modifications regarding determining the applicable law to this contract, since it has established in a rigid and direct way the norm of the habitual country of residence of the distributor for this legal relationship to be applied. The present paper pretends to analyze if the rigid determination of the law applicable to the distribution contract in the Regulation of the European Union Rome I, manages to solve interpretation problems pre - sented on the Rome Convention of 1980, bringing legal certainty through the foreseeable applicable law to the international contract."