Complex contractual relationships – is there a need for special private international law rules on contractual chains and networks?

Modern business is increasingly complicated by complex webs of contract ‘networks’. These networks have raised thorny private international law issues both in respect of relationship among their members as well as in relation to the relationship between those networks and outsiders. This Chapter examines these issues and offers forward-looking thoughts on the role which the HCCH may play in tackling these issues. To do so, the authors examine the nature and characteristics of these contract networks, followed by an analysis of the private international law issues arising from them. The authors then consider the role of the HCCH in this area and observe that in light of an apparent trend towards developing different types of networks for different purposes, the HCCH would need to be prepared to deal with piecemeal rules for each type of network as they develop at national levels and gain traction internationally