Franco Ferrari addresses the relationship between uniform substantive law and private international law by asking whether rules were intended to be interpreted and applied in the same way across different legal systems. The entry distinguishes uniform law from national rules that have merely been harmonised or have become similar in practice.
Its central distinction is that uniformity depends not on identical wording alone, but on a shared intention to secure common interpretation and application. Differences arising from language, interpretation or practice therefore have to be assessed against the degree of uniformity originally intended.
Distinguishing uniform substantive rules from harmonised or unintentionally similar rules and determining their relationship with private international law
The entry shows why textual similarity alone cannot determine the boundary between uniform substantive law and conflict of laws. That distinction helps assess which rules operate as common substantive law in comparative contract law and which questions still require a private-international-law analysis.
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2026
DOI 10.4337/9781035359264.uniform.sub.law.pil
