Techniques of Choice of Law in Conflict of Personal Laws

Abstract

The division of state inhabitants into communities living under different laws opens up possibilities of conflicts problems on an unprecedented scale. These problems may arise not only when members of different communities enter into legal relationships, but also when the parties, whether members of the same community or not, choose to regulate their legal relations in accordance with another personal law. The occurrence of either of these circumstances poses some problems for which the law is difficult or uncertain. This study attempts to examine with particular reference to the Sudan the problem of choice of law to be administered.In examining the problem of choice of law I shall attempt to show and compare how different systems of personal laws (i.e., where personal laws are administered in their respective courts of nationality, religion or ethnic community and courts which administer two or more personal laws) try to solve choice of law problems. It is apparent that the existence of thelex foriin the former and its absence in the latter should affect the approach to the problem of choice of law. The contrast between the two approaches is striking. The contention here is that systems of personal laws always apply theirlex foriand treat questions of choice of law as mere questions of competence.