In contrast to public international law, private international law looks to national law ("foreign law", if it is the law of another country) to resolve disputes between persons rather than between countries. Private international law is used to resolve disputes when the law of more than one county may apply. The law of more than one country may apply when:

• All parties are not citizens of one country
• The underlying facts occurred wholly or in part in a different country
• Foreign judgments need to be enforced

Conceptually, private international law is very similar to the choice of forum analysis U.S. lawyers engage in when selecting the correct state in which to bring an action. For example, in International Shoe v. Washington (326 U.S. 310 (1945)), International Shoe was a company incorporated in the state of Delaware, having its principal place of business in Missouri and having some business activity in the State of Washington. The question before the Court was whether International Shoe was bound by the laws of Washington.

Let's change the facts just slightly to see one of the basic issues in private international law: the company is now incorporated under the laws of France, with its principal place of business in Germany and some minimal business contacts with the United States. Which country's laws apply to a breach of contract action for a contract signed in Bonn (Germany) for the sale of goods to a company in New York (United States)? Which country's courts would have jurisdiction over the issue? What would happen if the buyer were headquartered in New York, but purchasing the product for sale through its Hong Kong subsidiary?

Private international law looks to national (or state/provincial) laws to answer these types of questions. From time to time public international law documents (treaties, for example) may play a role. The first problem to address when researching this type of issue is which system of laws to apply to the situation. The second problem is which court system has jurisdiction to hear the issue. Both of these may be governed by the transaction itself; for example, contracts now frequently provide guidance as to which country's laws and courts will hear any claims arising under the contract. When the parties have not previously agreed to a particular forum, the next step is to review the statutes and case law for the potential forums to see which one would apply.

There are many conventions concerning private international law. For the full text and status of these conventions, go to the Web site for the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

In addition, the Web site for UNIDROIT, the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, should be consulted for texts of conventions since 1964 adopted by member states, status reports, and other materials relating to the practice of private international law.

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