THIS PAPER IS NOT TO BE REMOVED FROM THE EXAMINATION HALLS

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON LA3014

DIPLOMA IN THE COMMON LAW

LLB

ALL SCHEMES AND ROUTES

Conflict of Laws

Wednesday 8 May 2013: 10.00 – 13.15

Candidates will have fifteen minutes during which they may read the paper and
make rough notes ONLY in their answer books. They then have the remaining
THREE HOURS in which to answer the questions.

Candidates should answer FOUR of the following EIGHT questions.

Candidates should answer all parts of a question unless otherwise stated.

© University of London 2013

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1. The law of domicile ‘remains rooted in its Victorian origins when the
establishment of a home was an affair of a lifetime’ (Clarkson and Hill).

Discuss.

How, if at all, would you reform the law to reflect contemporary society?

Would you replace domicile by another connecting factor?

2. Mrs Green has three daughters, Antonia, Barbie and Cilla, all of whom are
domiciled in England. Explain to Mrs Green each daughter’s marital
status.

(a) Antonia, when aged 17, went through a ceremony of marriage in

Turkey with Thierry, a French national, aged 17. The marriage is
valid by Turkish law but not by French law because Thierry did not
have parental consent to marry. Antonia also did not have
parental consent to marry.

(b) Barbie, when aged 18, and working as a secretary in Dubai, went
through a ceremony of marriage there with Imran, a Pakistani
national and domiciliary on a long term contract there. The
ceremony was polygamous in form. A few weeks later Imran
pronounced talaq in the presence of witnesses in Dubai. The
marriage was valid by the law of Dubai and Pakistan. By the laws
of both of these countries it has also been dissolved.

(c) Cilla, when aged 19, went to Afghanistan as a nurse to assist the
Allied Forces in the war. She went through a ceremony of
marriage in Afghanistan with Dave, a U.S. soldier from California.
The ceremony of marriage was performed by another soldier who
is also a lay preacher. It did not comply with Afghan law.

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3. Does an English court have jurisdiction to hear the following cases?

(i) A dispute about the ownership of a villa in Portugal which Tom, a

businessman from Manchester, purchased in the name of Natalie,
his French girlfriend, five years ago. The relationship has broken
up and Natalie is trying to sell it.

(ii) An action for negligence which Jim from London wishes to bring
against Claude, a French resident. Claude drove through red
traffic lights in Frankfurt last summer and knocked Jim down. As a
result of the accident Jim has been off work for six months and is
still in pain.

(iii) A dispute about the quality of silk supplied from a Thai company in
Thailand. The contract was negotiated in London by a
manufacturer’s agent, Brad, who works from home in Coventry.
He represents many Thai companies in Britain.

4. What is the applicable law of the following contracts, both of which were
entered into in 2012?

(i) A contract between an English car manufacturer in Birmingham

and an Italian tyre manufacturer for the supply of tyres to its
assembly plant in Malaysia. There is no express choice of law,
though in contracts between the two companies in the past English
law has always been expressed to govern. The contract provides
for payment in sterling at an Italian bank in London.

(ii) A contract between an English manufacturer of DVDs based in

Liverpool and a Spanish rock singer who lives in the South of
France to record, produce and distribute a DVD of his latest songs.
The contract provides for payment of royalties in sterling, and for
copyright to remain in the singer. The contract also provides that
English law governs the DVD manufacturer’s rights and obligations
and Spanish law governs those of the singer.

5. Last year a painting by Mantegna was stolen from an art gallery in

Florence. The thief took it to Switzerland where it was sold at an auction
to an art dealer. The thief convinced the auction house that the painting
was by a lesser artist. This did not fool the art dealer who paid
considerably less than the work was worth. The art dealer sold the
painting at its market value to the Chelsea Art Gallery in London. The
Florence gallery has now traced the painting and wishes to recover it.

Advise it.

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6. Mr and Mrs Thomas from England went on holiday to Utopia last winter.
They took with them Mr Thomas’s elderly uncle, Alf, and their Swiss au
pair, Marie. Whilst in Utopia:

(i) Alf was injured when Mr Thomas left the brake off and the car he
had hired ran over Alf.

(ii) Marie was killed when she walked in front of a car being driven by
Mr Smith, another British tourist.

(iii) Mrs Thomas fell off an elephant when Mr Thomas frightened it.
She was badly injured.

On the hypothesis that by the law of Utopia gratuitous passengers cannot

sue, that contributory negligence is a complete defence, and that wives
cannot sue their husbands in tort, advise Alf, Marie’s parents and Mrs
Thomas. Advise also Mr Thomas who has been told that under Utopian
law his maximum liability for each accident is £1,000. Both Mr Thomas and
Mr Smith are within the English court’s jurisdiction.

7. Explain the circumstances in which an English court will refuse to enforce a

judgment from:

(a) a court in New York;

(b) a court in Paris.

Are the differences justified?

8. Does public policy have a role to play in the conflict of laws?

END OF PAPER

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