§ 7.12 p.m.
§ Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read.
§ Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(Lord Conesford.)
§ House in Committee accordingly.
§ [The LORD MERTHYR in the Chair.]
§ Clauses 1–5 agreed to.
§ Clause 6 [Interpretation]:
§ LORD CONESFORDThis Amendment cures a defect in Clause 6(2)(b). The object of that paragraph was to cover the case where recourse is had to the law of a country where there are two or more internal systems of law. A typical example is a reference to the law of nationality in the case of a citizen of a federal State, such as the United States 1266 of America, or a composite group of countries such as the United Kingdom and Colonies.
In order to meet this problem the clause as it is now drafted requires reference to be made to the system of law with which the testator was most closely connected at the time of the execution of the will. That will not meet the requirements in every case, because it may well be that he had no connection whatsoever with the country at that date. That is the reason for the Amendment. I beg to move.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 3, line 18, leave out from ("system") to end of line 20 and insert ("shall be that with which the testator was most closely connected at the relevant time, and for this purpose the relevant time is the time of the testator's death where the matter is to be determined by reference to circumstances prevailing at his death, and the time of execution of the will in any other case.").—(Lord Conesford.)
§ Clause 6, as amended, agreed to.
§ Remaining Clause agreed to.
§ House resumed: Bill reported with an Amendment.