EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Boyle by George DuRelle, John Marshall by William Draper Lewis, Francois Xavier Martin by William Wirt Howe, and James Kent by James Brown Scott. CONFLICT OF LAWS. " Conflict of Con trol of Corporations," Anon. Canada Law Journal (V. xliv, p. 249). CONFLICT OF LAWS (Renvoi). " Is the Rcnvei a Part of the Common Law?" by Edwin H. Abbott, Jr. Law Quarterly Review (V. xxiv, p. 133). "Suppose that A dies leaving movables in England, that according to English law his last domicil was French, and that according to French law his last domicil was English. Assuming that England will apply the law of A's domicil at the time of A's death, by what law will England distribute these movables? If the common law reject the renvoi (a noun coined from the French verb renvqyer to de scribe a doctrine which has excited much con troversy in the civil law), England will con sider irrelevant the French conclusion as to A's domicil and will apply the French statute of distributions immediately. If, however, the common law include the renvoi, England will accept the French conclusion as to A's domicil and permit France to send back the case to English law for farther determination. Or, to put the problem in another fashion, rejection of the renvoi implies but one application, ac ceptance of the renvoi two or more applica tions of the rules of private international law to the distribution of these movables. Which view is supported by principle and authority?" Mr. Abbott's analysis of principles and cases results in the following conclusions: "i. Since the law of the situs is supreme, the law of any other country can have only that effect which the law of the situs may give it. "2. By the great weight of English and American authority, the law of the situs, in disposing of movables, will effectuate the law of the domicil. "3. By the great weight of English and American authority, the domicil of the de ceased will be ascertained with reference to the law of the situs, and with reference to that law only. "4. The legal meaning of the phrase, ' law of the domicil,' with reference to the law of
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the situs is either (a) the private inter national law of the country in question or (6) the internal law of such country. "5. If the law of the situs and the foreign law differ as to the criteria of domicil, and each effectuates the private international law of the .other, there results an endless conflict as to domicil which never arrives at a rule of succession. "•6. Mr. Westlake's suggestion that the renvoi be stopped after one reference back is open to three objections: (a) It makes Eng lish law contradict itself; if it be invoked as the law of situs it incorporates the private international law of the domicil, if it be in voked as the law of the domicil it incorporates the ' internal ' law only. (6) It involves reopening the question of domicil, which has already been decided by the court of the situs with reference to the law of the situs, and a reversal, by that court, of its prior decision. (c) Since the ascertainment of domicil with reference to foreign law would be final (ex hypothesi), this is equivalent to ascer taining domicil with reference to the foreign law in the first place, which is contrary to the great weight of authority. "7. The present English law is settled adversely to the renvoi by Brenicr v. Freeman, 10 Moo. P. C. 306, decided in the Privy Coun cil in 1857, and followed in Hamilton v. Dallas, L.R. i Ch. 257 in 1875. Unfortunately these cases were overlooked in Re Johnson [1903] i Ch. 821, and Re Bowes, 22 T. L. R. 711 (Ch. D. 1906), which laid down a rule inconsistent therewith. The Privy Council case, however, remains the controlling decision. It is to be hoped, therefore, that when the question next arises, these cases may be noticed and on this point expressly disapproved. The single Amer ican case, Harral v. Harral, 39 N. J. Eq. 279, fol lows Bremer v. Freeman. At present, there fore, the renvoi cannot be considered a part of the common law, either on principle or authority." CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. " The Eleventh Amendment and State Rate Regulation," by T. H. Calvert. Law Notes (V. xii, p. 25). CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. "Rights of Aliens," by Edwin Maxey. American Lawyer (V. xvi, p. 171).
