Renvois

Renvois, in private international law, is a doctrine about determining the applicable law in cross-border disputes. When a court applies its own conflict-of-laws rules and those rules point to another jurisdiction, that foreign law may itself contain references to another legal system. The process can lead to the court applying a law that is ultimately identified through a chain of cross-referrals, rather than the forum’s own law alone.

Types of renvoi include internal renvoi, external renvoi, and partial renvoi. Internal renvoi occurs when the foreign law, in applying its conflict rules, refers to another law within the same legal system. External renvoi occurs when the foreign law refers to the law of a different jurisdiction. Partial renvoi denotes a more limited application, where renvoi applies to some issues but not others.

Application and scope vary by jurisdiction. Renvoi is more commonly discussed in continental civil-law systems, but its reception in common-law systems ranges from cautious acceptance to notable rejection. Some jurisdictions apply renvoi to specific areas such as property, succession, or contractual matters, while others avoid it altogether or restrict its use to avoid complexity and uncertainty.

Criticism and practice often center on predictability and clarity. Proponents argue that renvoi respects the foreign system’s own classification of issues, potentially aligning outcomes with its doctrinal structure. Critics point to the risk of indefinite referral loops and divergent results across jurisdictions. Many legal systems therefore limit, modify, or reject renvoi for particular subjects.

Example: in a cross-border inheritance, a forum may apply its rules to identify the governing law. If those rules point to another country, and that country’s conflict rules refer back to the forum, renvoi can cause the forum’s own law to govern the intestacy, depending on the jurisdictional rules in play.