Double actionability is a doctrine of

private international law Conflict of laws (also called private international law) is the set of rules or laws a jurisdiction applies to a case, transaction, or other occurrence that has connections to more than one jurisdiction. This body of law deals with three broad t ...

which holds that an action for an alleged

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

committed in a foreign jurisdiction can be successful in a domestic court only if it would be actionable under both the laws of the home jurisdiction and the foreign jurisdiction. The rule originated in the controversial case of '' Phillips v Eyre'' (1870) LR 6 QB 1. The rule is no longer used in

Canadian law The legal system of Canada is Legal pluralism, pluralist: its foundations lie in the English common law system (inherited from its period as a colony of the British Empire), the Napoleonic Code, French civil law system (inherited from its New Fra ...

and instead the ''

lex loci delicti In conflict of laws, the term ''lex loci'' (Latin for "the law of the place") is a shorthand version of the choice of law rules that determine the ''lex causae'' (the laws chosen to decide a case).''Black's Law Dictionary'' abridged Sixth Edition (1 ...

'' rule is used. Likewise, the rule no longer forms part of

Australian law The legal system of Australia has multiple forms. It includes a written constitution, unwritten constitutional conventions, statutes, regulations, and the judicially determined common law system. Its legal institutions and traditions are substa ...

which also uses the ''

'' rule. This rule holds that the applicable law for a tort committed in a foreign place will be the tort law of the foreign place. The rule was abolished in New Zealand tort law by section 10 of the Private International Law (Choice of Law in Tort) Act 2017. The rule has largely been abandoned in English law by virtue of section 10 of the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995, although defamation claims are specifically excluded (cf. section 13(1)). However, even prior to it being abandoned the courts had increasingly distanced themselves from the rule by applying a "flexible exception". The exception was first applied in ''

Boys v Chaplin ''Boys v Chaplin'' 971AC 356 is a leading conflict of laws case decided by the House of Lords. Facts The plaintiff, a passenger on a motorcycle, was injured through the negligence of the defendant whose car had hit the motorcycle. The plaintif ...

969 Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th ...

2 All ER 1085 and expanded upon in '' Red Sea Insurance v Bouygues SA''

995 Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no ...

1 AC 190.

External links

Slavery, revolution and the double actionability rule

References

Conflict of laws {{international-law-stub