Choice of law for immovable property issues: new directions in the European Union and the United States

• Author: Georgina Garriga Suau and Christopher A. Whytock
• Position: Associate Professor of Private International Law at the University of Barcelona/Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine
• Pages: 81-108

REDI, vol. 74 (2022), 1

MISCELÁNEA/MISCELLANY

CHOICE OF LAW FOR IMMOVABLE PROPERTY ISSUES:

NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

AND THE UNITED STATES

Georgina GarriGa suau* and Christopher A. WHyTock**

ABSTRACT

CHOICE OF LAW FOR IMMOVABLE PROPERTY ISSUES: NEW DIRECTIONS

IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UNITED STATES

In both the European Union and the United States, it is a dynamic period for private in-

ternational law regarding immovable property issues. The predominant approach has been

that these issues are governed by the lex rei sitae —that is, the law of the State where the

immovable is located. However, through a comparative examination of recent EU Regu-

lations on succession, matrimonial property regimes, and the property consequences of

registered partnerships, and of the new Third Restatement of Conflict of Laws project in

the United States, this article shows that on both sides of the Atlantic there is a trend to-

ward reducing the scope of the lex rei sitae rule. It explores both the reasons for and the

challenges posed by this trend. It also reveals that despite this trend, the lex rei sitae rule

nevertheless persists in relation to certain «core» immovable pro perty issues.

Keywords: immovables, property rights, Conflict rules, Conflict-of-laws Restatements,

European Union, United States, Rome I Regulation, Succession Regulation, Matrimonial

Property Regulation, Registered Partnership Property Regulation.

Revista Española de Derecho Internacional

Sección ESTUDIOS

Miscelánea/Miscellany

Vol. 74/1, enero-junio 2022, Madrid, pp. 81-108

http://dx.doi.org/10.17103/redi.74.1.2022.1b.01

© 2022 Asociación de Profesores

de Derecho Internacional

y Relaciones Internacionales

ISSN: 0034-9380; E-ISSN: 2387-1253

Recepción: 02/11/2021. Aceptación: 30/11/2021

* Associate Professor of Private International Law at the University of Barcelona (ggarriga@

ub.edu). This paper forms part of the research project «Property rights system over tangible goods in

the field of European Private International Law: aspects of international jurisdiction and applicable

law» funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-112609GB-I00). All websites

quoted in this article were last visited on 8 February 2022.

** Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine (cwhytock@law.uci.

edu); Associate Reporter, Restatement of the Law Third, Conflict of Laws.

82 GEORGINA GARRIGA SUAU / CHRISTOPHER A. WHYTOCK

REDI, vol. 74 (2022), 1

RESUMEN

LEY APLICABLE EN MATERIA DE BIENES INMUEBLES: NUEVAS DIRECCIONES

EN EL ÁMBITO DE LA UNIÓN EUROPEA Y ESTADOS UNIDOS

En el ámbito de la Unión Europea y de Estados Unidos, el Derecho internacional pri-

vado en materia de bienes inmuebles está en transformación. Hasta el momento, la regla

general ha sido que la lex rei sitae, esto es, la ley del país en el que el bien inmueble se loca-

liza, rige este sector material. Sin embargo, desde un análisis en perspectiva comparada de

los recientes Reglamentos de la Unión Europea en materia de sucesiones, régimen econó-

mico matrimonial y de los efectos patrimoniales de las uniones registradas, y de la nueva

propuesta Third Restatement of Conflict of Laws en Estados Unidos, este trabajo demuestra

que en ambos lados del Atlántico existe una tendencia dirigida a reducir el ámbito de apli-

cación de la regla lex rei sitae. En este sentido, este estudio explora tanto las razones de ello

como los desafíos que esta tendencia plantea. También pone de relieve que, sin perjuicio de

ello, la regla lex rei sitae continúa persistiendo en relación con ciertas cuestiones considera-

das el núcleo central de los bienes inmuebles.

Palabras clave: inmuebles, derechos reales, normas conflictuales, Restatements de

conflicto de leyes, Unión Europea, Estados Unidos, Reglamento Roma I, Reglamento Suce-

siones, Reglamento Régimen económico matrimonial, Reglamento Efectos patrimoniales

de las parejas registradas.

SUMMARY: 1. INTRODUCTION.—2. THE LEX REI SITAE RULE IN CONTEXT.—2.1. The

U.S. Context.—2.1.1. The Role of the Restatements.—2.1.2. The lex rei sitae rule in the

First Restatement.—2.1.3. The lex rei sitae rule in the Second Restatement.—2.2. The EU

Context.—2.2.1. The lex rei sitae in EU Member State Law.—2.2.2. The Property Gap in

EU Private International Law.—3. DYNAMISM IN US AND EU PRIVATE INTERNATION-

AL LAW.—3.1. The Third Restatement of Conflict of Laws.—3.1.1. Lex rei sitae Governs

Core Immovable Property Issues.—3.1.2. Reduced Scope of lex rei sitae rule.—3.1.3. Rea-

sons for Reducing the Scope of the lex rei situs rule.—3.2. Developments in the European

Union.—3.2.1. The Succession, Matrimonial Property, and Registered Partnership Property

Regulations: Beyond lex rei sitae.—3.2.2. A Different Approach: Contractual Obligations and

the Rome I Regulation.—3.2.3. Defining Core Immovable Property Issues in the EU Con-

text: The Problem of Characterization.—3.2.4. Addressing the Problems of Gaps and Coher-

ence: Some Academic Initiatives.—4. CONCLUSIONS.

1. INTRODUCTION

In both Europe 1 and the United States 2, much has been written about

the lex rei sitae conflict-of-law rule, according to which the law of the state

1 See, e. g., akkermans, B. and ramaekers, E., «Lex rei sitae in perspective: national developments

of a common rule?», in akkermans, B. and ramaekers, E. (eds.), Property Law Perspectives, Intersentia,

2012, pp. 123-151; carruTHers, J. M., The Transfer of Property in the Conflict of Laws: Choice of Law

Rules concerning Inter Vivos Transfers of Property, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2005; ruPP, C. S.,

«The lex rei sitae and Its Neighbours-Debates, Developments, and Delineating Boundaries Between PIL

Rules», European Property Law Journal, vol. 7, 2018, p. 267.

2 See, e. g., sinGer, J. W., «Property Law Conflicts», Washburn Law Journal, vol. 54, 2014, p. 129;

sTern, J. Y., «Property Exclusivity, and Jurisdiction», Virginia Law Review, vol. 100, 2014, p. 111; Wein-

Traub, R. J., Commentary on the Conflict of Laws, 6th ed., Foundation Press, 2010, pp. 573-627; Han-