1 - Introduction

Summary

In almost every textbook on private international law, there is a reference to the Medieval and Early Modern jurists who, it is claimed, wrote on the conflict of laws. Such references are often very brief. Some appear to unveil the foundation stone of our whole doctrinal edifice, but many others may look and feel ornamental, of no importance to their author’s argument. What matters most is that, when viewed as a whole, these references constitute an integral aspect of our thinking about private international law – an aspect that, it will be argued in this book, is important, if neglected and often misunderstood.