The divide of private and public law, which for so long has shaped the discourse in law, law faculties and learned societies around the World, is outdated. Contemporary challenges of transnational and domestic governance transgress the divide and call for an integrated and holistic approach. Harnessing globalization, value chains and climate change, the management of migration flows, the attainment of sustainable development goals (sgds), the interface of trade and investment, realization and compliance of corporate social responsibility (csr) call for interfacing areas which so far pertained to private, corporate or commercial law or to the realm of public law. Other examples can be randomly added; almost any field of law is affected, including penal law. International law, organized in the vast areas of public international law and private international law conceptually does not know the divide, as private international law structurally also pertains to public policy and is founded on international treaties. International law and the theory of multilevel governance thus offer an ideal platform contributing to, and achieving, an integrated and holistic approach in the legal discourse, transgressing and interfacing conceptual boundaries so far dominant in domestic law.
As most series are organized along traditional lines of division, the Brill Series on International and Comparative Business Law and Public Policy encourages the publication of works transgressing traditional boundaries and which contribute to the dialog of different legal disciplines. The aim of this Series is to facilitate and foster exchanges of views and opinions among legal experts (including academics, lawyers, judges and arbitrators) and public policy experts, whose traditional focus has been on international and comparative business law and public policy. The Series offers an outlet for monographs and collective works making substantial contributions to interdisciplinary research. Each book in the Series shall contain lessons that both companies and governments will need “to reinvent themselves for sustained success”.
The Series is domiciled at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and related to the ll.m. Programme in International Business Law which, in its curriculum, combines aspect of corporate, commercial and public international law. Teaching faculty prepares and encourages students to adopt an interdisciplinary approach in law. The Programme also hosts international
Former Managing Director of the World Trade Institute and Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa.