lex situs
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 268 U.S. 473 - Frick v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania · 1925Most cited · 503 citing opinions
the lex situs, the law of the place where the property is kept and used
How the Supreme Court has restated “lex situs”
Each Supreme Court definition of “lex situs,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “lex situs”
Court decisions citing the 4 opinions that defined “lex situs” — 743 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 4 definitions, chronological · 1824–1925
- ORIGINAL
It is an unquestionable principle of general law, that the title to, and the disposition of real property, must be exclusively subject to the laws of the country where it is situated.
real property
But it is an admitted principle in all countries where the common law prevails, whatever views may be entertained in regard to personal property, that real estate can be conveyed only under the territorial law. The rule is laid down clearly and concisely by Sir William Grant, in Curtis v. Hutton, 14 Ves. 537, 541, where he says, 'The validity of every disposition of real estate must depend upon the law of the country in which that estate is situated.
real property
To the law of the State in which land is situated must we look for the rules which govern its descent, alienation, and transfer, and for the effect and construction of conveyances.