Introduction

• Author: Stephen G.A. Pitel; Nicholas S. Rafferty
• Pages: 1-8

CHAPTER

1

INTRODUCTION

A.

INTRODUCTION

The

conflict

of

laws

deals

with

three

central

questions.

The

first

is

whether

a

court

has

jurisdiction

to

hear

a

particular

dispute.

The

second

is

what

law

a

court

will

apply

in

resolving

a

dispute.

The

third

is

whether

a

court

will

recognize

and

enforce

a

decision

of

a

court

in

another

jurisdiction.

It

is

important

to

appreciate

the

highly

procedural

nature

of

these

questions.

Conflict

of

laws

rules,

in

general,

do

not

resolve

substantive

disputes

in

the

same

way

that,

for

example,

tort

and

contract

rules

do.

At

the

risk

of

oversimplification,

they

regulate

the

process

of

dispute

resolution

rather

than

determine

the

outcome.

They

are

more

closely

related

to

the

rules

of

civil

procedure

and

can

in

a

sense

be

seen

as

civil

procedure

rules

for

cases

with

connections

to

more

than

one

jurisdic



tion.

The

subject

is

therefore

of

central

importance

in

civil

litigation,

particularly

in

light

of

increasing

globalization

and

cross-border

trans



actions

and

events.

The

conflict

of

laws

is

important,

for

example,

when

Canadians

buy

and

sell

goods

and

services

in

others

countries,

marry

people

from

other

countries,

and

own

real

and

personal

property

out



side

Canada.

It

is

essential

for

civil

litigators

to

have

a

solid

understanding

of

the

conflict

of

laws:

to

know

the

rules

and

be

able

to

apply

them

to

con



crete

problems

as

they

arise.

But

this

area

of

the

law

is

also

important

for

non-litigators.

Lawyers

who

negotiate

contracts

for

clients

and

who

1