The lex loci delicti commissi is the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 term for "law of the place where the delict [tort] was committed" in the conflict of laws

Conflict of laws

Conflict of laws is a set of procedural rules that determines which legal system and which jurisdiction's applies to a given dispute...

. Conflict of laws is the branch of law regulating all lawsuit

Lawsuit

A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...

s involving a "foreign" law element where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws are applied.

The term is often shortened to lex loci delicti.

Explanation

When a case comes before a court

Court

A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...

 and the parties and the causes of action are local, the court will apply the lex fori

Lex fori

Lex fori is a legal term used in the conflict of laws used to refer to the laws of the jurisdiction in which a legal action is brought...

, the prevailing municipal law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

, to decide the case. However, if there are "foreign" elements to the case, the forum court may be obliged under the conflict of laws to consider the following issues:

• It adjudicates whether the forum court has jurisdiction
  Jurisdiction
  Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
  
   to hear the case (see forum shopping
  Forum shopping
  Forum shopping is the informal name given to the practice adopted by some litigants to get their legal case heard in the court thought most likely to provide a favorable judgment...
  
  );
• It subsequently applies the choice of law
  Choice of law
  Choice of law is a procedural stage in the litigation of a case involving the conflict of laws when it is necessary to reconcile the differences between the laws of different legal jurisdictions, such as sovereign states, federated states , or provinces...
  
   rules to decide the lex causae
  Lex causae
  In the conflict of laws, lex causae is the law or laws chosen by the forum court from among the relevant legal systems to arrive at its judgement of an international or interjurisdictional case....
  
  , that is, which law is to be applied to each cause of action.

The lex loci delicti commissi is one of the possible choice of law rules applied to cases arising from an alleged tort

Tort (conflict)

In conflict of laws, the choice of law rules for tort are intended to select the lex causae by which to determine the nature and scope of the judicial remedy to claim damages for loss or damage suffered.-History:...

. For example, if a person domiciled

Domicile (law)

In law, domicile is the status or attribution of being a permanent resident in a particular jurisdiction. A person can remain domiciled in a jurisdiction even after they have left it, if they have maintained sufficient links with that jurisdiction or have not displayed an intention to leave...

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 exchanges correspondence by e-mail with a resident in Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 - alleged to defame a group of Kurds resident in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 - the relevant choice of law rules would be:

• The lex loci solutionis
  Lex loci solutionis
  The lex loci solutionis is the Latin term for "law of the place where relevant performance occurs" in the conflict of laws. Conflict is the branch of public law regulating all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws are...
  
  (law of the place where relevant performance occurs) might be the most relevant, but it leaves the laws of Australia, Albania, and Turkey equally applicable. That is, the parties corresponded from two states
  Sovereign state
  A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
  
   but the damage was not sustained until the correspondence was published in Turkey;
• The proper law
  Proper law
  The Doctrine of the Proper Law is applied in the choice of law stage of a lawsuit involving the conflict of laws.-Explanation:In a conflicts lawsuit, one or more state laws will be relevant to the decision-making process. If the laws are the same, this will cause no problems, but if there are...
  
   is the law which has the closest connection with the alleged misconduct; and
• The lex fori which might have public policy
  Public policy (law)
  In private international law, the public policy doctrine or ordre public concerns the body of principles that underpin the operation of legal systems in each state. This addresses the social, moral and economic values that tie a society together: values that vary in different cultures and change...
  
   issues if, for example, one of the parties was an infant
  Minor (law)
  In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...
  
  , or multiple jurisdictions may be involved over global internet use.

Reasoning for applicability

In a case where a US citizen on vacation in Mexico was injured when he fell into a hotel construction excavation (while climbing a mound of dirt to obtain a better view of the construction activity), he attempted to sue the hotel's owners in a US court. The US court rejected the suit, asserting lex loci delicti. The man appealed the trial court's finding, but the appeals court sided with the trial court. The appeals court judge (Judge Posner) supported his decision with a vigorous explanation of why the lex loci rule should apply: "The jurisdiction in which the accident occurs] is the place that has the greatest interest in striking a reasonable balance among safety, cost, and other factors pertinent to the design and administration of a system of tort law. Most people affected whether as victims or as injurers by accidents and other injury-causing events are residents of the jurisdiction in which the event takes place. So if law can be assumed to be generally responsive to the values and preferences of the people who live in the community that formulated the law, the law of the place of the accident can be expected to reflect the values and preferences of the people most likely to be involved in accidents . . ."

Two Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

law professors examined the judge's reasoning, and while agreeing with it in principle, articulated several different points of rationale for applying local law to local incidents:

• Under the economic theory of accident law, compensatory damages should be relative to the social harm caused by an accident, and that level of harm can best be determined by application of the local laws governing that area;
• The perceived economic value of life and limb varies from state to state;
• The optimal amount of medical care for an injured person (and thus the required cash compensation) will vary from state to state;
• Specific standards of precautions against particular classes of injuries or accidents will differ between states, because of differences in population density, climatic factors, economic factors, differing perceptions of risk etc.