Book excerpt: Current Volume VIII (2006) of the Yearbook of Private International Law is arguably one of the most comprehensive collections of essays in English-language of our time: It presents the reader with a broad overview on the status and trends of private international law from the United States to India, from France to Tunisia, from England to China, from Latvia to Qatar, from Sweden to Japan. All main areas of law are addressed: among others, marriage, including same-sex marriage, adoption and protection of children, euthanasia and living wills, inheritance, contracts, torts, insolvency. Each of the four traditional steps of the “conflict process” is taken into account: adjudicatory jurisdiction, international cooperation and procedure, applicable law and its various incidents, recognition of foreign judgments. Practitioners will especially benefit from several contributions on international arbitration. Benefecial for: scholars, lawyers, judges, notaries, lawyers in law departments of international enterprises, legal libraries, working in the field of Private International Law.