Renvoi is a legal doctrine that allows a court to adopt and apply foreign laws for a limited purpose in a case to ensure uniformity of outcomes. It aims to prevent forum shopping but may not always achieve the same outcome due to differing laws. Double deferment is a common form of this doctrine, but it is largely rejected in the US and other nations. Exceptions may apply in limited situations such as probate and family law.
Renvoi is a legal doctrine that applies when there is a conflict of laws in a particular court case. According to this doctrine, a court may adopt and/or apply the laws of a foreign jurisdiction, usually for some limited purpose in a given case. The term comes from the French and literally means “to send back”.
The purpose of referral is to ensure that all types of a particular case receive the same treatment or application of law, in order to ensure the same outcome in common cases. Ideally, the underlying purpose of the doctrine is that the same case will have the same outcome no matter where the litigation of the case occurs. Renvoi can help prevent forum shopping or cases where the plaintiff files his or her legal claim in the jurisdiction where the law is most favorable to him or her.
Ultimately, the outcome of the case may not be uniform if the two relevant jurisdictions operate in identical contexts. For example, if a court approaches a foreign jurisdiction for guidance on which laws to apply, and that jurisdiction’s choice of applicable law directs the original court to apply its own law as the forum for the case, then a different outcome might occur. than whether the forum of the case was the foreign jurisdiction. In this situation, the same case could potentially have very different outcomes, assuming that the laws of these two jurisdictions on the relevant issue differ. Therefore, the stated aim of the legal doctrine of referral is not always achievable.
A common form of this doctrine is double deferment. In this type of legal doctrine, the court in which the case is situated applies the law of the foreign jurisdiction. In this sense, the judge essentially meets as the foreign judge would in an identical case, which ensures the uniformity of the results. This approach will prevent the actor from buying the forum, as the result would be the same regardless of the forum.
The United States and many other nations have largely rejected the legal doctrine of deferment. Some jurisdictions, however, may apply the waiver to limited situations, such as in probate and/or probate matters involving the validity of wills and interstate probate matters. Another area where deferment may be applicable is family law, particularly regarding the validity of a marriage, the ability of one or both parties to marry, and the validity of divorce decrees.
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