Law Commission Issues Call For Evidence On Digital Assets & Private International Law And Draft Legislation For Digital Assets & Personal Property Rights

• Published date: 05 March 2024
• Law Firm: Brown Rudnick LLP
• Author: Jessica Lee and Menelaos Karampetsos

On 22 February 2024, the U.K.'s Law Commission (the "Commission") issued a Call for Evidence (available here) ("CfE") to examine the question of "in which country's courts should the parties litigate their dispute, and which country's law should be applied to resolve it" when dealing with international digital assets disputes. The CfE will remain open for submissions until 16 May 2024. Separately, the Commission also issued a short consultation following its Digital Assets report in June 2023 on draft legislation to confirm the existence of a "third" category of personal property, which would encompass crypto-tokens and other assets ("Draft Bill"). The Commission seeks views on the Draft Bill by 22 March 2024.

The Call for Evidence

Issues of private international law are engaged where there is the potential for conflicts between different private law systems; for example, where the parties to a private law dispute are based in different countries, or where the facts and issues giving rise to the claim cross national boundaries. The three key questions which arise are:

1. Where will the dispute be litigated?
2. Which law should be applied to resolve the dispute?
3. How can a judgment be recognised and enforced in another...