Legal Definitions - proper law

The term proper law refers to the specific set of substantive laws that a court determines should apply to a particular legal transaction or dispute, especially when that transaction or dispute involves elements from more than one country or legal jurisdiction.

In situations where parties, events, or property are connected to different legal systems (for example, a contract between companies in different countries, or an accident involving citizens of different states), there can be a question of which jurisdiction's laws should govern the matter. The principles of "conflict of laws" are used to decide this. Once these principles are applied, the chosen body of law is identified as the "proper law" for that specific case.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of proper law:

• International Business Contract:

  Imagine a technology company based in Germany enters into a contract with a software development firm located in India. The contract outlines the terms for creating a new mobile application. If a dispute arises regarding the quality of the software delivered or the payment terms, and the contract itself does not specify which country's law should apply, a court would need to determine the proper law. Based on principles like where the contract was negotiated, where the work was performed, or the location of the parties, the court might decide that German contract law or Indian contract law is the "proper law" to interpret the agreement and resolve the dispute.

• Cross-Border Inheritance:

  Consider a person who was a citizen of France, but lived the last 30 years of their life in the United States and owned significant assets, including real estate, in both countries. Upon their death, a relative challenges the validity of their will. A court handling the inheritance would need to determine the proper law to apply. It might decide that French succession law governs the distribution of assets located in France, while the laws of the U.S. state where the person resided govern the assets in the U.S., or it might apply a single law to the entire estate, depending on the specific conflict of laws rules of the jurisdiction hearing the case. The "proper law" here refers to the specific national or state inheritance laws chosen to govern the will and asset distribution.

• Online Consumer Purchase:

  A consumer living in Canada purchases a unique piece of art from an independent artist's online store based in Spain. When the artwork arrives, it is significantly damaged during shipping, and the consumer seeks a refund. If the artist's terms and conditions do not clearly state which law governs disputes, a court would have to determine the proper law. It might decide that Canadian consumer protection laws apply, given the consumer's location, or that Spanish contract law applies, given the artist's location and the origin of the sale. The "proper law" would be the specific set of consumer or contract laws used to decide whether the consumer is entitled to a refund or other remedies.