Rome I Regulation

The Rome I Regulation can be distinguished from the Brussels Regime which determines which court can hear a given dispute, as opposed to which law it should apply.

The Danish government planned to join the regulation if a referendum on 3 December 2015 approved converting its opt-out into an opt-in, but the proposal was rejected.

Article 4 deals with contracts where the parties have made no express or implied choice of governing law.

The replacement, article 9 defines mandatory provisions as, provisions the respect for which is regarded as crucial by a country for safeguarding its public interests, such as its political, social or economic organisation, to such an extent that they are applicable to any situation falling within their scope, irrespective of the law otherwise applicable to the contract under this Regulation.It is clear that employment law is applicable in any situation to a contract falling within its scope, though some have insisted, sceptically, that employment law may not be "crucial" in this sense, following older case law of the ECJ.

Overriding mandatory provisions are provisions the respect for which is regarded as crucial by a country for safeguarding its public interests, such as its political, social or economic organisation, to such an extent that they are applicable to any situation falling within their scope, irrespective of the law otherwise applicable to the contract under this Regulation.

One of the criticisms of Rome I is that it does not address the problems caused by successive assignments (by way of security or absolutely) and the determination of priorities between subsequent assignees.

Although procedural matters are largely excluded from Rome I, Article 18 does state that where an applicable law raises presumptions (such as the presumption of advancement) or specifies the burden of proof, then those rules shall apply to the contractual obligations.

Article 21 provides: The application of a provision of the law of any country specified by this Regulation may be refused only if such application is manifestly incompatible with the public policy (ordre public) of the forum.The United Kingdom originally opted out of the regulation, but subsequently decided to opt-in.

[4] As of September 2022[update], following Brexit, the regulation is retained EU law within the UK, subject to minor amendments.