This book, compiled in honour of the work and life of Professor Jonathan Fitchen, brings together preeminent scholars from across the private international law world. The chapters address a variety of conceptual and substantive problems in private international law, providing discerning consideration of contemporary developments in the discipline, from conceptual analyses of the evolving nature and scope of private international law to substantive problems across a range of longstanding and emerging issues. The contributions provide substantial new insights into our understanding of the nature of private international law. Taken together, the book addresses subject matters across the spectrum of private international law problems, including issues on which there is insufficient scholarly analysis. This includes consideration of contemporary problems of great political importance, such as migration, environmental protection, gender-based discrimination, and the proper delineation of public and private intervention. In addition, emerging problems in commercial law, such as cryptocurrencies, are explored in the book, as are longstanding definitional concerns in family law. Broader emerging systemic concerns, such as the treatment of foreign judgments in major economies such as China and the post-Brexit evolution of private international law, are also addressed. The book is a valuable source for the judiciary, legal practitioners, policy makers, and scholars of private international law.

The governing law of companies is a subject which has attracted much attention - from academics and practitioners alike - ever since the European Court of Justice began receiving references for preliminary rulings concerning the compatibility of protective conflict of corporate law norms with the EC Treaty provisions concerning freedom of establishment. Although recent developments have been less controversial than the ground-breaking judgment in Centros, they have not only consolidated the general thrust of liberalization occasioned by the Court of Justice, but have added new dimensions to the regulatory landscape. These developments include amendments to the European constitutional order enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty, European legislation on cross-border mergers, the proposed statute for a European Private Company, the judgment of the Court of Justice in Cartesio, and a Commission communication that contemplates the introduction of legislation on the governing law of companies. This book examines these recent developments and appraises the current law - as well as the foreseeable trajectory of the law - within a theoretical setting that addresses the socio-economic and legal-theoretical concerns associated with choices of the governing law of companies. In addition to considering the present and probable future state of EU law, the book also develops a new theoretical perspective and proposes novel solutions to long-standing dilemmas. In particular, it suggests that the use of information technology may render possible the previously impossible compromises between party autonomy and the proper locus of prescriptive sovereignty. (Series: Studies in Private International Law - Vol. 9)