Private International Law

Travel, migration, cross-border commerce, international business, internet communications and other transnational relationships multiplied by globalization present a number of challenging legal issues for Canadian courts. Private international law (“PRIL”), also known as “conflict of laws,” deals with these issues which arise in cases involving a “foreign” element. This course will consider the following problems:

• Which court or legal authority has the power to decide the dispute (jurisdiction and forum non conveniens)?
• Can foreign courts be precluded from getting involved in a dispute (anti-suit injunctions)?
• What law will likely be applied to resolve the dispute (choice of law issues in contract, tort, statutory, and equitable claims)?
• When will our courts recognize legislative or judicial determinations made outside Canada (common law and statutory rules for recognizing foreign judgments)?

At the confluence of constitutional and public international law (“PIL”), this course focuses on recent trends in the cases and seeks to draw an analytical framework therefrom. While this is a course on PRIL principles under Ontario law, we also consider the interplay between PRIL and PIL principles, and leading PRIL decisions from other common law jurisdictions. Students will reflect upon whether territoriality continues to play an important role in jurisdiction and choice of law questions. PRIL is an important foundation for students considering a litigation career and also for students interested in questions of global law and governance.