2024년 국제거래법ㆍ국제사법 주요 판례 회고

In 2024, a number of significant court decisions were delivered in the fields of private international law and international commercial law, which clarified the standards for international jurisdiction and proposed criteria for determining the applicable law in complex contractual relationships. These criteria took into account the nature of each legal relationship, the parties’ intentions, and a reasonable interpretation thereof. Through these decisions, the Korean courts have demonstrated a commitment to achieving systematic harmony between private international law and substantive law, as well as ensuring legal certainty and consistency in international commerce. This paper introduces major decisions, covering issues such as agency, insurance, assignment of claims, copyright infringement, torts, and damages. It examines the appropriateness and legitimacy of applying the revised Korean Private International Law, various domestic and foreign substantive laws, and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods(CISG). It also discusses the Korean courts’ standards for determining grounds to refuse recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Among these issues, the applicable law governing subrogation rights of insurers, IP infringement, subrogation methods under English law, and post-award objections to the arbitration agreement in recognitionㆍenforcement proceedings have been long-debated topics. The decisions reviewed in this paper are expected to serve as a foundation for future academic discourse and judicial development. Given the increasing prevalence of cross-border legal relationships, it is crucial not to overlook the necessity of determining applicable law through private international law or appropriate international conventions. The reviewed judgments offer meaningful insight into conflicts-of-law issues across diverse areas including intellectual property, insurance, and torts and demonstrate the courts’ efforts to appropriately apply private international law. I hope that these developments will lead to substantial progress in the fields of private international law and international commercial law.