In
private international law, the
public policy doctrine or
ordre public concerns the body of principles that underpin the operation of legal systems in each
state. This addresses the social, moral and economic values that tie a
society together: values that vary in different
cultures and change over time.
Law regulates behaviour either to reinforce existing social expectations or to encourage constructive change, and laws are most likely to be effective when they are consistent with the most generally accepted societal norms and reflect the collective
morality of the
society.