Against the person;

In personam means that a judgment can be enforceable against the person wherever he/she is. On the other hand, if the lawsuit is in rem, then the action must be filed where the property exists and is only enforceable there.

Dicey & Morris in the Conflict of Laws 11th Ed. have given the general principles as to jurisdiction in actions in personam: According to the authors, the parties to a contract in international trade or commerce may agree in advance on the forum which is to have jurisdiction to determine disputes which may arise between them. The chosen court may be a court in the country of one or both the parties, or it may be a neutral forum. The jurisdiction clause may provide for a submission to the courts of a particular country, or to a court identified by a formula in a printed standard form, such as a bill of lading referring disputes to the courts of the carrier’s principal place of business. It is a question of interpretation, governed by the proper law of the contract, whether a jurisdiction clause is exclusive or non-exclusive or whether the claim which is the subject matter of the action falls within its terms.

Findings of fact by civil court in action in personam are neither res judicata nor binding on criminal court, which has to arrive at its own independent findings on basis of evidence before it.

Lawyer ... An unnecessary evil ... The only man in whom ignorance of the law is not punished.

Frank McKinney Hubbard

Today is Chaitra Sukladi, Gudi Padava, Ugadi, and Cheti Chand – greetings from DDT