Transaction Planning Using Rules on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments

Private international law is normally discussed in terras of rules applied in litigation involving parties from more than one State. Those came rules are fundamentally important, however, to those who plan cross-border commercial transactions with a desire to avoid having a dispute arise - or at least to place a party in the best position possible if a dispute does arise. This makes rules regarding jurisdiction, applicable law, and the recognition and enforcement of judgments vitally important to contract negotiations. It also makes the consideration of transactional interests important when developing new rules of private international law. These lectures examine rules of jurisdiction and rules of recognition and enforcement of judgments in the United States and the European Union, considering their similarities, their differences, and how they affect the transaction planning process.

Ronald A. Brand is the Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg Professor of Law and Director of the Center for International Legal Education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is a member of the International Academy of Comparative Law, a member of the Executive Committee of the American Branch of the International Law Association, and a recipient of the ABA Section on International Law's Leonard J. Theberge Award in Private International Law.