Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Table of panels
- List of figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Terminology
- Table of Latin phrases
- List of abbreviations
- Table of cases
- Table of cases (European Court of Justice, numerical order)
- Table of legislative instruments
- PART I STARTING OFF
- PART II JURISDICTION
- PART III FOREIGN JUDGMENTS
- PART IV PROCEDURE
- PART V CHOICE OF LAW
- 22 Introduction to choice of law
- 23 Torts
- 24 Contracts: the principle of party autonomy
- 25 Contracts: legal policy and choice of law
- 26 Contracts: regulating business, protecting employees and helping consumers
- 27 Foreign currency
- 28 Property: tangible movables
- 29 Contractual rights and property interests – I
- 30 Contractual rights and property interests – II
- 31 Contractual rights and property interests – III
- PART VI EXTRATERRITORIALITY
- Bibliography
- Index
22 - Introduction to choice of law
from PART V - CHOICE OF LAW
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Table of panels
- List of figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Terminology
- Table of Latin phrases
- List of abbreviations
- Table of cases
- Table of cases (European Court of Justice, numerical order)
- Table of legislative instruments
- PART I STARTING OFF
- PART II JURISDICTION
- PART III FOREIGN JUDGMENTS
- PART IV PROCEDURE
- PART V CHOICE OF LAW
- 22 Introduction to choice of law
- 23 Torts
- 24 Contracts: the principle of party autonomy
- 25 Contracts: legal policy and choice of law
- 26 Contracts: regulating business, protecting employees and helping consumers
- 27 Foreign currency
- 28 Property: tangible movables
- 29 Contractual rights and property interests – I
- 30 Contractual rights and property interests – II
- 31 Contractual rights and property interests – III
- PART VI EXTRATERRITORIALITY
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Why apply foreign law?
Why should a court apply foreign law? It might be imagined that everything could be satisfactorily decided under its own law. A moment's thought, however, reveals that there are at least some situations in which foreign law has to be applied. Take the case of two people, a man and a woman, who have lived all their lives in country X. They are citizens of that country and are domiciled there. They marry there, taking care to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the local law. If, many years later, they go to country Y on a visit, it would be monstrous if their marriage was not recognized because they had not complied with the formalities laid down by the law of country Y.
Marriage is a status, but it is not only in this case that foreign law has to be applied. Think of a testator who makes his will according to what appears to be the only relevant law. It would again be monstrous if a foreign country refused to recognize the will because it did not comply with its own law. Or take the case of a person who ensures that his actions are lawful under what appears to be the only relevant law. Would it be right if a court in another country held that he had committed a tort because what he did would have been a tort under its law?
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- International Commercial LitigationText, Cases and Materials on Private International Law, pp. 503 - 529Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009