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Because English contract law has a reputation for reliability, thanks to the common law doctrine of stare decisis, which binds courts to decide the same way as

Because English contract law has a reputation for reliability, thanks to the common law doctrine of stare decisis, which binds courts to decide the same way as previous cases with the same facts were decided (modulo appeals courts). French law, by contrast, gives much more freedom to judges to decide each case individually, which sounds nice in theory, but in practice just creates legal uncertainty for everyone involved. As to why English law, and not, say, New York or New South Wales law, well: England is only 21 miles from France.

codethief 5y ago
> but in practice just creates legal uncertainty for everyone involved. Citation needed. Both civil law and common law seem to have their respective pros and cons. At least my understanding of common law is that in common law you need to be familiar with all past related cases dating back to who knows when, which doesn't exactly make interpreting and understanding the terms of a contract any easier.
- sixstringtheory 5y ago
  It seems common sense enough that no citation is required. Get a judge having a bad day in France and your case could go belly up regardless of merits, customs or precedent. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” So why retread the same legal wheel over and over? Why not study prior similar cases to at least see if they thought of something you didn’t?
  - codethief 5y ago
    > Get a judge having a bad day in France and your case could go belly up regardless of merits, customs or precedent. You're spreading FUD. 1) Few civil actions are decided in a day. 2) You can almost always appeal a decision. 3) Statutory law in Civil Law countries tends to be much more detailed and comprehensive (compared to statutory law in Common Law countries), precisely because no one likes to "retread the same legal wheel over and over", so law makers at some point decided to codify what already was (or was supposed to become) common practice. So judges have much less wiggle room in their decision than you and OP are implying. This is also the reason why "commercial agreements drafted in civil law countries tend to be rather brief […] since there is no reason to restate codified law"[0]. [0]: https://www.vistra.com/de/node/905 https://www.vistra.com/de/node/905
teachingassist 5y ago
Is this a standard arrangement, then? Is it usual for French organisations to apply English law?

codethief 5y ago

> but in practice just creates legal uncertainty for everyone involved. Citation needed. Both civil law and common law seem to have their respective pros and cons. At least my understanding of common law is that in common law you need to be familiar with all past related cases dating back to who knows when, which doesn't exactly make interpreting and understanding the terms of a contract any easier.

sixstringtheory 5y ago
It seems common sense enough that no citation is required. Get a judge having a bad day in France and your case could go belly up regardless of merits, customs or precedent. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” So why retread the same legal wheel over and over? Why not study prior similar cases to at least see if they thought of something you didn’t?
- codethief 5y ago
  > Get a judge having a bad day in France and your case could go belly up regardless of merits, customs or precedent. You're spreading FUD. 1) Few civil actions are decided in a day. 2) You can almost always appeal a decision. 3) Statutory law in Civil Law countries tends to be much more detailed and comprehensive (compared to statutory law in Common Law countries), precisely because no one likes to "retread the same legal wheel over and over", so law makers at some point decided to codify what already was (or was supposed to become) common practice. So judges have much less wiggle room in their decision than you and OP are implying. This is also the reason why "commercial agreements drafted in civil law countries tend to be rather brief […] since there is no reason to restate codified law"[0]. [0]: https://www.vistra.com/de/node/905 https://www.vistra.com/de/node/905

teachingassist 5y ago

Is this a standard arrangement, then? Is it usual for French organisations to apply English law?