Uniformity of Outcome in Australian Choice of Law

Abstract

The past 30 years have seen dramatic changes in the Australian private international law landscape. In 1987 Australia had a system of choice of law rules inherited from England that were applied in a largely unquestioning manner to interstate and international cases alike. Since that time there has been a greater concern with achieving uniformity of outcome and preventing forum shopping in choice of law analysis. This trend can be seen in the removal of choice of law rules that unduly favour the forum, the adoption of a narrow definition of procedural matters and the use of the Australian Constitution to encourage the application of laws of other Australian states and territories in interstate disputes. In international cases there has also been the development of a ‘no advantage’ approach, that exhorts Australian courts to reach the same result as the foreign court whose law governs the substance of the case.

Keywords: private international law, uniformity, Australia

JEL Classification: K00, K33