Lex Situs

A conflict of law rule that selects the applicable law based on the venue or location of something.

Two well-known examples are that disputes related to real property generally defer to the law where the real property is situated. This is very relevant to estates where the deceased owns property in a foreign jurisdiction.

P. Osborn's A Concise Law Dictionary (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 1954), presents this definition for lex situs:

"The law of the place where property is situated. The general rule is that lands and other immovables are governed by the lex situs."

Another example is that the validity of a marriage will generally be determined on the laws of the place where the marriage occurred.

Part of a family of international private law expressions that assist in resolving disputes where there is a foreign elements or such conflict of laws.