Referral standard

Referral norms are part of private international law . In legal cases with reference to more than one state (so-called foreign contact ), they define which legal system must be used to assess the facts, i.e. they refer to the legal system of one or the other state. The term collision rule or collision law is also often used.

Material standard and reference standard

While the function of the reference norm is to determine the legal system of which state is to be used for certain life situations with an international reference , in contrast to this, factual norms regulate the content of national law.

General references and references to specific standards

In conflict of laws, a distinction is made between two types of referral: general referral and specific standard referral .

• A general reference refers to the law of another state including its national conflict of laws. It is the rule in German and Austrian IPR (Art. 4 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 EGBGB for Germany and Section 5 Paragraph 1 IPRG for Austria). If the foreign PIL refers to a third legal system, this legal system must also be consulted (so-called referral). Whether this second reference also represents an overall standard reference does not depend on the German or Austrian IPR, but on the person who issued the ("Weiter -") reference.

• A reference to a specific standard refers directly to a specific standard of another legal system to the exclusion of foreign conflict of laws and is only present if the law expressly provides for it or an overall standard reference would contradict the meaning of the reference. An example of an expressly legally mandated reference is Article 4, Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 of the EGBGB: If the foreign conflict of laws declares German law to be applicable, then there is a reference back to German law. However, German IPR is not to be applied again, but German substantive law directly. Section 5 (2) IPRG provides the same for Austrian law.