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A review of private international law this week by the European Association of Private International Law examined a French court decision applying the doctrine of renvoi for the first time in a parenthood dispute. The court ruled that the relevant provision in the Civil Code presented a neutral choice of law rule open to renvoi from German law. This case illustrates the send back rule in action when one jurisdiction’s rules refer a matter back to the forum court.
Legal scholars writing in Cheshire North and Fawcett Private International Law describe renvoi as arising when a forum court is directed to apply foreign law including that law’s choice of law rules. The doctrine seeks to prevent forum shopping by aiming for the same substantive result regardless of where litigation occurs. Single renvoi accepts a remission back to the forum’s internal rules while double renvoi or the foreign court theory requires the judge to decide as the foreign court would have done.
An academic paper published by Cambridge University Press in 1926 and later analyses in the Journal of Private International Law have long debated whether courts should follow only internal foreign rules or the full system including conflict rules. The total renvoi approach can lead to complexity yet promotes decisional harmony across borders in areas such as succession to movables and certain tort claims. Its application varies with some jurisdictions rejecting it outright to avoid circular references.
A 2022 paper by Philip Oladimeji hosted on SSRN simplified the doctrine by outlining its historical development in English jurisprudence and the distinctions between partial and total renvoi theories. The analysis noted challenges in proving foreign choice of law rules which often requires expert testimony in court. In commercial settings the doctrine influences contract enforcement inheritance of business assets and liability in international trade disputes.
The bepress legal repository in a 2020 expresso article explained that renvoi surfaces most clearly when two states maintain different choice of law approaches such as one focusing on the place of injury and another on the place of the act in tort cases. This can create a loop if each refers to the other prompting courts to decide whether to break the cycle by applying their own internal law. Such scenarios carry significant implications for multinational enterprises structuring operations across jurisdictions with differing legal traditions.
Oxford Academic publications on the topic have catalogued objections to total renvoi including that it may amount to an abdication of the forum’s own choice of law framework and proves difficult to administer in practice. Despite these critiques courts in several common law systems continue to invoke the doctrine selectively particularly in family and succession matters. The ongoing scholarly discussion underscores its enduring relevance for lawyers advising on cross border investment and trade arrangements.
