Two different questions
Governing law asks which legal system interprets the contract — and the same words genuinely mean different things under different laws (penalty clauses, good faith duties and liability exclusions all diverge between, say, Irish and New York law). Jurisdiction asks which courts hear the dispute. They usually travel together but need not — and a mismatch (Irish law, foreign courts) buys you a foreign judge applying expert evidence about Irish law: expensive exotica.
What silence costs
With no clause, conflict-of-laws rules decide: for EU-connected contracts, instruments like the Rome I Regulation typically point to the law of the party rendering characteristic performance, and the Brussels regime allocates jurisdiction. Those defaults are workable but unpredictable enough that you are litigating where to litigate before litigating anything — a dispute bought entirely by a missing clause.
The Irish party's checklist
- Prefer Irish law and Irish courts where bargaining power allows — your solicitor, your courts, your enforcement
- Weigh enforcement reality: a judgment is worth what it can collect where the defendant's assets are; within the EU, recognition is streamlined — further afield, ask before agreeing
- Exclusive vs non-exclusive jurisdiction: exclusive gives certainty; non-exclusive preserves flexibility to sue where the assets are
- Arbitration is the common compromise with non-EU counterparties: the New York Convention makes awards widely enforceable, and Ireland is an arbitration-friendly seat — but arbitrate by design, not by boilerplate, since costs and appeal rights differ sharply
- US and UK templates deserve special attention post-Brexit and cross-Atlantic: a Delaware or English forum clause in a vendor's standard terms converts every dispute into a foreign one — often decisive against pursuing small and mid-sized claims at all
How our fees work
You get a fixed quote in writing before any work starts — no hourly-rate surprises and no meter running while you think. If the scope changes, the quote is revised in writing before we continue. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement. How contract solicitor fees work in Ireland →