ABSTRACT
In contracts, the will of the parties is unsurprisingly accorded substantial pre-eminence, and the choice of law rules applicable to contractual questions are no exception. As will be seen, the various treaties and directives applicable to contracts of insurance and reinsurance accord primacy to the contractual will of the parties, as does the common law, when applicable. The Rome Convention applies to “contractual obligations” in any situation involving a choice between the laws of different countries. Formal validity, according to the Giuliano-Lagarde Report includes “every external manifestation required on the part of a person expressing the will to be legally bound, and in the absence of which such expression of will would not be regarded as fully effective”. Under English conflict of law rules if the question relates to the actual authority of the agent the scope of the agent’s authority will be determined according to the law with reference to which the agency is constituted.
