The Concept of “Comity” in Ulrich Huber’s Conflict Doctrine

Abstract

This article investigates the concept of “comity”, discussed by Ulrich Huber (Dutch scholar of the XVIIth century). This author is the most typical representative of the Dutch theory of the conflict of law. Huber’s writings primarily reflected the doctrine of comity, which is the basis of the Dutch school statutes. This article concludes that all Huber’s axioms have entered modern doctrine and court practice (especially in common law countries). Huber is the founder of the “national theory” of conflict rules and, at the same time, the founder of “international theory” in the private international law.

Keywords: private international law, doctrine, theory of the statutes, the Netherlands (the Dutch), Dutch school of conflict law XVIIth century, Ulrich Huber, international comity, positivism, pragmatism

JEL Classification: K40