There has always been considerable uncertainty about the nature and scope of the rule by which contractual performance is excused if illegal in the place of performance, even though performance would not be illegal by the contract's governing law. This article revisits the so-called “Ralli Bros rule” and looks at how the scope of the rule has been developed and its nature misunderstood. It argues that the rule is neither a choice of law rule nor part of the rules discharging a contract for frustration but is instead a public policy rule favouring judicial abstention for reasons of comity. This has implications for how the rule interacts with the choice of law rules for contracts under the Rome Convention and the Rome I Regulation.

中文翻译：

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合同、违法和礼让：重新审视 RALLI BROS

一直以来，关于合同履行在履行地非法时免责的规则的性质和范围一直存在相当大的不确定性，即使根据合同的管辖法律履行不会是非法的。本文重新审视了所谓的“Ralli Bros 规则”，并探讨了该规则的范围是如何发展起来的，以及它的性质是如何被误解的。它辩称，该规则既不是法律选择规则，也不是因受挫而履行合同的规则的一部分，而是出于礼让而有利于司法弃权的公共政策规则。这对于该规则如何与《罗马公约》和《罗马 I 条例》下的合同法律选择规则相互作用具有影响。