Law Atlas

How The Law Decides
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Doctrines

Forum Non Conveniens

Civil Procedure and Judicial Process Doctrine

Citation Formats

General Reference

APA Style

BibTeX

Origin Eighteenth-century Scots law, with an early precursor in the 1610 case Vernor v Elvies.

Forum non conveniens is a doctrine of civil procedure allowing a court that otherwise has jurisdiction over a case to decline to hear it, or to dismiss it, on the ground that another court or forum is significantly better suited to try the dispute, typically because the parties, witnesses and evidence have little genuine connection to the forum where the case was filed. The doctrine originated in eighteenth-century Scots law, with the 1610 case Vernor v Elvies an early precursor, before being absorbed into English common law and, from there, into the law of the United States and other common law jurisdictions.

Facts
Origin Period
Eighteenth-century Scots law, with an early precursor in the 1610 case Vernor v Elvies. 1
Core Principle
A court acknowledges that another forum where the case might have been brought is a more appropriate venue, and on that basis dismisses or stays the case even though it otherwise has jurisdiction to hear it. 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

In Legal System

Sources
1. Forum Non Conveniens (Wikipedia)
WikipediaDefinition and Origin sections
Quote, Definition and Origin sections
a court acknowledges that another forum or court where the case might have been brought is a more appropriate venue for a legal case, and dismisses the case.
View the Source
1. Forum Non Conveniens (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIn Legal System: Common LawView the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.