Private Ordering Under the Ali Principles: As Natural as Status

Abstract

The ALI Principles incorporate and validate norms of private ordering in a number of instances, such as domestic partnerships, de facto parenthood, parenthood by estoppel, and premarital agreements. This pattern coheres with the general trend recognizing the plurality of forms that intimate affiliations take, as well as the centrality of contractual thinking in law and society generally. After identifying some salient points about the contractual ordering under the ALI Principles, this chapter mines cognitive science literature to explore whether metaphors related to contract have intuitive, intellectual, and social legitimacy, compared to other metaphors, such as those based on status.

Keywords: private ordering, parenthood, domestic partnership, ALI, contracts