Renvoi in private international law

Abstract

This thesis will be based on the assumption that there exists a private international law situation, which has a foreign element and which has passed through the normal choice of law process, namely the determination of jurisdiction of the Court which is to hear the case, and the classification of the applicable choice of law rule. Once this Court has decided that it actually has jurisdiction to decide the case, how the issue before it is classified in terms if private international law and what choice of law rules are applicable to it, there remains nothing to do for the judge but to apply the chosen law. Now if this chosen law is domestic law, the situation may be solved without any arduous labour on the part of the Court. If, however, this 'applicable law' is that of a foreign country, there may arise some obstacle : determining the sense in which the term 'applicable law' must be construed. For example, if the Maltese choice of law rule refers to the 'law of Italy', there still exists the hurdle for the local Court , of determining what is exactly meant by 'law of Italy'.