The Interest Approach to Choice of Law

Perspectives and Values
A. The Concept of Public Interests
1. Fundamental Jurisprudential underpinnings
2. The "interest" trend in choice of law - a brief historical sketch
3. Public interests - a comprehensive view
B. The Concept of Private Interests
1. The "justice in the particular case" dilemma
2. The principle of rational connection between parties and laws
a. The "submission and consent" fallacy
b. The "foreseeability" and "vindication of justified expectations" desideratum
c. The "equitable responsibility to ascertain foreign law" consideration
d. The "reasonable reliance" criterion
e. The "fair notice" rationale
3. The assessment of private interests as a coherent part of the process of interest analysis
C. An Interest-based Approach - The Values of Judicial Creativity, Concretization and Rationality, "Domestication" of the Choice Process and Functionalism in lieu of Territorialism
1. Judicial creativity
2. Rationality in terms of concrete rules and consequences
3. "Domestication" of the choice of law process
4. Functionalism in lieu of territorialism

IV. Public Interests Peculiar to Conflicts Contexts: Transnational Concerns
A. The Concept of Transnational Concerns
B. Transnational Concerns in Reciprocal Accommodation of Public Interests and Uniform Treatment of Distinctive Problem-Areas
1. Reciprocal accommodation of public interests
a. Moderate delineation of public interests
b. Harmonization of compatible public interests
c. Facilitation of commonly desired transnational activity
d. Mutual assistance in the handling of foreign law
2. Uniform treatment of distinctive problem-areas
a. The traditional desiderata of predictability and uniformity-fancies and facts
b. Uniformity of results - a discriminatory approach

V. The Process of Interest Analysis-Ascertainment of Relevant Interests
A. Ordinary and Peculiar Aspects of the Interpretive Function
B. Factors and Guidelines in the Ascertainment of Relevant Interests
1. Initial identification of potentially concerned jurisdictions
2. Enlightenment in the ascertainment of relevant interests
3. The putative interest dilemma
4. The realistic and timely coincidence of rule-supporting purposes and relevant connecting-factors
5. The pitfall of eclectic combination of interests
C. Practical Complexities in the Ascertainment of Relevant Interests
1. The general problem
2. Some mitigating considerations
3. The procedural aspects of foreign law ascertainment

VI. The Process of Interest Analysis-Elimination and Resolution of Conflicts of Interests
A. Elimination of Apparent-but-not-real Conflicts of Interests
1. The concept of illusory, false and avoidable conflicts
2. The substance-procedure dichotomy revisited
B. Resolution of True Conflicts of Interests
1. The general dilemma
2. The invariable recourse to the lex fori solution
3. Rational guiding considerations - the respective strength and merits of conflicting interests
a. Choice in terms of the relative strength of conflicting interests
b. Choice in terms of the relative merits of conflicting interests
C. Recourse to the Lex Fori as a Last Resort in Conflicts Adjudication

VII. The Prospects of Standardization in the Process of Interest Analysis
A. New Choice-of-Law Standards - Fancies and Facts
1. The illusions of Ehrenzweig's "true" rules
2. The ambiguities of the "most significant relationship" formula of the Restatement Second
3. The shortcomings of Cavers' "principles of preference"
B. Avenues of Standardization: Accumulation of Interest-Analyses Data, Judicial and Legislative Scope-Delimitation of Legal Prescriptions, and International Legislation in Distinctive Problem-Areas
1. Accumulation of interest-analyses data
2. Judicial and legislative scope-delimitation of legal prescriptions
3. International legislation in distinctive problem-areas
- Appendix. An Exercise in Interest Analysis
- Selected Bibliography
- General Index