A practitioner’s work dealing comprehensively with jurisdiction and choice of law in insurance contracts is a welcome addition to the corpus of literature, considering the flood of case law and regulation over the years. The prevalence of the London insurance and reinsurance markets sets the scene for this book, which fills the niche neatly by systematizing the relevant case law and regulatory framework. Part I of the book contains an historical overview containing the bare facts and dates of the bewildering production of European Union Conventions, regulations and directives over the years, a very useful guide. Part II deals with jurisdiction and Part III deals with choice of law. Reinsurance and insurance, common law and arbitration are dealt with in individual chapters in each of these two Parts.

The scope of the book, particularly insofar as it deals with jurisdiction, is significantly wider than might be the impression from a glance at the title, with its primary focus on reinsurance. While a chapter is dedicated to Section 3 of Council Regulation (EC) 44/2001, containing the Articles applicable to insurance contracts, the Regulation (insofar as it deals with jurisdiction rather than enforcement) is dealt with in its entirety because of its applicability to reinsurance contracts. The book therefore covers much case law not applicable exclusively to insurance or reinsurance, rendering this a more broadly useful and accessible work. In its substantive part, the book may serve as a reference work to dip into in order to pin down an elusive case or get the gist of an obscure authority. A striking feature of the book is the apparent ambition of the authors to render it a stand-alone, step-by-step guide to jurisdiction and choice of law. The approach permeates the text, which provides frequent summaries that may in practice operate as checklists and introduces topics by means of questions. Each segment starts from the beginning rather than racing straight to reinsurance and insurance, giving context to the rules discussed. The text contains a multitude of cross references and repetitions, giving it a strong handbook character rather than the flavour of a cover-to-cover read. Practitioners requiring a portable quick reference tool would therefore be well served by the work. A future paperback edition should also provide a useful addition to the flora of student textbooks for law students requiring a single introductory book on the subject-matter. This observation is reinforced by the fact that the text is fluent and reads well; it is not unduly encumbered with hypothetical excursions or auxiliary phrases and the authors deal lucidly with a complex and difficult subject.

The amiable tone of the book is enhanced by the fact that, from the outset, the text is imbued with an endearing nostalgia for the common law principles of jurisdiction and choice of law, which are succinctly but competently dealt with. An overall impression is that the book represents a gentle introduction to the European system for lawyers trained in the common law principles; nevertheless, it is not a book on European Union private international law—the focus is on the effect in the United Kingdom context of EU and international developments.

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