A Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will

Abstract

As a result of the Diplomatic Conference on Wills held at Washington D.C., October 16-26, 1973, the "Convention Providing A Uniform Law On The Form Of An International Will" was set down. "The Uniform Law On the Form Of An International Will" appears as an annex to the Convention. The preamble to the Convention enunciates the purpose of the Convention and Uniform Law as a desire "to provide to a greater extent for the respecting of last wills by establishing an additional form of will, hereinafter to be called an 'international will', which, if employed, would dispense to some extent with the search for the applicable law". At present, the law in most provinces states that the court is to look, if necessary, to a number of law-areas to determine the formal validity of a will. The majority of provinces follow, in this respect, either verbatim or approximately, a scheme laid down in the proposed Uniform Wills Act, Part II (Conflict of Laws), adopted by the Conference of Commissioners on Uniformity of Legislation, and recommended for enactment in 1953.