Sergei Bakeshin has commented for the Pravo.ru on the ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on choice of law
A Russian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of a Chinese supplier of parts are in litigation over the contract which prescribed resolving differences under Swedish law. However, the courts in three instances refused to allow the companies to apply Swedish law to the dispute. The Russian Supreme Court sent the dispute back for reconsideration, stressing that the foreign trade contracts contained an applicable law clause. Moreover, the Supreme Court recalled the principle Jura novit curia (“a court knows law”), according to which the court must choose the law to be applied in the dispute. At the same time, questions of the content of a foreign law may be resolved through a judicial enquiry to competent authorities or organisations, as well as through an expert opinion.
Head of Dispute Resolution and Insolvency Practice at Maxima Legal Sergei Bakeshin noted that the choice of the applicable law is usually not a problem for courts. “At the same time Russian courts are more willing to apply the Russian law they know well than the law of other countries,” the expert commented for the Pravo.ru
According to Sergei, the ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation does not contain positions that significantly change the law enforcement practice in such disputes. “It is clear, detailed and consistent in describing the algorithm to be followed by a court in determining the applicable law and in grasping the content of a foreign law,” noted Sergei Bakeshin. As such, it could be useful for legal practitioners as a methodological guide.