Introduction
In addition to the renvoi, which is only possible when the law of the habitual residence results in specifying the law of a Member State which is not bound by the Regulation or of a third State and which is expressly excluded in the case of a choice of law, public policy and overriding mandatory provisions are the two main notions that can lead to the law that would have applied in principle being set aside.
In addition, the Regulation comprises certain substantive rules, in particular concerning commorientes, as provided notably by Article 32[1] of the Regulation. Finally, as in all private international law matters, fraude à la loi, meaning seeking to elude the law which would normally have applied with the sole aim of another law applying, may result in the law that is determined in this way by fraudulent means being set aside, as expressly stated in recital 26[2] of the Regulation. However, we will not come back to these two remedial provisions, which will be applied only exceptionally, and will focus only on public policy and overriding mandatory provisions.