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Information about Lex Causae

Conflict of laws
Preliminary matters
Characterisation  · Incidental question
Renvoi  · Choice of law
Conflict of laws in the U.S.
Public policy  · Hague Conference
Definitional elements
State  · Jurisdiction  · Procedure
Forum non conveniens  · Lex causae
Lex fori  · Forum shopping
Lis alibi pendens
Connecting factors
Domicile  · Lex domicilii
Habitual residence
Nationality  · Lex patriae
Lex loci arbitri  · Lex situs
Lex loci contractus
Lex loci delicti commissi  · Lex loci actus
Lex loci solutionis  · Proper law
Lex loci celebrationis
Choice of law clause  · Dpeage
Forum selection clause
Substantive legal areas
Status  · Capacity  · Contract  · Tort
Marriage  · Nullity  · Divorce
Get divorce  · Talaq divorce
Property  · Succession
Trusts
Enforcement
Enforcement of foreign judgments
Mareva injunctions  · Anti-suit injunctions
In the Conflict of Laws, lex causae (Latin: lex+causa, "cause [for the] law") is the law or laws chosen by the forum court from among the relevant legal systems to arrive at its judgement of an international or interjurisdictional case. The term refers to the usage of particular local laws as the basis or "cause" for the ruling, which would itself become part of referenced legal canon.

Conflict of Laws is the branch of public law which regulates all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element, where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws are applied. Once the forum court has ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the case, it must then decide which of the possible laws are to be applied to resolve the dispute.

Explanation

When a case comes before a court and all the main features of the case are local, the court will apply the lex fori, the prevailing municipal law, to decide the case. But if there are "foreign" elements to the case, the forum court may be obliged under the Conflict of Laws system to consider whether it should apply one or more foreign laws to decide the case. This is a two stage process:
  • it must first characterise the issues, i.e. allocate the factual basis of the case to its relevant legal classes; and
  • then apply the choice of law rules to decide which law is to be applied to each class.
For example, suppose that a person domiciled in Scotland and a person habitually resident in France, both being of the Islamic faith, go through an Islamic form of marriage in Egypt while on holiday. This ceremony is not registered with the Egyptian authorities. They establish a matrimonial home in Algeria where they buy a house in the husband's name. The relationship breaks down and the wife returns to Scotland. When she hears that the husband is proposing to sell the house, she goes to the courts in Scotland. Is this:
  • a case involving title to land in which case the choice of law rule is that the lex situs, the law of the place where the land is situated, will be applied;
  • a case to decide whether the Egyptian ceremony created a valid marriage which will usually be determined by reference to the ''lex loci celebrationis, the law of the place where the marriage was celebrated;
  • a case to decide whether she has the status of a wife and so may seek matrimonial relief in which case the choice of law rule is that the lex domicilii, the law of her domicile, applies; or
  • a case to seek divorce in which case the lex fori substantive Family Law will apply?
Assuming that the three relevant laws (the domicile and the forum is in Scotland) would give different results, the choice of the lex causae assumes major significance (see also incidental question).

See also

Conflict of laws, private international law, international private law, or international law (private), in common law systems, is that branch of international law and intranational interstate law that regulates all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law
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characterisation is the second stage in the procedure to resolve a lawsuit involving a foreign law element. This process is described in English law as classification and as qualification in French law.
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incidental question is a legal issue that arises in connection with the major cause of action in a lawsuit. The forum court will have already decided that it has jurisdiction to hear the case (resolving any issue relating to forum shopping) and will be working through the next two
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renvoi (from the French, meaning "send back" or "to return unopened") is a subset of the choice of law rules and it is potentially to be applied whenever a forum court is directed to consider the law of another state.
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Choice of law is a procedural stage in the litigation of a case involving the conflict of laws when it is necessary to reconcile the differences between the laws of different legal jurisdictions, such as states, federated states (as in the US), or provinces.
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Conflict of Laws in the United States have diverged from the traditional rules applied internationally. Choice of law is a procedural stage in the litigation of a case when it is necessary to reconcile the differences between the laws of different states, and in the U.S.
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Public policy or ordre public is the body of fundamental 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.
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Hague Conference on Private International Law (or HCCH, for Hague Conference/Conférence de la Haye) is the preeminent organisation in the area of private international law.
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State is a defined group of people, living within defined territorial boundaries and more or less subject to an autonomous legal system exercising jurisdiction through properly constituted courts.
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jurisdiction (from the Latin ius, iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak") is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to
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procedure as opposed to substance are always determined by the lex fori, i.e. the law of the state in which the case is being litigated.

What issues are procedural?

This is a part of the process called characterisation.
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Forum non conveniens (Latin for "inconvenient forum" or "inappropriate forum") is a discretionary power of mostly common law courts to refuse to hear a proceeding that has been brought before it.
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lex fori literally means the "law of the forum" and it is distinguished from the lex causae which is the law the forum actually applies to resolve the particular case.
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Forum shopping is the informal name given to the practice adopted by some litigants to get their legal case heard in the court thought most likely to provide a favorable judgment.
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lis alibi pendens (literally, "dispute elsewhere pending") applies both in municipal, public international law, and private international law to address the problem of potentially contradictory judgments.
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domicile (termed domicil in the U.S.) is the basis of the choice of law rule operating in the characterisation framework to define a person's status, capacity and rights. The international term for this as a connecting retard is the lex domicilii, i.e.
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lex domicilii is the Latin term for "law of the domicile" in the Conflict of Laws. Conflict is the branch of public law regulating all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws are applied.
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habitual residence is the standard civil law connecting factor used to select the lex causae in cases characterised as status, capacity and family law. It matches the common law connecting factor of lex domicilii.
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Nationality is a relationship between a person and their state of origin, culture, association, affiliation and/or loyalty. Nationality affords the state jurisdiction over the person, and affords the person the protection of the state.
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lex patriae is Latin for the law of nationality in the Conflict of Laws which is the system of public law applied to any lawsuit where there is a choice to be made between several possibly relevant laws and a different result will be achieved depending on which law is
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lex loci arbitri is the Latin term for "law of the place where arbitration is to take place" in the Conflict of Laws. Conflict is the branch of public law regulating all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws are
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lex situs (Latin) refers to the law of the place in which property is situated for the purposes of the Conflict of laws. For example, property may subject to tax pursuant to the law of the place of the property or by virtue of the domicile of its owner.
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lex loci contractus is the Latin term for "law of the place where the contract is made" in the Conflict of Laws. Conflict is the branch of public law regulating all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws are
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lex loci delicti commissi is the Latin term for "law of the place where the tort was committed" in the Conflict of Laws. Conflict is the branch of public law regulating all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws
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lex loci actus law of the place where the act occurred that gave rise to the legal claim. This is often confused with lex loci delicti commissi which is where the tort is committed.
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lex loci solutionis is the Latin term for "law of the place where relevant performance occurs" in the Conflict of Laws. Conflict is the branch of public law regulating all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws are
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Doctrine of the Proper Law is applied in the choice of law stage of a lawsuit involving the Conflict of Laws.

Explanation

In a Conflicts lawsuit, one or more state laws will be relevant to the decision-making process.
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lex loci celebrationis is the Latin term for "law of the place where the marriage is celebrated" in the Conflict of Laws. Conflict is the branch of public law regulating all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws
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choice of law clause or proper law clause in a contract is one in which the parties specify which law (i.e. the law of which state or nation if it only has a single legal system) will be applied to resolve any disputes arising under the contract.
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forum selection clause in a contract with a Conflict of Laws element allows the parties to agree that any litigation resulting from that contract will be initiated in a specific forum.
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