"The book is a comparative study of the choice-of-law codifications and convenƯ tions adopted in each of the inhabited continents in the last so years. Its main purpose is to document and inform rather than to critique. Although I do not always hide my opinion, I continue to act on the conviction that what we can learn from legislators is far more important than what they can learn from us" -- PREFACE.

Choice of Law provides an in-depth sophisticated coverage of the choice-of-law part Conflicts Law (or Private International Law) in torts, products liability, contracts, forum-selection and arbitration clauses, insurance, statutes of limitation, domestic relations, property, marital property, and successions. It also covers the constitutional framework and conflicts between federal law and foreign law. The book explains the doctrinal and methodological foundations of choice of law and then focuses on its actual practice, examining not only what courts say but also what they do. It identifies the emerging decisional patterns and extracts predictions about likely outcomes.

This book compares the two golden ages of private international law (PIL): the first is the era of Story and Savigny in the nineteenth century, while the second comprises the last fifty years. The period between 1970 and 2020 has been one of rapid changes and dense legislative responses, exemplified by the adoption of over one hundred national PIL codifications and almost as many international or regional conventions and regulations. These instruments provide a rich source for this book’s incisive and instructive comparisons and a fertile ground for a reliable assessment of the progress of PIL as a discipline. This book skillfully uncovers and meticulously documents the gradual—and largely unnoticed—transition of PIL from the idealism of the nineteenth century to the pragmatic eclecticism and pluralism of the twenty-first century.

This book offers a contractual framework for the regulation of party autonomy in choice of law. The party autonomy rule is the cornerstone of any modern system of choice of law; embodying as it does the freedom enjoyed by parties to a cross-border legal relationship to agree on the law applicable to it. However, as this study shows, the rule has a major shortcoming because it fails to give due regard to the contractual function of the choice of law agreement. The study examines the existing law on choice of law agreements, by reference to the law of both common and civil law jurisdictions and international instruments. Moreover, it suggests a new coherent approach to party autonomy that integrates both the law of contract and choice of law. This important new study should be read with interest by private international law scholars.

As people, business, and information cross borders, so too do legal disputes. Globalisation means that courts need to apply principles of private international law with increasing frequency. Thus, as the Law Society of New South Wales recognised in its 2017 report The Future of Law and Innovation in the Profession, knowledge of private international law is increasingly important to legal practice. In particular, it is essential to the modern practice of commercial law. This book considers key issues at the intersection of commercial law and private international law. The authors include judges, academics and practising lawyers, from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. They bring a common law perspective to contemporary problems concerning the key issues in private international law: jurisdiction, choice of law, and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. The book also addresses issues of evidence and procedure in cross-border litigation, and the impact of recent developments at the Hague Conference on Private International Law, including the Convention on Choice of Court Agreements on common law principles of private international law.

This incisive Research Handbook provides valuable insights into the various methodological approaches to Private International Law from regulatory and educational perspectives. It comprehensively unpacks central themes in the field including international jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement, and scrupulously analyses core debates whilst addressing legislative and policy issues.

Written with the assistance of a team of lecturers at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, this book is the leading reference on Chinese private international law in English. The chapters systematically cover the whole of Chinese private international law, not just questions likely to arise in commercial matters, but also in family, succession, cross-border insolvency, intellectual property, competition (antitrust), and environmental disputes. The chapters do not merely cover the traditional conflict of law areas of jurisdiction, applicable law (choice of law), and enforcement. They also look into conflict of law questions arising in arbitration and assess China's involvement in the harmonisation of private international law globally and regionally within the Belt and Road Initiative. Similarly to the Japanese and Indonesian volumes in the Series, this book presents Chinese conflict of laws through a combination of common and civil law analytical techniques and perspectives, providing readers worldwide with a more profound and comprehensive understanding of Chinese private international law.

Is Private International Law (PIL) still fit to serve its function in today’s global environment? In light of some calls for radical changes to its very foundations, this timely book investigates the ability of PIL to handle contemporary and international problems, and inspires genuine debate on the future of the field.

Litigating disputes in international civil and commercial cases presents a number of special challenges. Which country’s courts have jurisdiction, and where is it advantageous to sue? Given the international elements of the case, which country’s law will the court apply? Finally, if a successful plaintiff cannot find enough local assets, what does it take to have the judgement recognized and enforced in a country with assets? This extensively updated second edition Advanced Introduction addresses these questions, providing a concise overview of the field.

This book provides an unprecedented analysis on the place of performance. The central theme is that the place of performance is of considerable significance as a connecting factor in international commercial contracts. This book challenges and questions the approach of the European legislator for not explicitly giving special significance to the place of performance in determining the applicable law in the absence of choice for commercial contracts. It also contains, inter alia, an analogy to matters of foreign country mandatory rules, and the coherence between jurisdiction and choice of law. It concludes by proposing a revised Article 4 of Rome I Regulation, which could be used as an international solution by legislators, judges, arbitrators and other stakeholders who wish to reform their choice of law rules.