Private International Law in English Courts

Citation

Briggs, A. (2023). Private International Law in English Courts (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Chapter Summary

The second edition has twelve chapters and runs to about 950 pages. The first edition (2014) restated private international law as the hybrid system of English and European law that it had become. The publisher explains that the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, and the EU's refusal to let the UK accede to the Lugano Convention, meant the broad structure of the book "needed fundamental change". The text describes the law about six years after the 2016 referendum. A reviewer on the Conflict of Laws blog notes that some European material is kept as historical background or as a description of retained EU law, while other parts were rewritten almost entirely. The twelve chapters fall into general groundwork, the three questions of the subject (jurisdiction, applicable law, foreign judgments), and subject-area chapters.

Chapters 1–2: Introduction; Tools and Techniques

The opening chapters, an introduction and a chapter on tools and techniques, come before the three main questions of the subject. They are the natural starting point for the concepts and methods the later chapters rely on.

Chapter 3: Jurisdiction

The chapter on the jurisdiction of the English courts. The Conflict of Laws reviewer singles it out as the chapter that had to be rewritten almost entirely, quoting the author's description of the present rules as "a corpus iuris which is a shambles" and "a mess in urgent need of reform".

Chapter 4: Ancillary Measures

A chapter on ancillary measures, placed directly after jurisdiction.

Chapter 5: Foreign Judgments

The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, which is the third main question of private international law after jurisdiction and applicable law.

Chapters 6–7: Contractual Obligations; Non-Contractual Obligations

The choice of law chapters. According to the reviewer, the Rome I and Rome II Regulations are now described as retained EU law, "with important caveats".

Chapters 8–9: Property; Corporations

Two chapters on subject areas: property and corporations.

Chapters 10–12: Adults; Children; Arbitration

The last three chapters are headed Adults, Children and Arbitration, with arbitration closing the book.

Key Concepts

Groundwork (Chapters 1–2)

• Tools and techniques: the methods of the subject, the subject of Chapter 2.
• The post-Brexit setting: the publisher's framing of the edition.

The three questions (Chapters 3–7)

• Jurisdiction of the English courts: Chapter 3.
• Ancillary measures: Chapter 4.
• Foreign judgments: Chapter 5.
• Contractual and non-contractual obligations: Chapters 6 and 7.
• Retained EU law: the status of the Rome Regulations after Brexit, according to a reviewer.

Subject areas (Chapters 8–12)

• Property and corporations: Chapters 8 and 9.
• Adults and children: Chapters 10 and 11.
• Arbitration: Chapter 12.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• A single, argued account. The publisher describes a restatement of the rules of private international law in English courts by a scholar and practising barrister with over forty years of experience. The Conflict of Laws reviewer credits the author with an unusual ability to present complex concepts with clarity and style.
• Critical analysis of the new law. The publisher says the book assesses the changes brought about by Brexit and considers how far pre-Brexit legal reasoning may need to be reconsidered. The reviewer observes that the apparent coherence of the picture testifies to the author's skill in patching up what was left.
• Guidance for practice. The publisher states that the analysis is relevant before and during litigation, so the book serves both study and cross-border practice.
• Clear order of topics. The chapter sequence moves from jurisdiction through ancillary measures and judgments to applicable law and then to subject areas, so each question can be found where it would be expected.

Limitations

• Cost of the change. The reviewer regrets that not only much European law but also the paragraph numbers were lost between the first and second editions, which makes the two editions harder to cross-refer.
• A treatise, not a textbook. The book is a restatement and critique of English law, written for readers who already know the subject; the publisher's audience is the scholar and litigator. A reader who has not studied the conflict of laws will need another text first.
• A law in flux. The publisher says the law has lost some of its coherence and that whether the rough edges can be smoothed is something only time will tell, so developments after the edition's cut-off need to be checked.
• Length. At about 950 pages and in a single-author voice, it is best consulted by topic.

Where It Fits in the Course

Of the conflict of laws books on the list, The Conflict of Laws is an undergraduate introduction covering jurisdiction, choice of law, recognition and enforcement. Morris: The Conflict of Laws is a student textbook in the English courts' tradition and a sensible main text for a taught course. Cheshire, North & Fawcett: Private International Law is a long-established multi-author treatise that also covers family law, property and succession; it is the more comprehensive reference. International Commercial Litigation by Hartley is a text, cases and materials book in commercial matters that compares English and EU law with American and Commonwealth approaches.

Briggs is the single-author argued treatise, as against Cheshire's multi-author reference, and it concentrates on how the rules work, and sometimes do not work, in the English courts after Brexit. Read it once the basic structure of the subject is clear.

How to Use This Book

The book suits postgraduate students on private international law or international litigation courses, advanced undergraduates writing on the conflict of laws, and practitioners in cross-border disputes. A completed course in the conflict of laws is the expected starting point.

A practical plan:

• Core: Chapters 1–3 for the approach and the jurisdiction of the English courts, then Chapters 5–7 for foreign judgments and choice of law.
• Next: Chapter 4 on ancillary measures when the course reaches interim and supporting relief.
• By syllabus: Chapters 8–12 for property, corporations, family matters and arbitration.
• Reading strategy: Read the jurisdiction chapter with the author's critical comments in mind, and compare it with the account in a textbook. Because the first edition is organised around EU instruments, do not mix the two editions' paragraph references.