Conflict of laws (or private international law) is a set of procedural rules that determines which legal system and which jurisdiction apply to a given dispute. The rules typically apply when a legal dispute has a "foreign" element such as a contract agreed to by parties located in different countries, although the "foreign" element also exists in multi-jurisdictional countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Canada.
The term conflict of laws itself originates from situations where the ultimate outcome of a legal dispute depended upon which law applied, and the common law courts manner of resolving the conflict between those laws. In civil law, lawyers and legal scholars refer to conflict of laws as private international law. Private international law has no real connection with public international law, and is instead a feature of local law which varies from country to country.
The three branches of conflict of laws are
- Jurisdiction – whether the forum court has the power to resolve the dispute at hand
- Choice of law – the law which is being applied to resolve the dispute
- Foreign judgments – the ability to recognize and enforce a judgment from an external forum within the jurisdiction of the adjudicating forum
Read more about Conflict Of Laws: Terminology, History, The Stages in A Conflict Case, Choice of Law Rules, Conflict of Law Rules in Matrimonial Cases, Conflict of Law Rules in Unmarried Cases, Pre-dispute Provisions, The Status of Foreign Law, Harmonization
Famous quotes containing the words conflict of, conflict and/or laws:
“The theater, bringing impersonal masks to life, is only for those who are virile enough to create new life: either as a conflict of passions subtler than those we already know, or as a complete new character.”
—Alfred Jarry (1873–1907)
“Sometimes the children who are no problem to their parents should be looked at more closely. This is especially true if those children are extremely obedient and have few friends their own age. A good self-concept allows children to explore the world, risk engaging in conflict and failing. Children who play it safe by never disobeying or risking conflict may be telling you that they feel unqualified to face the world head-on.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“His talk was like a spring, which runs
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Beginning with the laws which keep
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—Winthrop Mackworth Praed (1802–1839)