The interplay between conflict of laws and international taxation' (2024 Asia-Pacific Colloquium, Melbourne Law School)

The operational mechanics of international taxation and conflict of laws epitomise tolerance, respect and self-reservation towards foreign systems, their sovereign prerogatives and public legal institutions. Both fields reveal deeply formal structures and abstraction from substantive analysis. While the indifference to the substance operates as a rule of thumb, a careful review of the fields’ laws demonstrates that some exceptions apply. These exceptions in the fields of international taxation (such as the instances of severe under taxation) and conflict of laws (such as the exceptional doctrines of public policy and international human rights) question the sterility of norms and outcomes in both disciplines.