CONDITIONAL SALES AND THE CONFLICT OF LAWS

Abstract

In the Canadian federation, where ten constituent territories [at the time of writing] each wield power over matters of civil law and property rights, and where inter-provincial movement is commonplace, conflict between provincial laws as regards instalment sales is inevitable. Adding to this complexity are some fifty odd jurisdictions in close physical, commercial and social proximity to the Dominion whose laws are diverse. The prevailing consensus (with some exceptions) is that the validity of the seller’s reservation of title is governed by the law of the place in which the property is situated. Jacob S. Ziegel examines the effects of the lex situs rule on conditional sales in a zone of conflicting inter-jurisdictional laws, and concludes that the notion of an inflexible lex situs rule is rebarbative.