Private international law can be defined as part of the law that studies the law of public or regulating the legal status of people within the international area. Its objective of study , therefore, are the international treaties, the internal civil norms of the states, the agreements between the nations and the role that the international organizations develop with regard to controlling the rights of the people.
People and international law
Every natural and moral person has certain legal attributes that are internationally recognized. These characteristics are name, heritage, residence, marital status and capacity. In private international law, marital status does not only refer to the family relationship , but includes the legal relationship that a person can maintain in relation to a State. This relationship is known as nationality.
Nationality is fundamental in this matter, since according to it a specific legal system applies to the person.
As a general rule, nationality is determined in two ways:
Ius Domicilli: the place where you live is what determines nationality.
Ius Sanguilli: nationality is determined by the family, is known as the right of blood and is part of a person’s ancestry, as well as their descent.
Background of private international law
In antiquity, when theocratic ideas were dominant and societies were ruled by religion, contempt made everything outside seem real, which included foreigners. The category of citizen was reserved for those who had the same religion within the city and who adopted the same gods.
On the other hand, the foreigner was the one who did not follow this cult, therefore he was not protected by the city‘s gods. Based on these religious ideas there was great inequality between the autonomous and the foreign.
However, in some parts of the world, trade relations with foreigners were not frowned upon, as they were in the case of India. In this area there was an abundant regulation regarding the admission of foreigners, in this case among the Hindu population, just as happened in the Egyptian civilization.
On the other hand, Greece had two clearly differentiated views: the Athenian and the Spartan, the latter being more restrictive and based on the modern concept of the nation.
