ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Choice of law

Choice of law is like playing a game with your friends where everyone has a different set of rules. Imagine you and your friends are playing tag, but one friend says that you can only tag someone with your elbow, while another friend says you can only tag someone with your foot. Those are two different sets of rules, and they might cause some disagreements or confusion when you're trying to play the game together.

In the same way, different states or countries have different laws that they follow. For example, in one state in the United States, it might be legal to smoke marijuana recreationally, while in another state it might be illegal. So if someone from the first state and someone from the second state are both involved in a legal case that somehow involves marijuana, it might be difficult to know which state's laws to follow.

That's where choice of law comes in. It's a way of figuring out which set of rules should apply to a particular situation. Just like you and your friends might agree to play tag using only one set of rules, the people involved in a legal case might agree to use the laws of a particular state or country to settle their dispute. This can help avoid confusion and disagreements about what the rules should be.

Of course, choosing which set of rules to follow isn't always easy. Sometimes the people involved in a case can't agree on which state's laws should apply, or the laws of different states might conflict with each other. In those cases, it's up to a judge to decide which set of rules should be followed based on factors like where the case was filed, where the people involved in the case live, and what the relevant laws actually say.

So basically, choice of law is a way of deciding which set of rules should be used to settle a legal dispute. It's like agreeing on which set of rules to use when you and your friends play a game together, so everyone is on the same page and understands how the game works.