Private international law and its role in migration ethics in the human rights era

Abstract

The age-old discipline of Private International Law has, for the most part of its existence, been seen as a mere tool for the application of law in cases of conflicts of laws in different jurisdictions. Although its primary function has always been the management of cultures through private legal relationships, its application has been ethically neutral and sterile concerning other values. However, with the development of international human rights law, the discipline is undergoing a slow opening to new values, which substantially alter its classical principles, such as conflicts of laws and international cooperation. Therefore, the aim of this study is precisely to analyze how the classic principles of the discipline are being redefined in a context of erosion of sovereignty and jurisdiction. Three institutes have been chosen for analysis: the legal status of foreigners, international cooperation, and conflicts of laws. To do so, the methodological procedure of bibliographical and documentary review of books, scientific articles, theses, dissertations, and legislation, from both national and international sources, written in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, was used. It is expected that the research will demonstrate that with the intensification of transnational human mobility in recent decades, Private International Law occupies a prominent role towards the creation of a renewed migratory ethics, although its openness to human rights law occurs gradually and constantly challenged.