LAWS7739 · Law

Conflict of Laws

Boston College Law School

Disputes often arise involving transactions, occurrences, or events that touch on the laws of different legal systems--a car crash in Missouri involving residents of California and New York, a contract between a U.S. purchaser and a seller in Italy, a marriage in Nevada between two Canadian citizens who reside in Massachusetts, etc. When such disputes result in litigation, how should a court determine which jurisdiction's laws govern which aspects of the parties' legal rights and responsibilities? This course examines the ways in which courts determine which substantive, procedural, and remedial law should be used to adjudicate disputes involving such multi-jurisdictional contacts. This course will be of special interest to students considering a career in litigation as the problem of conflicting law is endemic in modern litigation, and the ways in which courts resolve these conflicts is not intuitive. Topics covered will include the historical development of principles governing conflicts between the laws of different states within the U.S. legal system and modern approaches to such questions; the role of state and foreign law in federal court adjudication; constitutional limits on choice of law; and the legal effectiveness of judgments issued by courts in a different jurisdiction.