Determination of Exclusive Jurisdiction in Private International Disputes

Determining the grounds of exclusive jurisdiction in private international disputes is extremely important. However, there is no international uniform criterion for determining the grounds of exclusive jurisdiction. Thus, different legal systems have adopted various approaches to determine their courts' exclusive jurisdiction. While a few legal systems have explicitly specified the subject matters falling within their courts' exclusive jurisdiction, the other legal systems such as the Iranian legal system have not determined the grounds of exclusive jurisdiction. So an important question arises about the approach of the last legal systems; in such legal systems, what criteria can be used to guide the judges to determine the grounds of exclusive jurisdiction? This article examines the approach of some legal systems and evaluates some suggested criteria. Finally, the article demonstrates that in the absence of the international uniform concept of exclusive jurisdiction, the judges have to determine the exclusive jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis. They also have to consider the state sovereignty, the subject matter of the dispute, the disputing parties, and the purpose of the lawmaker in providing a particular jurisdiction rule.