The lex causae is the Latin term for "law of the case" in the Conflict of Laws. Conflict is the branch of public law regulating all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws are applied. Once the forum court has ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the case, it must then decide which of the possible laws are to be applied to resolve the dispute. The lex causae is the law or laws actually applied by the forum court to arrive at its judgment. Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Private international law comprises provisions of national law regarding contracts and lawsuits involving foreign laws or jurisdictions. ... Public law is the area of the law governing the relationship between individuals (citizens, companies) and the state. ... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in order to recover a right, obtain damages for an injury, obtain an injunction to prevent an injury, or obtain a declaratory judgment to prevent future legal disputes. ... A court is an official, public forum which a public power establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... In law, jurisdiction refers to the aspect of a any unique legal authority as being localized within boundaries. ...

Explanation

When a case comes before a court and all the main features of the case are local, the court will apply the lex fori, the prevailing municipal law, to decide the case. But if there are "foreign" elements to the case, the forum court may be obliged under the Conflict of Laws system to consider whether it should apply one or more foreign laws to decide the case. This is a two stage process: Lex fori is a private international law doctrine meaning the law of the court in which proceedings are being conducted. ... Aphorism Critical legal studies Jurisprudence Law (principle) Legal research Letter versus Spirit List of legal abbreviations Legal code Natural justice Natural law Philosophy of law Religious law External links Find more information on Law by searching one of Wikipedias sibling projects: Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School...

• it must first characterise the issues, i.e. allocate the factual basis of the case to its relevant legal classes; and
• then apply the choice of law rules to decide which law is to be applied to each class.

For example, suppose that a person domiciled in Scotland and a person habitually resident in France, both being of the Islamic faith, go through an Islamic form of marriage in Egypt while on holiday. This ceremony is not registered with the Egyptian authorities. They establish a matrimonial home in Algeria where they buy a house in the husband's name. The relationship breaks down and the wife returns to Scotland. When she hears that the husband is proposing to sell the house, she goes to the courts in Scotland. Is this: In Conflict of Laws, characterisation is the second stage in the procedure to resolve a lawsuit involving a foreign law element. ... Choice of law is a concept within the field of the conflict of laws, relating to relationships between different nations, and in the United States between individual states. ... In Conflict of Laws, domicile (termed domicil in the U.S.) is the basis of the choice of law rule operating in the characterisation framework to define a persons status, capacity and rights. ... Transport in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history Caledonia List of not fully sovereign nations Subdivisions of Scotland National parks (Scotland) Traditional music of Scotland Flower of Scotland Wars of Scottish Independence National Trust for Scotland Historic houses in Scotland Castles in Scotland Museums in Scotland Abbeys and priories in Scotland... Islam ▶(?) (Arabic: الإسلام al- islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second largest religion. ... Husband may refer to: the male spouse in a marriage a husband pillow. ... Marriage is a relationship that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ...

• a case involving title to land in which case the choice of law rule is that the lex situs, the law of the place where the land is situated, will be applied;
• a case to decide whether the Egyptian ceremony created a valid marriage which will usally be determined by reference to the lex loci celebrationis, the law of the place where the marriage was celebrated;
• a case to decide whether she has the status of a wife and so may seek matrimonial relief in which case the choice of law rule is that the lex domicilii, the law of her domicile, applies; or
• a case to seek divorce in which case the lex fori substantive Family Law will apply?

Assuming that the three relevant laws would give different results, the choice of the lex causae assumes major significance (see also incidental question). Lex fori is a private international law doctrine meaning the law of the court in which proceedings are being conducted. ... In the Conflict of Laws, an incidental question is a legal issue that arises in connection with the major cause of action in a lawsuit. ...

See also

• Lex fori
• Lex loci celebrationis
• Lex loci contractus
• Lex loci delicti commissi
• Lex situs
• Privilegium fori