lex situs

Under private international law, questions about rights in immovable property (title, transfer, succession) are governed by the law of the country where the property is situated, also called lex rei sitae. Only the courts of that country can effectively decide title to the land.

Indian law applies the principle to succession: Section 5 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 provides that succession to immovable property in India is governed by Indian law wherever the deceased was domiciled, while succession to movable property is governed by the law of the deceased’s domicile at death.

Example

Since the land was in Karnataka, Indian law applied as the lex situs even though the deceased was domiciled in Canada.

In Indian law

• Section 5, Indian Succession Act, 1925

See also

lex fori · domicile · immovable property · succession

Read more in the study notes

• Property: meaning, justifications and kinds (Legal Concepts)