For centuries, private international law has been used to address legal problems generated by interactions among legal systems. It deals with problems that arise when transactions or legal claims involve a foreign element. Private international law issues are most frequent in settings that allow for the growth of international relationships or activities with transnational implications. Economic integration provides this setting: it compels interaction among multiple legal systems; allows for the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital across national boundaries; and fosters the intensification of transnational economic activity. These circumstances generate problems that private international law can help to resolve. Accordingly, a developed private international law regime is an indispensable part of economic integration. Private international law impacts on the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital. It affects economic transactions within a community and, therefore, merits attention in any economic integration process. An economic community does not, and cannot, function solely on the basis of substantive rules. The procedural rules for resolving issues arising in cross-border transactions are equally important. These rules may be useful in dispute settlement at both the community and national levels. In other words, true integration should aim not only at the removal of barriers to the movement of persons, goods, services and capital, but also the strengthening of the legal infrastructure for settling cross-border disputes. A developed private international law regime is a key aspect of this infrastructure.