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* CONFLICT OF LAWS. 273 CONFUCIUS. true of the entire estate, including realty; in England and in the United Stiites the law of the domicile governs the distribution of thi' iktsoii- alty only. On the Continent the law of the domi- cile also governs the liquidation and division of a bankrujit's estate ; in England this is true aa regards the personalt_v only. Everywhere the property relations of husband ajid wife (at least as regards personalty) are governed by the law of the matrimonial domicile. (3) Real ])roperty (except on the Continent in the above cases) is governed by the law of the jurisdiction in which it lies {lex rci sitw). (4) Movable things, ex- cept in the eases mentioned above (No. 2), are also governed by the law of the site, i.e. rights vested by the law of the site are respected every- where and are not afl'ccted by the removal of the thing to another jurisdiction. (5) Contraetual obligations are governed, so far as the relations between the creditor and the debtor are con- cerned, partly by the law of the i)lace wlicre the contract was concluded (lex loci coiilrnclus cclc- hrali), and partly by the law of the place where the obligation is to be perfonned (lex loci solu- tionis). As regards transfers or assignments of the creditor's claim, however, the law govern- ing transfers of personal property may prevail over the proper law of the contract; and claims (choses in action) regarded as assets of an estate will regularly be governed by the law of the creditor's domicile in the cases mentioned in No. 2. Back of all these matters lie questions of capacitu, (a) to take and hold property, real or personal, and (b) to act with legal result. The question of capacity to take and hold property rarely arises to-day except a.s regards corpora- tions. This capacity is primarily determined by the law of the State in which the corporation was created; but it may be diminished or denied by the law of the place in which the proiJcrty is situated. Questions of capacity to act are similarly determined as regards corporations, i.e. capacity must be accorded by the law of the State in which the corporation was created and also by the law of the State in which the corpora- tion attempts to act. As regards natural persons, capacity to transmit property by will or to marry is generally determined by the law of the domicile ; capacity to transfer personal property or to con- tract debt by the law of the place of the act (lex loci actus). In the United States, however, capacity to marry is governed by the law of the place of marriage. The sufficiency of the forms observed in legal acts is usually determined by the lex loci actus. As regards wrongful acts, no action of tort can be maintained unless the act M'as wrongful (tortious) by the law of the place where it was done ; and it is commonly held that it must also be tortious according to the law of the place where suit is brought (lex fori). Citizenship Generally Immaterial. It should be noted that some European countries (Italy. Belgium, and Germany) substitute for the law of the domicile, in nearly all cases, the law cf the State of which the person is (or in the case of a deceased person, was) a citizen or subject (lex lineantia; lex civitatis) ; but the dominant theory makes allegiance immaterial in matters of private law. Exceptions to PRE^^OI'S General Ki'i.es. To all the above rules there is a series of exceptions. Foreign law cannot be applied unless the domestic law permits its application. If the domestic legislator has expres.sly declared that a certain law is to govern all cases coming before the domestic courts, or if the purj)ose of the law would be thwarted by admitting exceptions, for- eign law cannot be applied. Nor will foreign law be applied when its application would contravene the settled policy of the domestic law. Finally, foreign law is applied only as regards questions of right, not as regards remedies — a rule which, properly construed, means that rights are to be enforced according to the methods prescribed by the domestic law. Proof of Foreign Law. Foreign law is said to be a question of fact. According to the sounder theory, this does not mean that it is a question for the jury; it means that the court is not bound to know foreign law, and may demand evidence concerning it. Foreign Judgments. A foreign judgment is recognized as conclusive on the facts and on the law when it is a final judgment on the merits of the case by a competent court, i.e. by a court having jurisdiction. Whether the foreign court uad jurisdiction is, however, a question which the domestic court will investigate, and will de- cide on principles of general jurisprudence, i.e. according to its own view of those jirinciples. Consult: Story, Commentaries on the Conflict of Laws (8th ed., edited by Bigelow, Boston 1883) ; Wharton, Treatise on the Conflict of Laws: or, Private International Laic, Incliidinfi a Comparative View of Anglo-American, Roman, German, and French Jurisprudence (2d ed.. Philadelphia, 1881); Westlake, Treatise on Pri- vate International Law (3d ed., London, 1890) ; Dicey, A Digest of the Law of England with Reference to the Conflict of Laws, American notes by J. B. Moore (Boston, 18!)0) . Two valu- able Gennaii treatises — those of Savigny and Bar — have been translated into English, the former by Guthrie, under the title Pricate In- ternational Law (2d ed., Edinburgh. 1880), the latter by Gillespie, under the title International Law, Private and Criminal (Boston, 1S83). CONFORMITY (Fr. conformitd, from Lat. conformis, like, from com-, together -f- forma, shape ) . In geology, the succession of two .series of sedimentary or igneous strata in regular order. Such strata are said to be 'conformable,' and bear evidence of having been laid down continuously and without disturbance. The term 'conform- ability' is frequently used as a synonym of con- formity. See Unconformity; Geolouy. CONFEONTE, kon-fron'ti; Fr. pron. k5N'- froN'ta' (Fr., confronted). In heraldry, a term which signifies facing or fronting one another. It is the same as combatant. See Heraldry. CONFUCIUS, kon-fu'shl-us (Latinized form of Chinese Kiing-fu-tze. the IMaster Kung) (c. 551-478 B.C.). The most famous of all the sages of China. He was born in the State of Lu in the province which is now called Shantung. His lineage is traced by native tradition to Hang Ti, one of the early mythical rulers of China, al- though Confucius himself was the son of a soldier. Kung Shuh-Liang Heh, who was in com- mand of the District of Chow. When a very old man, Heh wedded Chang Tsai in 5.52. and .about a year later had as a son the future sage. When Confucius was but three years old, he lost his