JUDGMENT

Tee Geok Hock JC:

Introduction

[1] Conflict of laws, or private international law, is a field of law which is fraught with complexities and uncertainties and which is seldom well-understood by the practitioners of law.

[2] This case is an example where the subordinate court as well as the solicitors for both parties overlooked the impact of the conflict of laws in the context of a foreign company suing in the Malaysian court a person resident in Malaysia under a contract which has an express term that the foreign law of contract shall apply to the contractual relationship between the parties. The oversight has led both parties' solicitors to make submissions based on the Malaysian law of contract which culminated in a decision of the subordinate court granting a summary judgment based on the Malaysian law of contract.

[3] On a fundamental point of law as to the applicable substantive contract law in a court suit involving a foreigner company and a local resident, the court is not bound by the parties' error of law as to the applicability of the substantive law of contract.

Background Facts

[4] The foreign Plaintiff, Singapore Airlines Ltd, entered into a contract with the Defenda