Forum non conveniens (Latin for "forum not agreeing") (FNC) is a (mostly) common law legal doctrine

whereby courts may refuse to take jurisdiction over matters where there is a more appropriate forum
available to the parties. As a doctrine of the conflict of laws, forum non conveniens applies between
courts in different countries and between courts in different jurisdictions in the same country.
A concern often raised in applications of the doctrine is forum shopping, or picking a court merely to
gain an advantage in the proceeding. This concern is balanced against the public policy of deferring to a
plaintiff's choice of venue in claims where there may be more than one appropriate jurisdiction. The
underlying principles, such as basing respect given to foreign courts on reciprocal respect or comity, also
apply in civil law systems in the form of the legal doctrine of lis alibi pendens.
Forum non conveniens is not exclusive to common law nations: the maritime courts of the Republic of
Panama, although not a common law jurisdiction, also have such power under more restrained
conditions.[1]
A country, state, or other jurisdiction enacts laws which are interpreted and applied through a system of
courts. The laws applied by a particular system of courts or legal system are termed the lex fori, or law
of the forum. As a matter of civil procedure, courts must decide whether and in what circumstances
they will accept jurisdiction over parties and subject matter when a lawsuit begins. This decision will be
routine, or not raised at all, if the relevant elements of the case are within the territorial jurisdiction of
the court. If one or more of the parties resides outside the territorial jurisdiction or there are other
factors which might make another forum more appropriate, the question of jurisdiction must be settled.
In the conflict of laws, the lex loci contractus is the Latin term for "law of the place where the contract is
made".[1]
When a case comes before a court and all the main features of the case are local, the court will apply
the lex fori, the prevailing municipal law, to decide the case. But if there are "foreign" elements to the
case, the forum court may be obliged under the conflict of laws system to consider whether the forum
court has jurisdiction to hear the case (see the problem of forum shopping); it must then characterize
the issues, i.e. allocate the factual basis of the case to its relevant legal classes; and then apply the
choice of law rules to decide which law is to be applied to each class.
The lex loci contractus is one of the possible choice of law rules applied to cases testing the validity of a
contract. For example, suppose that a person domiciled in Canada and a person habitually resident in
France, make a contract by e-mail. They agree to meet in New York State to record a CD of hip hop
music. The possibly relevant choice of law rules would be: the lex domicilii and law of habitual residence
to determine whether the parties had the capacity to enter into the contract; the lex loci contractus
which could be difficult to establish since neither party left his own jurisdiction (reliance on postal rules
for offer and acceptance in the several putative leges causae might produce different results); the lex
loci solution is might be the most relevant since New York is the most closely connected to the
substance of the obligations assumed; the proper law; and the lex fori which might have public policy
issues if, say, one of the parties was an infant.
Implications of the law
The provisions of this legal concept can be construed to confirm the following:
If a contract is valid where it was consummated, it is (generally) valid everywhere (i.e. in all comity
states);
If a contract is void where it was consummated, it is void everywhere (i.e. in all comity states);
An exception in comity exists: The agreement will not be held valid in the forum country if it violates the
law of the forum country, or if it violates the law of nature, or if it violates the Law of God;
A contract may be deemed valid in lex loci contractus, but if it is a revenue law of that state it will not be
enforced in the forum state.
If a contract is consummated in one state but its content specifies that it is to be carried out in another
state, two loci are thus generated: locus celebrate contractus (where it was signed) and locus solutionis

(where it is to be performed). The laws of the locus celebrate contractus state will govern all matters
concerning the mode of constructing the contract, the meaning of each factor therein, the nature of the
contract, and its validity. The laws of the locus solutionis state will apply to the performance or
execution of the contract.
Determining lex loci contractus at law
Sometimes the locus celebrate contractus state is difficult to determine, for example if the contract was
signed at sea or on a moving train, or if the details of the contract signing were not well documented. If
a court is called upon to determine the applicable state, it may use any or all of the following factors:
The residence or main domicile of the signatory parties;
The main place of business of the signatory parties;
The state in which the business was incorporated;
The state nominated for arbitration proceedings in case of a conflict (lex loci arbitri);
The language used to write the contract;
The format of the contract (only relevant if the contract format is unique to a state or group of states
within the comity group);
The currency in which payment for performance of the contract is specified to be paid;
The nation of registration of any ship involved in performance of the contract;
The state where completion of the contract is specified to occur (lex loci solutionis);
A pattern of similar contracts involving the same parties;
The state where any third parties to the contract are located;
The state where any insurance companies connected with the contract are located.