In many regions of the world and across various fields, law has become a product. Individuals and companies seek attractive legal regulations and countries advertise their legal wares globally as they compete for customers. To analyse this development and to develop policy recommendations with respect to contract law and dispute resolution a conference was held in Munich in October 2011, bringing together leading scholars in the field of contract law and dispute resolution from the US and Europe. This book presents the papers and main comments produced for that conference. The chapters include important papers on, inter alia, law and economic theory, legal transplants, theories of private law, choice of law, the characterisation of contract law and the English and American civil procedural traditions.

In many regions of the world and across various fields, the law has become a 'product.' Individuals and companies seek attractive legal regulations, while countries advertise their legal wares globally as they compete for customers. To analyze this development and to develop policy recommendations with respect to contract law and dispute resolution, a conference was held in Munich in October 2011, bringing together leading scholars from the US and Europe. This book contains the papers and main comments produced for the conference. The chapters include important papers on, inter alia, law and economic theory, legal transplants, theories of private law, choice of law, the characterization of contract law, and the US and English civil procedural traditions. The book is an important and useful study for an area of growing importance.

There is an urgent need to better understand the legal issues pertaining to alternative dispute resolution (ADR), particularly in relation to mediation clauses. Despite the promotion of mediation by dispute resolution providers, policy makers, and judges, use of mediation remains low. In particular, problems arise when parties lack certainty regarding the legal effect of a mediation clause, and the potential uncertainty regarding the binding nature of agreements to pursue mediation is problematic and threatens the growth of ADR. This book closely examines the importance and complexity of mediation clauses in commercial contracts to remedy this persistent uncertainty. Using comparative law methods and detailed empirical research, it explores the creation of a comprehensive framework for the mediation clause. Providing valuable insight into the process of ADR and mediation, this book will be of interest to academics, law makers, law students, in-house council, lawyers, as well as parties interesting in drafting enforceable mediation clauses.

English contract law provides the invisible framework that underpins and enables much contracting activity in society, yet the role of the law in policing many of our contracts now approaches vanishing point. The methods by which contracts come into existence, and notionally create binding obligations, have transformed over the past forty years. Consumers now enter into contracts through remote and automated processes on standard terms over which they have little control. This book explores the substantive weakening of the institution of contract law in a society heavily dependent on contracts. It considers significant areas of contracting activity that affect many people, but that escape serious and sustained legal scrutiny. An accessibly written and succinct account of contract law's past, present and future, it assesses the implications of a diminished contract law, and the possibilities, if any, for its revival.

This book focuses on major amendments introduced in the Brussels I regulatory framework. The contributions scrutenise the changes introduced in the Brussels Ibis Regulation, a legal instrument that presents a core of the unification of private international law rules on the European Union level. It is one of the first publications addressing all the changes in the Brussels I regulatory scheme, which takes into consideration relevant CJEU case law up to July 2016. The texts, written by legal scholars who have published extensively in the field of private international law and international civil procedure, will add to the development of EU private international law. In addition, the authors’ critical analysis may open further discussions on the topic and so benefit a consistent and harmonised application of the Regulation. In this respect the book takes a different approach than the commentaries which have so far been published. It is primarily meant for legal academics in private international law and practitioners who are regularly engaged in cross-border civil proceedings. It may also be of added value to advanced students and to those with a particular interest in the subject of international litigation and more generally in the area of dispute resolution. Vesna Lazić is a Senior Researcher at the T.M.C. Asser Instituut, an Associate Professor of Private Law at Utrecht University and Professor of European Civil Procedure at the University of Rijeka. Steven Stuij is an expert in Private International Law and an external Ph.D. candidate at Erasmus School of Law, Rotterdam.

The vast bulk of claims in international commercial arbitration are contractual in nature. Viewed through that lens, what comes to occupy centre stage in the arbitration of disputes is the choice of applicable contract law. This book breaks new ground by for the first time focusing in depth on the contract law chosen by the parties to be applied to disputes. The author uses a comparative-inductive methodology to analyse why – according to statistics of the International Chamber of Commerce – English, New York, and Swiss contract law outperform transnational and other contract law regimes in the choice-of-law provision of business contracts. He finds that these three bodies of law share a firm commitment to enforcing the contract as written, thus prioritizing certainty, stability, and predictability, and clearly recognizing the parties’ right to determine for themselves (and have arbitrators and courts respect) central issues such as risk allocation and price. Starting from a detailed comparative examination of traditional and contemporary theories of contract, the author develops a minimalist approach that is acceptable to lawyers with a civil or common law background and that facilitates dealmaking by providing a clear set of hard-edged rules in four areas – formation of contracts, invalidity and public policy, contract interpretation, and damages for breach – and showing how each of the three contract regimes that are dominant in practice manifests his approach. With its emphasis on pragmatic adjudication grounded on facts and consequences rather than on conceptualisms and generalities, the book greatly enhances the ability of arbitrators to make decisions based on legal arguments that fit the setting of international commercial arbitration. It is sure to become established as a tool to achieve the defined objective of facilitating cross-border commercial transactions as well as providing arbitrators with a set of rules for the interpretation of contractual provisions and the quantification of damages. ‘Peter Sester confronts the reality that disputes in commercial arbitration are overwhelmingly contract-based, and properly directs our attention away from the contract by which the parties agreed to arbitrate to the contract by reference to which they intended their disputes to be adjudicated. This is a most welcome move and one that cannot help stimulate those whose interests are similarly situated on the frontier between the law of arbitration and the law of international contracts.’ Prof. George A. Bermann Columbia University, New York City ‘This is a book that is not only useful but also close to market expectations. ... Summing up, I would like to congratulate Peter Sester for giving us a free-market society book. He provides his readers with much food for thought and a remarkable admonition not to replace the parties’ work with public policy considerations.’ Prof. Dr Peter Nobel Emeritus Universities St. Gallen and Zurich, Switzerland

This book explores questions of transnational private legal theory in the context of the external dimension of EU private law. The interaction between existing theories of transnational ordering and the external reach of European Regulatory Private Law is articulated through examination of what are found to be the three major proxies of transnational private ordering: private contracts, standards and codes.

A nation's prosperity depends not only on the willingness of its businesses to export goods and services, and of its citizens and residents to travel to take advantage of opportunities overseas, but also on the willingness of the businesses and citizens of other nations to cross the nation's borders to do business. Economic expansion, and parallel increases in tourism and immigration, have brought Australians more frequently into contact with the laws and legal systems of other nations. In particular, in recent years, trade with partners in the Asia-Pacific Region has become increasingly important to the nation's future. At the same time, Australian courts are faced with a growing number of disputes involving foreign facts and parties. In recognition of these developments, and the need to ensure that the applicable rules meet the needs both of transacting parties and society, the Attorney-General's Department launched in 2012 a full review of Australian rules of private international law. This collection examines the state and future of Australian private international law against the background of the Attorney-General's review. The contributors approach the topic from a variety of perspectives (judge, policy maker, practitioner, academic) and with practical and theoretical insights as to operation of private international law rules in Australia and other legal systems. This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional's International Arbitration online service.

This seventh volume in the Swedish Studies in European Law series brings together some of the most prominent scholars working within the fast-evolving field of EU civil justice. Civil justice has an impact on matters involving, inter alia, family relationships, consumers, entrepreneurs, employees, small and medium-sized businesses and large multinational corporations. It therefore has great power and potential. Over the past 15 years a wealth of EU measures have been enacted in this field. Issues arising from the implementation thereof and practice in relation to these measures are now emerging. Hence, this volume will explore the benefits as well as the challenges of these measures. The particular themes covered include forum shopping, alternative dispute resolution, simplified procedures and debt collection, family matters and collective redress. In addition, the deepening of the field that continues post-Lisbon has occasioned a new level of regulatory and policy challenges. These are discussed in the final part of the volume which focuses on mutual recognition also in the broader European law context of integration in the area of freedom, security and justice.

This comprehensive Companion is a unique guide to the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). Written by international experts who have all directly or indirectly contributed to the work of the HCCH, this Companion is a critical assessment of, and reflection on, past and possible future contributions of the HCCH to the further development and unification of private international law.