Matthew Hoyle has written a note for Practical Law on the practice of pleading and proving foreign law in the English courts. The note covers a variety of important issues for commercial practitioners, including the meaning and scope of a “foreign law”, the various methods of proving such laws (including by expert evidence) and the approach of the English courts in applying foreign law. It includes discussion of Lord Leggatt JSC’s judgment in FS Cairo v Lady Brownlie [2021] UKSC 45 on the so called “default rule” and “presumption of similarity” as well the new Part H3 to the 11th edition of the Commercial Court Guide on adducing evidence of foreign law.
A pdf copy of the note can be accessed here. The note is maintained and will be periodically updated – this version is accessible to Thomson Reuters Practical Law subscribers here.