DIRITTO INTERNAZIONALE PRIVATO E UNIFICAZIONE DEL DIRITTO PRIVATO (A PROPOSITO DEI CORSI TENUTI ALL’AJA DAL PROFESSOR S.M. CARBONE)

The relationship between private international law (PIL) and the unification of private law will be dealt with from the viewpoint of uniform law conventions with imperative character, i.e., as well known, conventions having a binding scope of application that cannot be derogated from by private autonomy in respect of certain types of contract with a view to ensuring a balanced regulatory framework as well as fair competition among the parties interested in their performance. The attitude of these rules in relation to those of PIL raises particular interest in the field of carriage of goods on liner terms, where — as discussed by Sergio M. Carbone in his 2009 course — the existing imbalance between the bargaining power of the parties has led to the development of uniform law conventions that establish minimum levels of carrier liability and are endowed with the described binding scope of application. Drawing on the doctrinal debate around these conventions at both the national and international level, the aim is to investigate (i) the terms of their coordination with the uniform PIL rules in contractual matters; (ii) the space nonetheless reserved for the PIL rules within their applicative boundaries especially when it comes to the effects and possible limits of the exercise of party autonomy; (iii) the role and function of international commercial arbitration for the purposes of ensuring maximum effectiveness to such exercise of party autonomy; (iv) the limits to ‘forumshopping’ that derive, e.g., from the provisions of the said conventions on the choice of jurisdiction and recourse to arbitration.