Delimitation and application of lex causae

An Indian court decides that a contract made in Dubai is governed by UAE law. Does that mean every question in the case, from how the witnesses are examined to how long the claimant may wait before suing, is answered by UAE law? Not at all. Choosing the law is only half the job. The court must then decide how far that law reaches and what stays with the forum. That is the work of delimiting and applying the lex causae, the third stage of the analysis.

In two minutes

Once the connecting factor points to a system, the lex causae, the court must delimit its reach (which issues it governs), decide whether to apply its conflict rules too (renvoi), treat procedure as forum matter, split a dispute into parts where needed, and answer any incidental question.

The rest of this chapter

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