This work addresses the issue of declining jurisdiction in private international law, a subject of immense scholarly and practical importance. It contains 17 national reports and the general report on the subject of "Rules for declining to exercise jurisdiction' which were written for the XIVth congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law held in Athens/Delphi last year. Written by a group of leading scholars, these original papers will be a of great interest to all those interested in the Conflict of Laws and International commercial litigation.