Re-Thinking the “reasonableness test” in policing forum selection clauses in U.S. courts in light of the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements

This Article unpacks and offers a new perspective on the test of reasonableness envisaged under The Bremen and its role in policing forum selection clauses in U.S. courts. It concludes that FSCs should control in all situations unless their enforcement “manifestly” clashes with the right to access justice or those that capture the fundamental social and economic values of the forum that has a clear interest in the trial of the dispute. This reading of the Bremen converges substantially with the enforcement system of Forum Selection Clauses (FSC) under the Hague Convention on the Exclusive Choice of Court Agreements.