Identifying the Conflict of Laws Rules on the Governing Law of International Insurance Contracts

Faraji, Mohammad; Bagheri, Mahmood

doi:10.48308/eclr.2025.237714.1109

Identifying the Conflict of Laws Rules on the Governing Law of International Insurance Contracts

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mohammad Faraji ¹ ^¶

Mahmood Bagheri ²

¹ L.L.M, Faculty of Law & Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Corresponding Author Email: mohamad.faraji@ut.ac.ir

² Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.48308/eclr.2025.237714.1109

Abstract

The governing law of an international insurance contract is of vital significance, as it directly influences the commitments of both the insurers and the insured parties. This importance indicates regulations and legal requirements generally designed to protect the insured party in nearly every legal system. These mandatory provisions often restrict or eliminate the parties’ right to freely choose the applicable law, instead establishing specific criteria that dispute resolution forums must apply to determine the law governing the contract. This article examines the various limitations imposed by mandatory rules on party autonomy in selecting the applicable law, as well as the legal principles that come into play when the parties have not made an effective choice. The findings reveal that common criteria used by such mandatory rules include the country of risk, the insured’s residence or registration, the lex loci contractus, and the jurisdiction with the most substantial connection to the contract.

Keywords

Non-Life Insurance Directives

Life Insurance Directive

Rome I Regulation

Conflict of Laws

State Court Practices

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