In this chapter, we consider the jurisdictional aspects of two special topics. We consider two more in the next chapter.

Products liability

Our first topic is products liability. Assume that a product is manufactured in country X and marketed in country Y. It causes injury. Where can the victim sue the manufacturer? Can he sue in country Y, or must he go to country X?

In the past, he often had to go to the country where the product was manufactured. If the manufacturer had no presence in the country in which the product was marketed, and could not be served there, the right of the victim to sue in his own country depended on the rules for service out of the jurisdiction. In the earlier part of the twentieth century, the rule in most common-law countries was that the tort had to have been committed in the territory of the forum, or the cause of action had to have arisen there. Originally, courts tended to say that the tort was committed (and the cause of action arose) in the country of manufacture.

This was unfair to the victim, who would have found it difficult to travel to the manufacturer's country to bring the action; so courts began to look for a way of allowing suit to be brought in the country in which the product was marketed, even if the manufacturer had no place of business there.