European Convention on Information on Foreign Law

Abstract

The European Convention on Information on Foreign Law came into being as a result of formal recognition by the Council of Europe that increasing movement of persons and goods across European frontiers has resulted in an interpenetration of laws and the attendant need to take foreign law into consideration. Thus, in its explanatory report on the Convention, the Council of Europe noted that it “often happens that, under a rule of conduct or laws, a court is called upon to apply a principle of foreign law, particularly in questions of contract and of family law or of the status and capacity of persons.”