Category Archives: Conflict of Laws
Richard Garnett, ‘An Enhanced Role for Party Autonomy in the Applicable Law for Non-Contractual Obligations’
ABSTRACT The applicable law rules for tort and contract in Australian private international law have developed in isolation from one another. The reason for this tendency is that tortious and contractual claims have long been regarded as distinct causes of action, despite often arising from similar factual circumstances. Consequently, where cases of concurrent liability in […]
Antonio Legerén-Molina, ‘Property Regimes of European Spouses and Partners. Towards Their Unification or Just to a Certain Degree of Harmonization?’
ABSTRACT Over the centuries, in the European context, life-in-common has been organized in different ways although until very recently the undisputed predominance of marriage has stood out. In addition, the combination of today’s means of communication with the implementation of one of the fundamental goals of the European Union (EU) – the free movement of […]
‘Rethinking Private International Law Through the Lens of Colonialism’
Last week (7 June 2025), I had this extraordinary opportunity to give a presentation at the 138th Annual Conference of the Japanese Association of Private International Law, which took place at Seinan Gakuin Daigaku, Fukuoka – Japan. The theme of my presentation was ‘Private International Law and Colonialism’. In this talk, I shared some preliminary […]
Symeon Symeonides, ‘Reflections from Fifty Years in the Conflicts Vineyard’
ABSTRACT This essay was written on the occasion of a Symposium titled ’50 Years in the Conflicts Vineyard’, which was held in the author’s honor in May 2024 at Willamette University Law School and sponsored by the Association of American Law Schools Section on Conflict of Laws. For this reason, the essay is inevitably autobiographical. […]
‘Microsoft Contract Day 2025!’
Two years ago today, I authored a post titled ‘Microsoft’s Dispute Resolution Provisions Are a Mess’. I argued that the ‘Jurisdiction and Governing Law’ language in the form purchase order used by Microsoft and its subsidiaries in 109 countries around the world was ‘incoherent’. My goal in writing the post was to inspire/shame Microsoft – […]
‘Conference: “The Next 25 Years of Private International Law: What Does the World Need?”, 23 June 2025 in Groningen’
This conference marks a significant occasion: the celebration of Professor Mathijs ten Wolde’s 25-year tenure as a professor and director of the Ulrik Huber Institute. In honour of his contribution to the field and his mentorship of generations of legal scholars, the event will bring together former PhD students and distinguished colleagues from across the […]
Garnett and Liew, ‘Trusts jurisdiction clauses: an analysis’
INTRODUCTION While jurisdiction clauses, or choice of court agreements, are increasingly utilised in trust deeds, the common law rules which apply to these clauses are far from clear. In comparison to the contractual context, the use of jurisdiction clauses in the trusts context is relatively more recent, and the relevant authorities are sparse. This situation […]
‘Forum non conveniens. Transnational tort claims against English companies involving alleged human rights abuses and environmental damage in a foreign jurisdiction’
For proceedings brought against English defendants after 1 January 2021 forum non conveniens (‘fnc’) has returned as part of the civil procedure regime post Brexit, with the repeal of the Brussels Judgments Regulations. FNC involves the English court’s power to stay proceedings against English parties served as of right in England in favour of adjudication […]
Hossein Fazilatfar, ‘Public Policy’s Dual Function in Conflicts Law’
ABSTRACT Public policy displays in conflicts law in various forms. It plays both a preventive and an offensive role. In its defensive form it may be used to refuse recognition of a foreign judgement or an arbitral award which violate forum’s public policy. It may also block the law chosen by the parties or any […]
Divesh Kaul, ‘Law of Forum Selection: The Jurisprudential Narratives of Remedies for the Foreign Investor in the Appropriate Relevant Forum’
ABSTRACT What is the appropriate forum for the settlement of foreign investment disputes? Is it the host State’s judicial system or the international arbitration system? How could one resolve the conflict between an investment agreement, which asserts the exclusive jurisdiction of the domestic courts, and an international treaty to which the host State and the […]