Prof. Talia Einhorn – The Coordinating Role of Private International Law

In the post-industrial era ever more goods, services, persons and capital cross national borders. Business organizations – companies, corporate groups and state-owned enterprises – “enter” and “exit” states offering goods and services according to their business needs. Each of these requires coordination of the legal systems in which the various activities take place, in order to inspire confidence that an activity undertaken in the territory of one country will not be frustrated in another.

The presentation will explore the coordinating role of private international law, on an international level as well as within each national system. The legislature has to take account of cross-border effects of its legislation also when enacting statutes that, on their face, seem to concern purely domestic matters. Private international law provides courts with tools that enable coordination even in the absence of legislation, such as the preliminary question, renvoi, and the application of economic conflict-of-law rules. Occasionally, there may be need to coordinate results obtained under religious law and secular law. In certain matters there is need for coordination on an administrative and regulatory level. Finally, coordination has also its limits and some of those will be addressed.