The Conflict of Laws (or private international law as it is sometimes called) refers to that body of law developed by individual states to deal with cases involving a foreign element.  With the globalisation of trade, the growth of the European Union and the popularity of e-commerce, the Conflict of Laws has assumed a key role in international trade.  Businesses that supply goods and services worldwide need to know what the consequences will be should a legal dispute arise.  For its part, the European Union has made the harmonisation of its Member States’ Conflict of Laws rules a priority in order to encourage the free movement of goods, services and individuals.  Furthermore the globalisation of trade has inevitably led to efforts to secure international agreement on Conflict of Laws rules.

This module will examine certain key issues in the Conflict of Laws with the aim of determining how best to regulate them if the needs of the international busin ess community are to be met.

The purpose of this module is to explore the issues that a modern Conflict of Laws system must address when regulating the international business community.  It aims to acquaint students studying this module with a variety of approaches to these issues drawn from national and international conflict of laws systems.  The policy considerations that shape these alternative approaches will be analysed in depth and students will be expected to reflect on the commercial consequences of pursuing particular legal strategies.

(LO1) At the conclusion of this module students should be able to:

(LO2) · Understand the underlying objectives of a conflict of laws system operating in a commercial context;

(LO3) · Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of possible solutions to a variety of conflict of laws issues taking into account of the needs of business and any other relevant interests;

(LO4) · Utilise and analyse conflict of laws materials from a variety of sources both national and international;

(LO5) Make use of their knowledge acquired over the course of this module to propose and defend a draft code of conflict of laws rules relating to commercial matters.

(LO6) Apply legal knowlede and skills to analyse problem situations in the commercial sphere involving the conflict of laws.

(S1) Critical analysis appropriate for advanced level masters study

(S2) Problem-solving skills applicable to complex theoretical and practical contexts

(S3) Time management and prioritisation skills by working to deadlines

(S4) Individual and group communication skills by presentations in an online environment (e.g. the virtual classroom).

(S5) Take responsibility for independent learning agenda.

(S6) Reading, analysing and synthesising different viewpoints, becoming familiary with different viewpoints and presenting findings/conclusions in clear, cimprehensinle, structured format.

(S7) Critical skills with regard to the merits of particular arguments and making reasoned choices between alternative solutions or arguments in all modules and dissertation.

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Week One – The Conflict of Laws in a Commercial Context

Case study – The Stolzenberg case
Expected Responses: DQI + 3-5 DQF
Assignment: HA – students will be asked to compile a list of the criteria that businesses look for in a Conflict of Laws system and consider what other interests, apart from those of the business community, a Conflict of Laws system must take into account.

Week Two – Jurisdiction and the Conflict of Laws – the importance of promoting certainty

Primary material – Brussels I (Regulation 44/2001). Expected Responses: DQI + 3-5 DQF
Assignment: HA – students will be asked to prepare a short report on the shortcomings of Brussels I in providing certainty for prospective commercial litigants.

Week Three – Jurisdiction and the Conflict of Laws – the desirability of discretion

Primary material – an outline of the jurisdiction regimes of sta tes such as the United Kingdom and the USA illustrating the importance attached by some states to promoting flexibility in their commercial jurisdiction regimes.
Expected Responses: DQI + 3-5 DQF
Assignment: HA – students will be expected to write a short report on the commercial advantages of a flexible jurisdiction regime.

Week Four – Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments
Primary material -  Briggs – Crossing the river by feeling the stones: rethinking the law on foreign judgments 2004 8 Singapore Year Book of International Law 1
Expected Responses: DQI + 3-5 DQF
Assignment: Students will be expected to prepare an analysis of the various theories justifying the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.

Week Five – Choice of Law: Contract
Primary material – UNIDROIT principles relating to international commercial contracts; Rome I (Regulation 593/2008).
Expected Response s: DQI + 3-5 DQF
Assignment: Students will be expected to prepare a report on the extent to which any Conflict of Laws system should respect party autonomy.

Week Six – Electronic Consumer Contracts and the Conflict of Laws
Primary material – Gillies – Electronic Commerce and International Private Law
Expected Responses: DQI + 3-5 DQF
Assignment: Students will be expected to prepare a report on whether the Conflict of Laws should treat online commercial transactions in a different way from those entered into by conventional means.

Week Seven – Non contractual obligations and the Conflict of Laws
Primary material – Rome II (Regulation 864/2007); Michaels – Private or International? Two Economic Models for Private International Law of Torts Duke Law School Legal Studies, Paper No 73 2005.
Expected Responses: DQI + 3-5 DQF
Assignment: Students will be expected to prepare a report analysi ng the extent to which the Conflict of Laws should permit international businesses party autonomy in respect of foreign torts.

Week Eight – Final assignment
Expected Responses: DQI + 3-5 DQF
Assignment: Final report.

Assessment Methods
Contribution to virtual classroom discussion; written assignments; individual project – interim report and final project.

Teaching Method 1 - Online Discussions Description: Weekly Online Discussions and Assignments in Virtual Classroom