MARITIME AND AERIAL TORTS

Abstract

“Private International Law” or “The Conflict of Laws” is that branch of law which deals with the cases in which some relevant fact has a geographical connection with a foreign country or if there is some foreign element involved in the case. There may exist a foreign element because the parties may be citizens of a foreign country, or domiciled in a foreign country, and the dispute may relate to their status or their property situated in that country; or the dispute may relate to a contract between parties living in 2 different countries; or a suit may relate to a tort committed. In all such cases, there exists a foreign element. And in all such cases where a foreign element is involved, the principles of conflict of laws are applied. These principles are applied by the courts as a part of applicable rules of domestic law. Almost every country, in the modern era, has not only its own system of municipal law but also its own system of conflict of law. And there is need for rules of conflict of laws because the world is divided into several territorial units with different legal systems containing different rules on subjects such as contracts, torts, succession to property etc., and people move from unit to unit or enter into personal or commercial relations in such units or with people in such units. When this happens, courts voluntarily apply the conflict of law rules of their country to resolve the problem. While certain rules of conflict of laws are accepted in most countries.