The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Conflict of Laws

(as a branch of law), a body of rules governing choice of laws applied by a state. The branch of conflict of laws includes “internal” rules governing choice of laws; these internal rules are based on the legislation of a given state and on legal precedents in countries where precedent is recognized as a source of civil law, on unified rules governing choice of laws established by international agreements signed by the given state, and on international customs recognized by the competent agencies of the state. The term “conflict of laws,” which has become widespread in the 20th century, was first used by Dutch jurists in the 17th century. In Anglo-American legal literature the term is used as a synonym of “private international law.”

The existence of “national” systems of conflict of laws is due to the considerable discrepancies in the substantive civil law of different countries, as well as to the fact that on the basis of the existing international treaties it is impossible to create a system of rules governing choice of laws that would be binding for all countries. The repeated attempts from the 19th century on to create a universal international codification of conflict of laws have been unsuccessful. The international treaties now in force include a relatively small number of countries and deal with only some conflicts of laws (for example, the Bustamante Code of 1928, the Geneva Conventions on Bills of Exchange of 1930 and on Checks of 1931, the convention on international sales of movable material objects of 1955, and agreements on legal aid in civil, family, and criminal cases).

The internal rules governing choice of laws of foreign countries are often included in civil codes and other instruments of civil legislation such as the French civil code of 1804, the introductory act to the German civil code of laws of 1896, the Italian civil code of 1865 (1942 edition), and the Brazilian civil code of 1942.

Soviet conflict of laws is an integral part of the private international law applied in the USSR (another part is the unified substantive-legal norms). The sources of the Soviet conflict of laws are Soviet laws, international treaties signed by the USSR, and international customs recognized by competent agencies of the state. Soviet conflict of laws proceeds from the commonly recognized principles of international law, and it furthers the organization of international cooperation and the legal formulation of Soviet business connections with other states. In some socialist countries special laws are adopted that codify the conflict of laws (such as the Czechoslovakian law of Dec. 4, 1963, on international private law and proceedings and the Polish law on private international law of Nov. 12, 1965).

REFERENCE

Lunts, L. A. Mezhdunarodnoe chastnoe pravo. Moscow, 1970.

V. P. ZVEKOV

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

In conflict of laws, such cases are called "false conflicts" because the two jurisdictions would decide the case in the same way.

The Intercircuit Exclusionary Rule

The answer depends on which State's law governs the perfection of the security interest--a conflict of laws question.

THE PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF SECURED TRANSACTIONS: RULES IN SEARCH OF HARMONIZATION

Both Conventions belong to the uniform conflict of laws, thus proving that, at this level, the unification of the conflicts of laws is easier than the one of substantive laws.

THE EMERGENCE AND EVOLUTION OF THE LEX VOLUNTATIS PRINCIPLE IN PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW

All three reporters for the new Conflict of Laws Restatement

INTERNATIONALIZING THE NEW CONFLICT OF LAWS RESTATEMENT

may be used with little fear of offending the Constitution." (57) Although a majority of state courts no longer resolve choice of law issues sounding in contract by applying the traditional rules endorsed in the First Restatement of Conflict of Laws, those rules have not been "widely repudiated" by any courts as affording a constitutionally impermissible manner of resolving choice of law issues.

Could a state court's selection of another state's substantive law exceed constitutional limitations on choice of law?

conflict of laws rule for federal laws does not solve the conflict in

The limitations of tradition: how modern choice of law doctrine can help courts resolve conflicts within the New York Convention and the federal Arbitration Act

(The focus of this article will be on that part of private international law dealing with choice of law or conflict of laws disputes, not questions involving personal jurisdiction or recognition of foreign judgments.) The first type of conflict of laws which may occur is between the law of an Australian jurisdiction such as Victoria and that of a foreign country such as France.

Sir Zelman Cowen and the emergence of an interstate private international law in Australia

Paul would have actually required the court to look to Louisiana conflict of laws. (81) Recall that [section] 187(2)(b) directs the court to [section] 188.

Choice of law analysis in marine insurance contracts: how the Fifth Circuit can look out for the little guy with a more consumer friendly analysis

Despite characterization being the first step which the courts have to encounter in any given conflict of laws case, few would doubt the accuracy of the above statement in relation to the degree of clarity that common law courts have given to the characterization process.

Characterization of proprietary restitution in the conflict of laws

While the New York Court of Appeals tries to mask its rejection of such an approach under the cloak of Babcock, where New York abandoned the rule of lex loci delicti for a more complex rule that more adequately considered the various jurisdictional interests involved in a lawsuit, (91) this approach--to presumptively use the law of the locus or in the case of the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws (92)--to presumptively use the place of the wrong--is essentially identical to that of the third catch-all Neumeier rule used in New York.

A neu Neumeier: the need for a more flexible framework for choice of law in the state of New York

On the questions of conflict of jurisdictions' and conflict of laws', Community law says nothing.

REINFORCED COOPERATION TO FACILITATE BINATIONAL DIVORCES?

HOW splendid that Sharia law has been amplified for a top legal audience by the senior Anglican Archbishop, as a supplementary addition to British law, provided of course there would be no conflict of laws.

Letter: Amending the law