Contratos internacionales de franquiciacompetencia judicial internacional y ley aplicable en la Unión Europea

Resumen

ABSTRACT This PhD dissertation is entitled "International Franchising Agreements: Jurisdiction and Applicable Law in the European Union". It aims to study franchising agreements in European private international law. This analysis pursues two main objectives. Firstly, it aims to clarify, classify, and systematize the existing knowledge about the topic. Secondly, it seeks to increase this level of knowledge, closing the legal gaps which have been addressed neither by the lawmaker nor by the case law nor by the legal literature. These gaps are numerous in the field of franchising, due to the complexity of these legal transactions. To achieve these objectives, the existing legislation has been analyzed, the problems raised by this legislation have been highlighted and solutions have been suggested. These solutions have been retrieved from European principles. Freedom of movement and the promotion of the internal market, as the ultimate goal of European private international law, have been specifically considered. As a general conclusion of this research, the challenges posed by franchising agreements in European private international law can be overcome with a proper exercise of party autonomy in relation to the law applicable to their relations and to the courts that shall have jurisdiction over the case and with a narrow interpretation of the concept of "overriding mandatory provisions" by Member States' courts. In the absence of choice, these challenges can be mastered by corrective interpretations of the rules of Regulation No. 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I recast) and Regulation No. 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I). Among these interpretations, it is worth mentioning the consideration of franchise agreements as contracts for the provision of services for the purposes of art. 7.1 RB-I bis and the consideration of the habitual residence of the franchisee as the place where the franchised establishment is located for the purposes of art. 4.1.e RR-I.