Summary

The classic principle of connection in an international contract is party autonomy. Accordingly, parties to an international contract may choose the national law which governs their contractual relationship. This principle corresponds to freedom of contract in civil law. The exclusion of party autonomy has recently been advocated by legal writers in the situation where parties have unequal bargaining power. A strong party can impose the law which is more favourable to him and least favourable to the other party (consumer).
This article deals with specific mandatory rules of connection which are established against abuse of party autonomy in international consumer contracts. The author gives a short overview of special rules of connection for consumer contracts in Swiss, German and Dutch statutes. Also, relevant principles in international conventions (Hague Convention of 25^th October 1980 on the Law Applicable to Certain Consumer Sales; 1980 Rome EC Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations; Brussels Convention of 1968 on International Jurisdiction and the Recognition of Foreign Judgement) are discussed.
Further, special rules of connection for consumer contracts in Estonian civil law are analysed. In this respect, §§ 160 and 165 of the General Principles of the Civil Code Act and § 44 of the Draft Law of Obligations Act are of particular interest.