JJUA55091U Private International Law in a Comparative Perspective - NOTE: THE COURSE IS CANCELLED IN THE AUTUMN SEMESTER 2016
Private International Law is a core subject in the academic
curriculum of legal studies in many countries around the globe. The
importance of the field in a globalised world is quickly growing as
the cross-border trade and the movement of persons and their
families notably increase. Acquiring a good knowledge on how to
legally approach controversies that may arise from such situations
is thus highly relevant. The objective of the course is to present
and familiarise students with the general concepts, problems and
legal framework of private international law. After an introduction
of basic concepts, the course is further divided into twosegments:
(1) the part focusing on obligations, property-related issues, and
business entities
(2) the part dedicated to family matters.
The knowledge on substantive domestic contract, property and
commercial law, as well as substantive family law, acquired by
students during Bachelor studies, would form a basis for exploring,
understanding and discussing private international law issues. The
discussed issues will be presented in a comparative perspective,
covering a number of major jurisdictions, as well as the EU
regulatory framework. The part focusing on the civil and commercial
matters will discuss practical implications of the diversity of
domestic legal regimes for the flow of trade, as well as for
non-commercial obligations and property rights, including the key
issue of legal certainty and predictability. Related evidence
issues, regarding admissibility of the proof of the content of
foreign law will be considered, along with the matters of
jurisdiction, specific for commercial cases (including the
discussion on international commercial arbitration as a currently
largely dominant dispute resolution option, on the wide scope of
discretion of the arbitral tribunals in regard to the selection of
relevant conflict of law rules, and on its practical legal
consequences). Regulatory framework in regard to contractual and
non-contractual obligations, as well as property rights and
business entities will be discussed on the examples of standards
adopted in selected jurisdictions, including Germany, the UK,
France, Switzerland and the United States. The increasing role of
the European Union in lawmaking in the field of private
international law will also be acknowledged; in particular, the
Rome I and Rome II Regulations shall be discussed in detail.
Relevant application of the conflict of laws analysis in civil and
commercial matters will be illustrated by extensive case law
discussion and practiced in a series of exercises in problem
solving and interactive assignments. The course also aims at
highlighting contemporary role of transnational standards, or the
modern lex mercatoria, in commercial relations and their status as
sources of (the knowledge of) the law, as well as their position in
the process of determination of substantive applicable rules
through the conflict of law analysis. In the part devoted to family
matters, an explanation of the main problems of the choice of law
rules will be offered on the basis of some leading cases. Family
law has traditionally been regarded as a subject deeply embedded in
the (legal) national culture.
Private international law in family matters remains, thus, to a
great extent, national law. Giving the lack of comprehensive
material in English language concerning national legislation on
private international law issues, the course shall focus on
specific topics on family law (e.g. matrimonial property regimes,
registered partnerships, cohabitation, same-sex marriages, divorce)
in some selected jurisdictions (e.g. United Kingdom, Spain, some
Scandinavian countries, Belgium). Furthermore, the coexistence, in
some countries, of diverse family laws (e.g. the US or Spain) leads
to internal conflicts of laws within those jurisdictions. In spite
of the predominance of the national character of private
international law in family matters, some EU legal instruments have
been enacted with the aim of seeking harmonisation of
conflicts-of-laws solutions within the EU.
Some of these instruments [e.g. Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 (Brussels II Bis)] are solely focused on rules on jurisdiction and recognition, whilst others include rules on applicable law [e.g. Council Regulation(EU) No. 1259/2010]. The Directive 2004/38/EC on free movement shall also be presented insofar as it may be relevant in cross-border cases. Furthermore, in academia, research groups have been devoted at exploring harmonisation of family law in Euope. The most relevant is the European Commission of Family Law (CEFL). The academic approaches on the matter shall be discussed. Finally, some selected conventions of the Hague Conference of Private International Law shall briefly be presented.
• Private international law: definition; jurisdiction and forum
shopping, the Brussels regime; applicable law, the choice of law
rule, connecting factors, renvoi; recognition and enforcement of
foreign judgements and arbitral awards.
• Determination of proper law in obligations and property rights.
Choice of law and the role of lex fori. Scope of discretion in
arbitration. The role of harmonized and transnational instruments.
• Contractual obligations. Rome I Regulation. Contracts concluded
before December 18, 2009
• Non-contractual obligations. Rome II Regulation. Obligations not
governed by the Rome II Regulation.
• Property rights. Immovables and movables.
• Business entities.
• The choice of law rule in family matters, its problems and main
connecting factors.
•Selected issues in international family law for some selected
jurisdictions (e.g. divorce, registered partnership, cohabitation,
same-sex marriages)
• Internal conflicts of laws
• EU Private International Law in family matters. EU legal
instruments. Free movement.
• The Hague Conventions
Upon the completion of the course, the students shall be able
to:
• Identify, present and apply general concepts of international
private law.
• Recognise and address main problems of the choice of law rule in
civil, commercial and family matters
• Identify and solve issues of jurisdiction, as well as critically
use choice of forum options
• Explain different national approaches to solve selected private
international law issues.
• Explain the framework and functioning of the different EU
instruments on private international law in family matters and The
Hague conventions and put them into perspective in relation to the
interaction with national rules.
• Present and explain academic approaches in relation to
harmonisation of family law in Europe.
• Discuss and critically argue in favour of various legal
solutions, with due consideration to the theoretical framework and
the different sources involved.
Given the absence of a comprehensive textbook on private international law available in English and not focusing on a particular jurisdiction, a selection of articles and materials shall be provided by the instructors.
substantive contract, property and commercial law In addition, students must have a good
command of English language (course materials and class instruction will be provided in
English)
• seminar-type discussion
• case study (case law analysis, hypo solving)
• team assignments (case analysis and presentation)
Comparative and International Family Law (marriage, registered partnership, cohabitation),
although the adopted focus and scope of analysis will be different and both courses are
supplementary rather than mutually exclusive.
- Category
- Hours
- Preparation
- 364,5
- Seminar
- 48
- Total
- 412,5
Enrolling as a Single Master Level/ Credit Student:
For Single Master Level Courses – click here!
For Single-subject credit students - click here!
For further
information
- Credit
- 15 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Oral examination, 20Oral exam based on synopsis, 20 minutes.
- Exam registration requirements
In order to attend the oral examination, it is a prerequisite to hand in the synopsis before the specified deadline.
The deadline is agreed upon with the course lecturer.- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- External censorship
- Exam period
December 5 - 9, 2016 (preliminary dates)
- Re-exam
Please see "Academic calendar" on KUnet.
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- JJUA55091U
- Credit
- 15 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree MasterFull Degree Master choice
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Autumn
- Schedule
- Please see timetable for teaching time
- Continuing and further education
- Price
DKK 15.000
- Study board
- Law
Contracting department
- Law
Course responsibles
- Joanna Lam (10-73786a77776a37756a7649737e7b37747e376d74)