As the global village continues to shrink, insurance conflict of laws issues become increasingly common. For example, a life policy may be issued by a Canadian insurer to a German citizen resident in Israel, with proceeds payable in pounds sterling (Pick v. Manufacturers Life Ins. Co. [1958] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 93). In the event of any coverage or similar dispute, questions arise as to which country’s laws properly govern the contract, and which country’s courts should exercise jurisdiction. Also important is the matter of enforceability of any judgment which may be obtained. The European Community has been working for some time on the harmonization of insurance-related conflicts practices. The 1980 Rome Convention, which first came into force on 1 April 1991, attempts to provide uniform rules in the field of contractual relations generally. The Convention applies only when the risk covered by an insurance contract is situated outside the Community. Policies covering risks situated within the Community are governed by the Second and Third Life and Non-Life Directives. It is against this background that a comparative law symposium was hosted by the European University Institute at Florence, Italy on 23 and 24 May 1991. International Insurance Contract Law in the EC collects the papers presented at that gathering, together with brief reports of four workshops. The book also features three Annexes, comprising respectively extracts from EC Directives, the full text of the Convention, and a list of conference participants.

A short opening address by Patrick Pearson of the Commission’s Directorate General XV (Financial Institutions and Company Law) sets out “the place of contract law in the EEC Treaty, our efforts to reach agreement on material rules and rules of conflict of private international law”. Professor Reicher-Facilides (Innsbrook) presents an introductory survey of the relevant sources of law, followed by a speech by Professor Robert Morse (London) on the extent to which parties may choose the law governing their insurance contract. Professor Wulf-Henning Roth (Bonn) discusses the implications of Art. 59 of the Treaty of Rome, arguing that the Second Directives’ restrictions