Applicable law to the arbitration agreement in general conditions of sale available on seller's website: A pro-arbitration approach in the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina had to determine the applicable law to the arbitration clause contained in general conditions of sale on seller’s website. The sales agreement was concluded orally and the reference to the website with general conditions of sale was made on a pro forma invoice paid by the buyer. The arbitration clause provided for ICC Rules and seat of arbitration in Amsterdam, while French law was chosen to apply to the contract. The buyer, a domestic company from Bosnia and Herzegovina, filed for damages before domestic courts, claiming that the arbitration clause was not consented to, nor was it concluded in written. The Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued in the “chicken breed” case in 2019 a pro-arbitration judgment with reference to the New York Convention of 1958 and European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration of 1961. It is a landmark decision on one of the most difficult questions of applicable law to formal and substantive validity of the arbitration agreement.