lex loci delicti

In private international law, lex loci delicti is the law of the place where the wrong occurred. Under the traditional English rule in Phillips v. Eyre (1870), a tort committed abroad was actionable in England only if it was actionable under English law and not justifiable under the law of the place where it was done (double actionability). England has since moved, by statute, to applying the law of the place of the tort as the general rule.

Indian law has no statute on choice of law in tort; courts draw on these common law principles. Difficulty arises where the act and the harm occur in different countries.

Example

For the road accident in Nepal, the court had to decide whether to apply Nepalese law as the lex loci delicti.

In Indian law

• Phillips v. Eyre (Court of Exchequer Chamber, England, 1870): double actionability rule

See also

lex fori · lex loci contractus · tort · forum non conveniens