Decline of Party Autonomy Principle in International Private Law 

Huiwen ZHONG 

Ph.D. candidate of China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing, CHINA 

Abstract: The economic base determines the superstructure, the changing of legal principles closely linked with economic development. Party autonomy principle has been a supreme scepter of entire private law domain for a long time since its birth, for the centuries-long history, it has been regarded as sacred and unshakable legal norms. To the beginning of the 19th century, as the theory of party autonomy principle is consistent with the personal-based thinking of European capitalist countries’ laws, it has been fully reflected firstly in the French Civil Code. Then the change of economic base makes party autonomy principle began to decline in the area of international private law, such as: more and more peremptory norms, development of directly applicable law, the protection of the interests of the weak and so on, to lead to the exclusion of party autonomy principle. 

Keywords: Party Autonomy Principle; Proper Law; Peremptory Norm; Directly Applicable Law