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

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 civi l 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 import ant, 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 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