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30 Yale J. Int'l L. 211 (2005)
Human Rights Law Meets Private Law Harmonization: The Coming Conflict

handle is hein.journals/yjil30 and id is 217 raw text is: Human Rights Law Meets Private Law Harmonization: The Coming Conflict Paul R. Dubinskyt I. IN TRO DU CTION ............................................................................................................................ 2 12 II. PRIVATE LAW HARMONIZATION IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ................................................... 218 A. The Origins and Ideologies of Modern Private Law Harmonization ............................. 219 1. Scholars and Intellectuals ................................................................................... 219 2. C om m ercial Interests .......................................................................................... 221 3. Political Integrationists ...................................................................................... 221 4. The Cum ulative Impact ....................................................................................... 223 B. Harmonization After World War 1I ................................................................................. 223 1. H arm onization Treaties ...................................................................................... 224 2. International Arbitration .................................................................................... 225 3. Regional Harmonization: The Brussels and Lugano Conventions ..................... 230 a. Curtailing Exorbitant Jurisdiction .......................................................... 232 b. The N atural F orum ................................................................................. 235 c. Minimizing Concurrent Jurisdiction and Maximizing Legal Certainty.. 237 C. The Brussels Convention as Paradigm: More Recent Developments in the Harm onization of Procedural Law ................................................................................. 240 D. The Brussels and Rome Conventions in Practice ........................................................... 244 The Case of the M igrant Workers ................................................................................... 244 III. THE HUMAN RIGHTS LAW MOVEMENT IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ........................................ 247 A. The Human Rights Movement and the Unification Movement: Early Similarities ........ 250 B. The Early Human Rights Movement: Codification ......................................................... 251 C. From Codifying Rights to Enforcing Rights: Second Generation Treaties .................... 253 1. Expanding National Jurisdiction: The Hague and Montreal Conventions ........ 255 2. Expanding National Jurisdiction: National Legislation and Case Law ............. 257 a. The Rebirth of Power Theories of Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction Through Physical Presence ................................................................................... 258 b. Jurisdiction Based on Passive Personality ............................................. 265 c. Universal Jurisdiction ....................................... 268 IV. JURISDICTION AND BEYOND: THE CONFLICT ILLUSTRATED IN HYPOTHETICAL CASES ............... 282 A. Case 1: The Asset Trail: Recognizing and Enforcing Human Rights Judgments W orldw ide ....................................................................................................................... 282 B. Case 2: Class Actions and Forum Non Conveniens ....................................................... 284 C. Case 3: Statutes of Limitation and Retroactivity ............................................................ 286 t Associate Professor, New York Law School. I am grateful for thoughtful comments from Jos6 Alvarez, Lenni Benson, Vivian Grosswald Curran, Stephen Ellmann, Denise Morgan, Mark Osiel, Mathias Reimann, Ruti Teitel, and Don Zeigler; the research assistance of Marta Kiszely and Michael McCarthy, and help from Silvy Singh. I also thank participants in the following workshops: Brooklyn Law School (faculty workshop); Columbia Law School (international law workshop); the Human Rights Workshop of the Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights at Yale Law School; Whittier Law School (faculty workshop); and the 2003 annual meeting of the American Society of Comparative Law. From 1998 to 2003, the author participated in the efforts of the Hague Conference on Private International Law to draft a global convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of foreign judgments (see infra Part II.C), first as a member of the U.S. delegation and then as a representative of Human Rights Watch and the International Association of Democratic Lawyers. Participation was made possible by an International Affairs Fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations. The views expressed herein do not necessarily coincide with those of the Council on Foreign Relations. Responsibility for any errors, of course, remains my own.

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