Party autonomy as international element in choice of court and choice of law to contractual obligations and related commercial disputes

Abstract

The aim of the article is to examine the significance of party autonomy in choice of court and choice of law agreements to domestic contractual obligations and the commercial disputes arising out of such type of domestic obligations. The admissibility of the choice of court and the choice of law is analyzed in line with the regulation of these legal institutes in the legal sources of private international law with general scope of application which are of greatest practical importance for Bulgarian law - Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 and Regulation (EC) No 593/2008. A comparison is also made between the application of these legal instruments with other competing international and EU law legal acts with general and special scope of application. The analysis is focused on the admissibility and the eventual results from the so called “internationalization” of the contract and the related dispute arising out of such contract by the sole means of choice of foreign law and foreign court in the light of the newest case law of the Court of Justice of EU.