涉外再保險契約之合意國際管轄與準據法──以英國再保險市場為中心

The Jurisdiction Clause and Governing Law on Foreign Reinsurance Contract: Focus on UK Market

關於涉外再保險契約，應如何擬定國際管轄及準據法條款？如未明定準據法條款時，法院會如何認定準據法？於再保險契約「背靠背」原則之下，是否照用原保險契約之準據法或其法律效果？本文嘗試論述，並附帶提及涉外再保險契約倘欠缺國際管轄條款時之國際管轄問題。
由於英國倫敦之勞埃德保險社（Lloyd’s of London，以下簡稱「勞埃德社」），係全球最大再保險市場之一，具國際領導地位，故本文擬以國內保險公司較易遭遇之狀況：原保險契約之保險人及被保險人均係我國公司，但再保險人為英國再保險公司之涉外再保險契約關係為重心，提出分析，並就我國保險公司在選擇外國再保險公司、訂立再保險契約之國際管轄與準據法條款等締約策略方面，提出若干建議。

Reinsurance is insurance purchased by the insurer in order to pass on the risk so it can take on additional business. The presumption of back-to-back cover exists between the insurance contract and reinsurance contract, where the terms are deemed to be identical so that when the insurer indemnifies the policyholder, the reinsurer would in turn compensate the insurer. However, the presumption was put in doubt by the UK Courts, where the Courts found that there was no back-to-back cover when the applicable law for the underlying insurance policy was unknown at the time of the conclusion of the reinsurance contract.
Strategic management in the corporate legal department improves the quality of legal services, produces better legal outcomes, reduces legal costs as well as industry’s risks, and renders other benefits. This paper mainly explores the jurisdiction clause and governing law in respect of reinsurance contracts with foreign elements, focusing on those cases derived from worldwide largest reinsurance market—Lloyd’s of London. Under the viewpoints of UK Courts, advices are to be provided for Legal Departments of Taiwan Insurance Industry on their strategic managements.