Private International Law and Conflict of Laws in Notarial Practice
Which law governs?
A notary does not choose the applicable law; the notary recognises it. The principal sources are the Brussels Ia Regulation (jurisdiction), Rome I (contractual obligations), Rome II (non-contractual obligations) and, outside the EU instruments, the common-law rules. Ireland did not opt into the EU Succession Regulation, so succession questions are still resolved by domicile for movables and by the lex situs for immovables. Land is always governed by the law of the place where it sits; a notary cannot authenticate a conveyance of foreign land as though Irish formalities applied.
Formal validity and the mobile client
The classic notarial question concerns formal validity - a will or deed made abroad. The 1961 Hague Convention on the Conflicts of Laws relating to the Form of Testamentary Dispositions, in force for Ireland, saves a will whose form complies with the law of the place of making, the testator's nationality, domicile or habitual residence, or, for immovables, the lex situs. Rome I gives comparable breadth to the formal validity of contracts. Language matters: do not personally certify a translation unless competent; verify the translator or use an approved one.
Traps
Frequent errors: treating domicile and habitual residence as synonyms; assuming an act valid at home will be effective abroad; forgetting that public policy and overriding mandatory rules can defeat an otherwise applicable foreign law; and purporting to advise on foreign law. If foreign law matters, say so on the certificate or insist on advice from a lawyer qualified in that jurisdiction.
Rule of thumb: identify the forum, then the subject matter (status, contract, land, succession), then the connecting factor - only then draft.
Worked example: an Irish-domiciled testator signs a will in Dublin for use in France. Formal validity is tested against the 1961 Convention's alternative connecting factors; the notary attests execution, not French substantive validity.