Introduction

• Author: Stephen G.A. Pitel/Nicholas S. Rafferty
• Profession: Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario/Faculty of Law, University of Calgary
• Pages: 1-8

1

CHAP TER 1

INTRODUCTION

A. INTRODUCTION

The conf‌lict of laws deals with t hree central questions. The f‌irst i s

whether a court has juri sdiction to hear a par ticular dispute. The

second is what law a court wi ll apply in resolving a di spute. The third

is whether a court will recognize and enforce a decision of a court in

another jurisd iction.

It is important to appreciate the highly procedural n ature of these

questions. Conf‌lict of laws rule s, 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 t he outcome. They are more closely

related to the rules of civi l procedure, and can in a sense be seen as civil

procedure rules for cases w ith connections to more than one jurisdic-

tion. The subject is therefore of central importance in civil l itigation,

particularly in light of increasing globalization and cross-border trans-

actions and events. The conf‌lict of laws is import ant, for example, when

Canadian s buy and sell goods and ser vices in others count ries, marry

people from other countries, and own rea l and personal property out-

side Canada.

It is essential for civ il litigators to have a solid understanding of the

conf‌lict of laws: to know the rules a nd be able to apply them to concrete

problems as they arise. But this is also an important area of the law

for non-litigators. Lawyers who negotiate contracts for clients and who