Sir Zelman Cowen and the emergence of an interstate private international law in Australia

Abstract

For many years Australian courts observed the fiction that private international law questions arising within the Australian federal system should be resolved by the same English common law principles that were applied to international cases. Such an approach was taken despite the existence of provisions in the Constitution that suggested a different approach. Sir Zelman Cowen was one of the first Australian scholars to identify this anomaly and to argue persuasively for the creation of a new doctrine of private international law for interstate matters. His pleas were ultimately accepted.