French Rules of the Conflict of Laws (Part 3)
THE FRENCH RULES OF THE CONFLICT OF LA\VS:.~ ERNEST G. LoRENZEN CONTRACTS 1. Capacity. Capacity to contract is regarded by Anglo American law as one of the operative facts of a legal transac tion, and as subject to the law governing the validity of the particular transaction in general. On the continent it is felt that, insofar as any disability to contract is intended for the protection of the party in question, it should follow such party· into other states. For this reason the capacity of persons to contract was controlled in France, until the adoption of the Code Napoleon, by the law of domicil. Since then the law of nrJ.tional ity has been in force. Article 3, paragraph 3 of the French Civil Code provides: "Laws 1·elating to status and capacity of persons ap ply to French people, even residing in a foreign country." Contracts entered into by French citizens abroad, whether they be minors or married women, are governed therefore, as regards capacity, by French law. The same rule holds true where a person of age has been placed under guardianship in France, for example, on account of prodigality. Such a disabil ity, imposed by the national law, binds the citizen in foreign countries.1 It ceases, however, if the French citizen becomes naturalized in a country which does not recognize such artificial disabilities. The courts add the proviso that the naturalization must have been obtained in good faith, and not for the purpose of getting rid of the disability imposed by the French law.:: The rule of Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Civil Code is gen erally interpreted as applicable also to foreigners, so th..'l.t their capacity in France is governed by their nationallaw.3 A for- * This article is the conclusion of a series of articles by the author ap pearing under this title in the Yale Law Journal, the first article appearing in (1927) 36 YALE L.
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