Category Archives: Conflict of Laws
Frederick Rieländer, ‘Policing Consumer Contract Terms under US and EU Law: A Comparative Analysis of the Directive 93/13/EEC on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts and the Restatement of Consumer Contracts’
ABSTRACT The control of standard contract terms has become one of the most important yet controversial areas of contract law. By comparing the Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts with the recently adopted US Restatement of Consumer Contracts, this Article sheds light on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the EU and US […]
Raymond Yang Gao, ‘Forum Shifting to Regulate Data Privacy: The Creation and Evolution of EU Data Protection Law’
ABSTRACT Currently, the European data privacy regime has become one of the most influential legal frameworks regulating data privacy protection and cross-border personal data transfers. Despite a burgeoning body of scholarship on EU data protection law, the questions of why and how the EU adopted this regulatory approach remain understudied. Contrary to conventional wisdom, European […]
‘Private International Law and Sustainable Development in Africa’
Recall, on 14 October 2024, we invited submissions to the Journal of Sustainable Development and Policy for a special issue focusing on ‘Private International Law and Sustainable Development in Africa’. Make today matter! Under this motto, legal scholars from all over the world gathered at the University of Pretoria on July 8, 2025 to take […]
Christopher Whytock, ‘The French Private International Law Codification Project: A View from the United States’
ABSTRACT This is a contribution to a colloquium held at the Université Jean Moulin Lyon III on comparative perspectives on the recently proposed French private international law codification. The contribution offers a view from the perspective of the United States, including comparative observations on the codification project in France and the current Restatement (Third) of […]
Kermit Roosevelt, ‘Choice of Law and Statutory Specifications of Scope’
ABSTRACT Choice of law problems, it is often said, arise because legislatures do not specify the scope of their laws: they do not state explicitly to whom a law grants rights, or where. But what if they do? One view, adopted in the draft Third Restatement of Conflict of Laws, is that choice-of-law analysts should […]
Maxence Rivoire, ‘Cart before the Horse? BSH Hausgeräte v Electrolux and Exclusive Jurisdiction over Patent Validity’
ABSTRACT In a much-anticipated judgment, the Grand Chamber of the CJEU in BSH Hausgeräte GmbH v Electrolux AP reshaped the landscape of cross-border patent litigation in the EU. The case concerned the interpretation of Article 24(4) of Regulation 1215/2012 (Brussels Ia), under which the courts of the European Member State of deposit or registration have […]
Christopher Whytock, ‘Choice Of Law For Property Issues: The Third Restatement’s Approach In Comparative Perspective’
ABSTRACT In both Europe and the United States, the rules of private international law governing property-related issues are being reexamined. In addition to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation-sponsored project on European private international law and property rights, both the European Association of Private International Law and the European Group of Private International Law […]
Zachariasiewicz and Zachariasiewicz, ‘Culpa in Contrahendo: A Testimony to the Changing Methodologies in Private International Law’
ABSTRACT The concept of culpa in contrahendo traditionally encompasses cases of disloyal conduct by the parties during the negotiation stage of a contract. It applies to a broad range of factual scenarios. Furthermore, the legal nature of culpa in contrahendo has long been the subject of debate, with some legal systems favouring its classification as […]
‘A Costly Drafting Mistake’
When I teach Conflict of Laws, I spend a lot of time showing my class how to draft a good choice-of-law clause. It’s not hard. Everything you need to know is laid out in the Primer on Choice-of-Law Clauses. Unfortunately, these instructions are not always followed. In one recent case, Pool Scouts Franchising LLC v […]
Call for Abstracts – ‘Emerging Voices in Private International Law’ (Asser Institute)
As part of its 60th anniversary celebrations, the TMC Asser Institute invites abstracts for the panel ‘Emerging Voices in Private International Law’, to be held on 24 October 2025 in The Hague, at the conference Adapting Private International Law in an Era of Uncertainty. The panel will feature two early-career scholars (PhD candidates or postdoctoral […]