Codifying Choice of Law Around the World: An International Comparative Analysis

Codifying Choice of Law Around the World chronicles, documents, and celebrates the extraordinary, massive codification of Private International Law (PrIL), or Conflict of Laws that has taken place in the last 50 years, from 1962-2012. During this period, the world has witnessed the adoption of nearly 200 PrIL codifications, EU Regulations, and international conventions---more than in all preceding years since the inception of PrIL. This book provides a horizontal comparison and discussion of these codifications and conventions, first by comparing the way they resolve tort and contract conflicts, and then by comparing the answers of these codifications to the fundamental philosophical and methodological dilemmas of PrIL. In the process, this book re-examines and dispels certain widely held assumptions about choice of law, and the art and science of codification in general.Written by Symeon C. Symeonides, a renowned PrIL and comparative law expert with extensive first-hand experience in drafting codifications and advising other drafters, Codifying Choice of Law Around the World will serve as an indispensable point of reference for any serious study or discussion of PrIL, and comparative law.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Preface Abbreviations Lists List of Choice-of-Law Codifications List of EU Regulations List of Conventions List of Charts List of Figures List of Maps List of Tables Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Law Governing Tort Conflicts Chapter 3. Party Autonomy in Contract Conflicts Chapter 4. Codification and Flexibility Chapter 5. Broad or Narrow Choice of Law: Issue-by-Issue Choice and Dépeçage Chapter 6. Codification and Result Selectivism Chapter 7. The Publicization of PrIL: State Interests, Unilateralism, and International Uniformity Chapter 8. Conclusions Appendix. Codifications, Regulations, and Conventions: Alphabetical List and Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Symeon C. Symeonides is the Alex L. Parks Distinguished Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at Willamette University School of Law. He is a renowned expert in comparative conflicts law, having published over 24 books and more than 100 articles (in seven languages) on conflict of laws, and comparative private international law (PrIL). His work has been characterized as "brilliant" and "engrossing" receiving four scholarly prizes, including one for life-time achievement from the American Society of Comparative Law. Reviewers have called him "a conflicts giant," the "world's leading expert on comparative conflicts law," and the "father of codification." He drafted three path-breaking PrIL codifications (for Louisiana, Puerto Rico, and Oregon) and has provided legislative advice to the EU Parliament, the EU Council, and several national governments. He holds degrees in private and public law, and three honorary doctorate from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and an LL.M and an S.J.D from the Harvard Law School.

Review :
"Professor Symeonides has made an outstanding contribution to the science of law in this comprehensive treatment of codification in choice of law." Lawrence Collins, Former Justice, UK Supreme Court "Reviewers of Symeonides' other works on choice of law have called him 'a conflicts giant' and 'the world's leading expert on comparative conflicts law.' The present book confirms this characterization. . . . Writing it has been a Herculean task. The information and analyses it brings are of great value both for students and practitioners, and not least European lawyers." Ole Lando, 52 Common Mkt. L. Rev. 1158, 1159 (2015). "Symeon Symeonides. . . provides not only a comprehensive description and detailed analysis of [PrIL codifications of the last fifty years], but also a broad evaluation of the state of the art through the lens of codified rules. . . . The book's analysis of the data is sophisticated and multidimensional . . . [providing] the first truly global view. . . , a large amount of meticulously compiled data sets . . . Symeonides uses his findings to take the pulse of modern conflicts law more generally in multiple regards. . . .Along the way, he produces a long list of insights that are often novel, sometimes surprising, and always valuable. Beyond all that, the book teaches important lessons, particularly to readers from non-codified systems." Mathias Reimann, 63 Am. J. Comp. L. 801 (2015). "Symeonides's masterful book will be indispensable for anyone interested in the study of PrIL.. . . [His] analysis is comparative on a grand scale. . . . [He] expertly mines PrIL codifications for rich veins of insight into choice-of-law trends . . . [and] enables a genuinely globally informed conversation about PrIL solutions and the opposing trends of internationalism and protectionism . . . , while providing a foundation on which to build comparative approaches to the field. [His] empirical conclusions will reset fundamental methodological and theoretical debates in PrIL across codified and uncodified systems." American Society of International Law (ASIL) Awards Committee