The "traditional approach" looks to territorial factors, e.g. the domicile or nationality of the parties, where the components comprising each cause of action occurred, where any relevant assets, whether movable or immovable, are located, etc., and chooses the law or laws that have the greatest connection to the cause(s) of action.
[citation needed] In this context, since the 1960s, the courts in the United States began developing a number of new approaches, as well as new escape devices.
[citation needed] This reflects the number of different laws that might be relevant in any given case before an American court.
The system of renvoi, which literally means "send back", is an attempt to achieve that end.
It will also be relevant to immigration, entitlement to social security and similar benefits, family law, contract, etc.
The lex fori determines the domicile, nationality or habitual residence, and applies that law to establish an in rem set of rights and capacities.
There may also be problems if the parties selected the place where the contract was made in the hope of evading the operation of some mandatory provisions in another relevant law.
On the other hand, deciding matters relating to performance will usually depend on the lex loci solutionis.
With a view to the weaker parties, such as consumers, employees and insurants, special choice of law rules are laid down by articles 5-8.
In public policy terms, this is likely to be the law of the place where the key elements of the "wrong" were performed or occurred (the lex loci delicti commissi).
As established in the case of Boys v Chaplin [1969], both plaintiff and defendants were British Soldiers Residents Stationed in Malta.
Questions of nullity and divorce straddle Family Law and status because the outcome of the judicial proceedings affects status and capacities, and also overlap with the more general question of when the courts of one state will recognize and enforce the judgments of another state.
Where an inter vivos or testamentary trust includes immovables, reference must be made to the lex situs on all aspects relating to title and land use.
Similarly, title to movables including choses in action, should be determined by lex situs, i.e. the law of place where each item is located at the time the trust is created.
All questions of prenuptial trusts and transfers are determined by the law of the transferor's domicile, nationality or habitual residence at the time of the marriage.