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SummaryThis article discusses four judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada that transformed private international law in Canada and represent a striking episode in the internationalization of law — a form of judicial activism in the name of the international. It is argued that these cases evidence a mode of internationalization by internationalist policy consciousness that is distinct from, although often complementary to, internationalization via the mechanism of international treaties or changes in customary international law. The key features of this approach suggest some resemblances to the vision found in the traditions of liberal internationalism, Canadian internationalism, and public international law. The article cautions against several general dangers in the use of this approach in law reform and adjudication and uses two specific doctrinal issues in private international law to demonstrate what a richer policy discourse concerning internationalism would be.

Globalization and internationalization are pervasive in contemporary cultural, political, and economic policy discourses. Not surprisingly, a concern with internationalization and globalization increasingly characterizes the policy discourses of law. While the law often operates at a lag to broader social trends, it is sometimes more active in constituting such trends. This article is concerned with a striking episode of legal change oriented towards the perceived new realities of the international system, which occurred in the unlikely venue of private international law in Canada.