Characterization Around the World - Same Problem, Different Solutions?

Dr Felix Berner, Interim Professor (University of Hamburg) and Postdoctoral Researcher and Teaching Assistant (University of Tübingen) joins us for this meeting of the Discussion Group for a presentation and discussion on 'Characterization Around the World - Same Problem, Different Solutions?'.

The meeting will commence at 12.30pm and conclude at 1.30pm, with a light lunch provided until 2pm. The event will be held in the Old Dining Hall at St Edmund Hall. Please advise of any dietary requirements to conflictoflaws@law.ox.ac.uk.

Abstract:

Academic speculation on characterization has produced a highly theorised body of literature. In particular, the question of the governing law arouses fierce disagreement: Whether the lex fori, the lex causae or an “autonomous approach” governs characterization is hotly debated. Such discussions suggest that a decision on the governing law is important when lawyers decide questions of characterization. In contrast to this assumption, I will show how legislatures and courts around the world tend to adopt a pragmatic approach. This approach does not require a general decision on the governing law but focuses on the normative context and the needs of the case. To defend this thesis, the talk will cover the EU approach of legislative solutions, the interpretation of Retained EU Law in the UK post-Brexit, the reception of the via media approach in Southern Africa, and characterization according to the American Choice of Law revolutionaries. 

This event is generously supported by Twenty Essex