Private International Law • Conflict of Laws • International Civil Procedure – International Commercial Contracts, Party Autonomy, • International Commercial Arbitration • International Commercial Litigation • International Mediation • Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments • International Family Law • International Child Custody • Cross-Border Insolvency • International Trade Law • Maritime and Admiralty Law • International Investment Law • International Taxation • International Banking and Finance • Cross-Border Corporate Transactions • Intellectual Property in International Commerce • Data Protection and Digital Commerce • International Insurance Law • Aviation Law • International Transport Law • Hague Conference Conventions • UNCITRAL Instruments • CISG and International Sale of Goods • International Human Rights in Private Law Contexts
Advancing Knowledge Across Borders
The Private International Law Club believes that Private International Law is one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic branches of modern legal practice. Through research, education, conferences, publications, professional networking, judicial dialogue, and international collaboration, the Club seeks to promote excellence in scholarship and practice while contributing to the progressive development and harmonisation of Private International Law in an increasingly interconnected world.
Areas of Interest
The Private International Law Club is dedicated to promoting the study, research, teaching, and practical development of Private International Law and its interaction with national, regional, and international legal systems. As international trade, investment, migration, technology, and global mobility continue to reshape legal relationships, the Club provides a multidisciplinary platform for examining both traditional and emerging issues in cross-border law.
The Club encourages comparative legal scholarship, interdisciplinary research, policy dialogue, professional collaboration, and judicial exchange across jurisdictions. Our areas of interest encompass a wide range of legal disciplines that influence international legal relations involving individuals, families, corporations, governments, financial institutions, and international organisations.
The principal areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Private International Law (Conflict of Laws)
The principal focus of the Club is Private International Law, also known as Conflict of Laws, which governs private legal relationships involving more than one legal system. The Club examines issues relating to jurisdiction, choice of law, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, judicial cooperation, international civil procedure, conflict of jurisdiction, and the harmonisation of legal principles governing transnational private relationships.
2. Conflict of Laws
Comparative approaches to conflict-of-laws principles, connecting factors, domicile, nationality, habitual residence, lex domicilii, lex loci contractus, lex loci delicti, renvoi, ordre public (public policy), characterisation, incidental questions, overriding mandatory rules, and evolving conflict-of-laws jurisprudence.
3. International Civil Procedure
International jurisdiction of national courts, forum selection clauses, exclusive and non-exclusive jurisdiction agreements, party autonomy, forum non conveniens, lis pendens, anti-suit injunctions, interim and protective measures, service of judicial and extrajudicial documents abroad, taking of evidence across borders, judicial cooperation, letters rogatory, electronic service of process, and enforcement of foreign judgments.
4. International Commercial Contracts
Drafting, negotiation, interpretation, and enforcement of international commercial contracts, governing law clauses, jurisdiction clauses, arbitration clauses, force majeure, hardship, standard international contract forms, Incoterms, commercial risk allocation, comparative contract law, and contractual dispute resolution.
A particular emphasis is placed on the principle of Party Autonomy, which enables contracting parties to choose the governing law, dispute resolution mechanism, arbitral seat, jurisdiction, and procedural rules governing their international commercial relationships.
5. Party Autonomy in Private International Law
The Club places special emphasis on Party Autonomy, one of the foundational principles of modern Private International Law. It examines the freedom of contracting parties to determine:
The Club also studies the limitations imposed by mandatory laws, public policy, consumer protection, labour law, and international public order.
6. International Commercial Arbitration
Institutional and ad hoc arbitration, ICC, LCIA, SIAC, HKIAC, DIAC, MCIA, DIS, ICA, UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, New York Convention, UNCITRAL Model Law, arbitration agreements, arbitral procedure, interim relief, emergency arbitration, investor-state arbitration, commercial arbitration, and enforcement of arbitral awards.
7. International Commercial Litigation
Jurisdictional disputes before national courts, multinational litigation, anti-suit injunctions, forum shopping, transnational commercial litigation, cross-border enforcement proceedings, international procedural strategies, and comparative civil procedure.
8. International Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
International mediation, commercial mediation, investment mediation, online dispute resolution (ODR), negotiation, conciliation, expert determination, dispute boards, the Singapore Convention on Mediation, and hybrid ADR mechanisms.
9. Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments and Arbitral Awards
Recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments, foreign arbitral awards, settlement agreements, Hague Judgments Convention, New York Convention, reciprocity, public policy exceptions, execution proceedings, and comparative enforcement mechanisms.
10. International Family Law
International marriage, divorce, judicial separation, matrimonial property, maintenance, guardianship, surrogacy, adoption, succession planning, family agreements, and cross-border matrimonial disputes.
11. International Child Custody and Child Protection
International parental child abduction, Hague Child Abduction Convention, child custody, relocation disputes, guardianship, visitation rights, parental responsibility, child welfare, and recognition of foreign custody orders.
12. Cross-Border Succession and International Inheritance Law
International wills, probate, succession, estate administration, inheritance planning, trusts, matrimonial property regimes, recognition of foreign succession certificates, international probate proceedings, and inheritance taxation.
13. Cross-Border Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring
UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings, restructuring, liquidation, creditor protection, multinational corporate insolvency, bankruptcy law, and judicial cooperation.
14. International Trade Law
International sale of goods, WTO law, customs law, export and import regulation, sanctions, trade compliance, free trade agreements, international supply chains, trade finance, logistics, and international commercial transactions.
15. Company Law, Corporate Law and Cross-Border Corporate Transactions
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, shareholders’ agreements, corporate governance, multinational corporations, foreign subsidiaries, cross-border restructuring, corporate compliance, ESG governance, and international corporate regulation.
16. International Investment Law
Investment treaties, Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), sovereign regulation, expropriation, investment protection, ICSID arbitration, and international investment policy.
17. International Banking, Finance and Financial Regulation
International banking transactions, project finance, syndicated lending, structured finance, fintech, anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions compliance, banking regulation, digital finance, payment systems, and financial markets.
18. International Taxation
Double taxation agreements, transfer pricing, international corporate taxation, cross-border tax planning, taxation of multinational enterprises, permanent establishments, digital taxation, international tax compliance, and exchange of tax information.
19. Maritime, Shipping and Admiralty Law
Marine insurance, carriage of goods by sea, charterparties, bills of lading, ship finance, ship arrest, collision, salvage, limitation of liability, ports, offshore energy, maritime arbitration, and international shipping disputes.
20. Aviation and Space Law
International aviation law, aircraft finance, airline regulation, passenger rights, liability under the Montreal Convention, airport regulation, aviation insurance, drone regulation, and emerging issues relating to commercial space activities.
21. International Transport Law
International carriage of goods by road, rail, sea, inland waterways, and air; multimodal transport; freight forwarding; cargo liability; transport conventions; logistics law; and international transport documentation.
22. International Insurance and Reinsurance Law
International insurance regulation, reinsurance, marine insurance, aviation insurance, political risk insurance, war risk insurance, catastrophe insurance, insurance pools, insurance claims, and international insurance dispute resolution.
23. Intellectual Property in International Commerce
International protection of patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, geographical indications, trade secrets, technology transfer, franchising, licensing, software protection, artificial intelligence, and cross-border IP enforcement.
24. Data Protection, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Commerce
GDPR, international privacy law, cross-border data transfers, artificial intelligence regulation, blockchain, cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, cloud computing, digital trade, fintech regulation, electronic commerce, digital platforms, and online consumer protection.
25. Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH)
Study and analysis of the Hague Conventions relating to:
26. UNCITRAL Instruments
UNCITRAL Model Laws, conventions, legislative guides, arbitration rules, mediation rules, electronic commerce, secured transactions, insolvency, procurement law, digital trade, and harmonisation of international commercial law.
27. CISG and International Sale of Goods
The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), comparative sales law, contractual obligations, remedies, international commercial practice, Incoterms, and uniform commercial law.
28. International Human Rights in Private Law Contexts
Business and Human Rights, labour standards, corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental and climate governance (ESG), privacy, anti-discrimination, migration, refugee protection, access to justice, and the interaction between international human rights norms and private legal relationships.
29. Comparative Law and Legal Harmonisation
Comparative studies of common law, civil law, mixed legal systems, constitutional traditions, commercial law, procedural law, family law, corporate governance, arbitration, and international efforts aimed at harmonising private law across jurisdictions.
30. Emerging Areas of Global Legal Practice
The Club continuously explores emerging legal challenges arising from:
PILC
This is a platform for scholars as well as practitioners of Private International Law to ensure justice across borders, to resolve conflicts by respecting national laws and where laws meet, to bridge the global legal boundaries.
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