非洲国家涉外合同的法律适用分析

The Analysis of the Applicable Law of International Contract in Africa

由于历史的原因,非洲国家有关涉外合同的法律适用的立法和制度主要移植自英、法等国。无论非洲普通法系国家还是非洲大陆法系国家都把当事人意思自治作为合同法律适用的首要原则,但许多国家对该原则进行了限制。在当事人没有选择所适用的法律时,非洲普通法系国家一般是根据最密切联系原则来确定合同所适用的法律,而非洲大陆法系国家一般通过某一或某些客观连接点来确定合同所适用的法律。但根据上述两种方式确定的合同准据法并非可适用于合同的所有方面以及所有类型的合同。在一些非洲的立法和判例中,对于合同的特殊方面以及某些特殊类型的合同需要适用不同的法律。

The legal systems to determine the applicable law of the international contract in Africa are mainly inherited from such western countries as England and France due to the historical-reasons. The principle of party autonomy is the primary principle in both African common and civil law countries, but the principle is to somewhat degree restricted in some African countries. In the absence of the parties＇choice, the closest connection principle is adopted in African common law countries, while in most African civil law countries, the applicable law is determined by reference to some objective connecting factors. However, the applicable law determined in such above ways does not always govern all aspects of the contract or any kind of contracts. In some African countries, some aspects of the contract or some specific type of contract are to be governed by different laws.