Paper's abstract

Horatia Muir-Watt, The Globalization of Markets and the Political Economy of International Private Law
Economic analysis has developed ideas relating to the optimal allocation of resources on a global level, which, while not always inherently convincing, are interesting insofar as they redefine the terms of the conflict of laws problematic, disturbing traditional distinctions between public and private law which underlie classical theory. The time has come to register the extent of the epistemological changes brought about by the new interconnectedness of national economies and to accept the fact that the conflict of laws does have political stakes, just as mandatory market regulations are subject to the influence of private choice. The tension between these two contrary trends is perhaps not, as yet, entirely apparent, nor indeed sufficiently explored. And yet it is in this balance that is to be found the driving force behind future developments in private international law in an age of globalization. Therein lies the new political economy of choice of law.

Key Words : Economics, conflicts of law, regulation
t. 47, 2003 : p. 243-262

---