The provisions of Regulation 593/2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) and the contracts of carriage diff er significantly from those established in the Rome Convention. Apart from brand new rules for the carriage of passengers, the law applicable in absence of the parties” choice is to be determined not by means of presumption, but by a set of strict choice of law rules.
The structure of these rules is too complicated. Another disadvantage is their insufficient standard of protection for passengers.
However, some improvements ought to be pointed out. Unlike the Rome Convention, Rome I enables the determination of the applicable law by means of connecting factors in all possible situations. Fortunately, the “escape clause” in Rome I has been phrased more precisely. Accordingly, this Regulation seems to offer more predictable choice of law solutions.