Domicile
A person is said to have a domicile in a country in which he/she is considered to have his/her permanent home.
IN WHICH COUNTRY WAS THE PERSON DOMICILED…?
- Every person has one domicile from his birth to death.
- As soon as person is born the domicile of his/her father attaches to him/her. This is called domicile of origin.
- A man can give up his domicile of origin and acquire a new domicile of choice by taking up a fixed habitation in another country.
- The domicile of origin prevails until a new domicile has been acquired.
DOMICILE OF ORIGIN FOR A CHILD
- The father’s domicile, where the father was alive at the child’s birth.
- The mother’s domicile, where the father was not alive at the child’s birth, or where the child was illegitimate.
- Where the parents were not known, the domicile was the place in which the child was found.
DOMICILE OF ORIGIN
Example:
At the time of the birth of A, his father was domiciled in England. A’s domicile of origin is England, whatever may be the country in which he was born.
DOMICILE BY CHOICE
- When a child reached the age of majority, and had subsequently settled in another jurisdiction with the intention of making it his permanent home.
- When a person moves away from a domicile of choice with the intention of settling in another jurisdiction, but has not yet done so, his domicile reverts to the domicile of origin until settlement in a new permanent home has taken place.
DOMICILE OF DEPENDENCY
- A child’s domicile would change when the relevant parent had acquired a new domicile of choice.
- A wife would acquire her husband’s domicile upon marriage.
- A person born mentally incapacitated, or becomes mentally incapacitated while still a minor, continues to be treated in the same way as a dependent child until the incapacity no longer exists.
PROPERTY BASED APPLICABLE LAWS
Law regulating succession to deceased person’s immoveable and moveable property, respectively.
- Succession to the immoveable property in India of a person deceased shall be regulated by the law of India wherever such person may have had his domicile at the time of his death.
- Succession to the moveable property of a person deceased is regulated by the law of the country in which such person had his domicile at the time of his death.
PROPERTY BASED APPLICABLE LAWS
Example:
- Mr. A, having his domicile in India dies in France, leaving moveable property in France, moveable property in England, and property, both moveable and immoveable in India. The succession to the whole is regulated by the law of India.
Mr. A, an Englishman, having his domicile in France, dies in India and leaves property, both moveable and immoveable, in India. The succession to the moveable property is regulated by the rules which govern, in France, the succession to the moveable property of the Englishman dying domiciled in France, and the succession to the immoveable property is regulated by the law of India.
