Choice of Court Agreements
6.2.12 In the common law, a choice of court agreement is like any other contractual agreement. It must be valid according to its applicable law (see below, Section 6.3.8). The law governing the choice of court clause is usually the law that governs the entire contract, although it is possible for the choice of court agreement to be governed separately by its own law. Whether a particular dispute falls within the choice of court clause is a substantive question of construction, governed by the applicable law of the choice of court agreement (The Jian He [2000] 1 SLR 8). On the other hand, the effect of the contract on the court´s jurisdiction is a question of procedure, governed exclusively by the law of the forum. (On the distinction between substance and procedure, see below, Section 6.3.4).