Course Description
This course will deal primarily with the three main areas of EU private international law: jurisdiction of courts, choice of law and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. It will focus mainly on the rules applicable to civil and commercial matters. It will provide students with a general overview of the body of private international law created by the institutions of the European Union. Emphasis will be placed on the subject matters which are more relevant to U.S. practitioners. Knowledge receieved in this class will be particularly helpful to students when advising clients in transactions and cases involving a connection with an EU member state or with other jurisdictions influenced by the European legal tradition.
The main purpose of the course is to describe the legislative results, as well as the benefits and pitfalls of the federalization of private international law in Europe and to discuss how European private international law affects businesses and individuals in the U.S. The course will depict the historical and constitutional context in which the instruments of European private international law have emerged. Specific sources of private international law will be addressed with a particular emphasis on the relevant case law of the European Court of Justice. Results of the analysis will be compared with the relevant principles of private international law which may be found in the United States.