Part I Introduction, 2 Historical Development and Current Theories

Author(s):  
Torremans Paul

This chapter provides an overview of the historical development of private international law as well as current theories on the subject. It first traces the early history and later development of private international law in England before discussing the varied approaches to private international law in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In particular, it considers the theory of vested or acquired rights, local law theory, and the American revolution. Two general approaches common to most of the ‘revolutionaries’ are highlighted: the first is rule selection or jurisdiction selection, and the second is true and false conflicts. There are several rule-selection techniques such as governmental interest analysis approach, the comparative impairment approach, principles of preference, interpretation of forum policy, and choice of law factors. The chapter also examines the Europeanisation of private international law and concludes with an assessment of the theoretical or doctrinal basis of English private international law.

Author(s):  
Gebremeskel Fekadu Petros

This chapter reflects on Ethiopian perspectives on the Hague Principles. Ethiopia does not have a codified law regulating matters of private international law, nor is there detailed case law from which one could derive key principles of the subject. While the shortage of private international law in Ethiopia is evident, the problem is most severe in the area of applicable law. In relation to party autonomy in choice of law, the Federal Supreme Court’s Cassation Division has handed down some interesting decisions, and these indeed have the force of law in Ethiopia. Nevertheless, the approach of the Ethiopian courts in respect of party autonomy is not very developed and clear, including in the field of international commercial contracts. While it would be prudent for Ethiopian courts to refer to the Hague Principles as persuasive authority, this requires awareness of the existence of the Hague Principles. In the long term, the Hague Principles will surely find their way into Ethiopian law.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Hill

This introductory chapter begins by explaining the nature of the subject known as conflict of laws or private international law, which deals with cases before the English court which have connections with foreign countries. The foreign elements in the case may be events which have taken place in a foreign country or countries, or they may be the foreign domicile, residence, or place of business of the parties. In short, any case involving a foreign element raises potential conflict of laws issues. The conflict of laws is concerned with the following three questions: jurisdiction; choice of law; and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. The remainder of the chapter discusses the various stages of proceedings which raise conflict of laws issues.


1936 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-21
Author(s):  
H. C. Gutteridge

Our English system of Private International Law has for some time past lent itself to accusationsof insularity of conception and stagnation of thought. Dicey's famous work on the Conflict of Laws has threatened to develop into a comfortable niche in which our rules of jurisdiction and the choice of law would be able to dwell in cloistered seclusion undisturbed by criticism from within or by the infiltration of new ideas from without. English legal thought has, undeniably, been dominated for over a hundred years by two text-books. Story's Conflict of Laws reigned supreme until the beginning of this century when it was ousted by Dicey's treatise. Westlake's Private International Law, which in some respects is the most notable contribution which English writers have made to the development of Private International Law, never established itself in a like degree. The somewhat abstruse treatment of the subject by Westlake and his insistence on its comparative aspects involved a departure from current legal tradition which was not wellreceived by the English legal public. Foote's Private International Law which at one time was held in great favour by practitioners was avowedly confined to an analysis of the English casesand as such contained within itself the germs of the obsolescence which has overtaken it. In any event, Dicey's Conflict of Laws was elevated by the Bench and the Bar to a pinnacle of authority which has seldom been attained by a text-book, and the rules in which Dicey stated his propositions have acquired a character which is almost sacrosanct.


Author(s):  
Justin Leach

To inform those unfamiliar to the subject, private international law is simply that branch of a country’s domestic law, which regulates the relationship between private individuals when foreign legal rules are in some way concerned. This branch generally has three subbranches: Jurisdiction (choice of court), choice of law and recognition of foreign judgments. The discipline of characterisation forms part of the choice of law sub-branch and is explained further below. This article discusses the problem of a ‘gap’ arising from the phenomenon of characterisation in South African private international law, by considering the current case law authorities on the matter as well as the criticisms (and suggested solutions) of legal academics. A general discussion of characterisation, with some alternative suggestions for dealing with the problem, is also mooted for consideration in a bid to air ideas. No short work could do justice to the problem visited here. This work seeks to show that the obsession with characterisation in the choice of law arena is perhaps ill founded and should perhaps be simplified in favour of a ‘most natural results’ approach.


Author(s):  
Torremans Paul

This chapter provides an overview of the definition, nature, and scope of private international law. It first considers the space and time dimensions of private international law as well as three questions with which private international law is always concerned, namely: jurisdiction of the English court, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, and the choice of law. It then explains the meaning of foreign law and the international variety of private international law rules before discussing two possible ways in which the lack of unanimity among the various systems of private international law may be ameliorated: unification of internal laws and unification of the rules of private international law. In particular, it examines the Europeanisation of private international law and the impact of European Convention on Human Rights on private international law. Finally, it addresses the issue of the name or title of the subject in private international law.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Saloni Khanderia

The Indian court’s rigid application of the last-shot rule to resolve the problem of the battle of forms among conflicting standard terms in domestic disputes has resulted in unreasonableness and has fostered the conclusion of contracts in bad faith. Likewise, although there is substantial evidence to prove the existence of party autonomy in the choice of law and jurisdiction under Indian private international law, its courts have failed to delineate a coherent solution for “battles” arising on these aspects. The paper thus examines the plausibility of employing the solutions prescribed by the unidroit’s Principles on International Commercial Contracts and the Hague Conference on Private International Law’s Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts on the subject, as gap-fillers to interpret, supplement or develop the Indian national and private international law.


2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 665-696
Author(s):  
Alison Xu

AbstractThis article explores a solution to the choice-of-law issues concerning both voluntary and involuntary assignments arising in a domestic forum. The focus is on English private international law rules relating to cross-border assignments. A distinction is made between primary and extended parties as the foundation for choice-of-law analysis. Drawing on insights from the distinction of the use value and exchange value of debts found in economics, this article proposes a new analytical framework for choice-of-law based on a modified choice-of-law theory of interest-analysis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley Dingle

AbstractIn this paper Lesley Dingle provides a detailed account of the historical development of the public international law collections at the Squire Law Library in Cambridge. She explains the close involvement of the academic lawyers and the librarians, past and present, in developing an important collection which reflects the significance of the subject at Cambridge's Faculty of Law. Finally, she brings things up-to-date by detailing the extent of the electronic provision which benefits the modern scholar in this discipline.


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