David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It is a common sense Bill and one that Sinn Féin supports. It is not very often I agree with a Bill relating to EU and global justice issues because some of these EU initiatives overtly impact on Irish sovereignty and deal with issues that are not entirely in keeping with democratic or human rights principles. It recalls the old saying that if the European Union applied to join itself, it would not have much hope of being accepted given its clear lack of democracy at times. We have seen how that has played out in recent times.

That said, we have to consider this Bill on its merits and the provisions of the convention make sense. Christophe Bernasconi writes in the International Financial Law Review: “A global agreement on the recognition and enforcement of private rulings makes so much sense it’s difficult to understand why it isn’t in place already.” I commend the Minister of State on moving this Bill forward and bringing to an end the delay in the ratification of this convention.

The Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements aims at ensuring the effectiveness of choice of court agreements between parties to international commercial transactions. The convention and this Bill are not part of a globalisation of criminal jurisdiction nor do they have any possible human rights implications. The convention was focused in its approach and is aimed purely at promoting greater legal certainty for cross-border business and creating a climate that is favourable to international investment and trade. This is something that Ireland as an island nation must be part of and for that reason Sinn Féin will support this Bill in its efforts to ensure this is the case.

I have outlined previously Sinn Féin’s concerns about a super-state EU or global legal architecture. We have had many debates in this House on the institutions of the EU. I have also spoken of the need to be mindful of human rights law in respect of Bills that seek to create such architecture. This Bill, however, is different. It is specifically intended to address cross-border co-operation among courts in commercial contractual situations, which has been a problem for some time. Judges in different countries have tended to disagree about issues of jurisdiction and the enforcement of foreign rulings. This convention has the potential to address such disagreements to provide certainty and conformity, both of which are essential in the modern day international practice of private law. It ensures courts respect and give effect to selection clauses which are so common in modern business to business contracts.

The conformity benefits Ireland’s attraction for foreign direct investment, FDI. Although such direct investment is important, we would caution against an over-reliance on FDI. It must not adversely impact on the growth of indigenous industry. We also recognise the importance of trade and investment. This Bill would support those concepts. It is a short but important Bill to ratify the convention. It is long overdue and I welcome it. We do not oppose it and I doubt we will submit any amendments to it on Committee or Report Stages. I hope it will be of benefit to the State and the possibility of job creation arising from it remains to be seen.