Legal Definitions - renvoi

Definition: Renvoi (ren-voy), n. [French “sending back”]

1. The doctrine under which a court in resorting to foreign law adopts as well the foreign law's conflict-of-laws principles, which may in turn refer the court back to the law of the forum.
2. The problem arising when one state's rule on conflict of laws refers a case to the law of another state, and that second state's conflict-of-law rule refers the case either back to the law of the first state or to a third state. See CONFLICT OF LAWS.
3. RECONDUCTION(2).

Explanation: Renvoi is a legal term that refers to the situation where a court in one country has to apply the law of another country to a case. In such cases, the court may also have to apply the conflict-of-laws principles of the foreign country, which may refer the court back to the law of the forum. This can create a problem when the foreign country's conflict-of-law rule refers the case back to the law of the first country or to a third country. This is known as the problem of renvoi.

Example: An example of renvoi can be seen in a case where a court in the United States has to apply the law of France to a case. The court may also have to apply the conflict-of-laws principles of France, which may refer the court back to the law of the United States. This can create a problem if the conflict-of-laws rule of France refers the case back to the law of the United States or to a third country.