Ramsay v Liverpool Royal Infirmary
A domicile of origin is not easily displaced, and a man who lived in Liverpool for the last 36 years of his life did not acquire an English domicile of choice because he had not formed the necessary intention.
Facts
George Bowie was born in Glasgow with a Scottish domicile of origin. He gave up work at the age of 37 and moved to Liverpool, where he lived with his brother and then his sister for the last 36 years of his life, refusing to work and living off his family. He rarely left Liverpool, and expressed pride in being a Glasgow man. He made a will which was valid under English law but not under Scottish law, and the validity of the will depended on whether he had acquired a domicile of choice in England.
Legal principle
The House of Lords held that he had retained his Scottish domicile of origin, so the will was invalid. Viscount Dunedin said that a domicile of origin cannot be lost by mere abandonment, and can be displaced only by the acquisition of a domicile of choice, which requires a residence in a country with the intention of remaining there permanently or indefinitely. The burden of proving a change of domicile lies on those who assert it, and the evidence must be clear. Long residence was not by itself sufficient, and the evidence did not show that Bowie had formed the intention of making England his permanent home.
Related cases on domicile, property, foreign states and public policy
- Belhaj v Straw [2017] UKSC 3, [2017] AC 964
- British South Africa Co v Companhia de Moçambique [1893] AC 602
- In the Estate of Fuld (No 3) [1968] P 675
- Islamic Republic of Iran v Barakat Galleries Ltd [2007] EWCA Civ 1374, [2009] QB 22
- Kuwait Airways Corp v Iraqi Airways Co (Nos 4 and 5) [2002] UKHL 19, [2002] 2 AC 883
- Lucasfilm Ltd v Ainsworth [2011] UKSC 39, [2012] 1 AC 208
- Maduro Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela v Guaidó Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela [2021] UKSC 57
- Mark v Mark [2005] UKHL 42, [2006] 1 AC 98
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