private international law


Related to private international law: Conflict of laws

Private International Law

A branch of Jurisprudence arising from the diverse laws of various nations that applies when private citizens of different countries interact or transact business with one another.

Private international law refers to that part of the law that is administered between private citizens of different countries or is concerned with the definition, regulation, and enforcement of rights in situations where both the person in whom the right inheres and the person upon whom the obligation rests are private citizens of different nations. It is a set of rules and regulations that are established or agreed upon by citizens of different nations who privately enter into a transaction and that will govern in the event of a dispute. In this respect, private International Law differs from public international law, which is the set of rules entered into by the governments of various countries that determine the rights and regulate the intercourse of independent nations.

private international law

the rules of a legal system governing which rules are to be applied in cases with an international dimension, as where one party is French and one German and the subject of the transaction is in Africa. It also considers enforcement of judgments obtained. It does consider matters of public law, which are treated under public international law. See FORUM NON CONVENIENS, LEXI LOCI DELICTI, LEX LOCI SITUS, LIS ALIBI PENDENS.