Rule 311 If the law of an organization of nations, a foreign nation or a state other than this state, or a public entity in a foreign nation or a state other t…

Sometimes a court case involves laws from another country, another state, or an international organization. If the court cannot figure out what that foreign or out-of-state law actually says, it has two options.

First, the court can apply California law instead, as long as doing so does not violate the U.S. or California Constitution. Second, if applying California law does not work, the court can dismiss the case without prejudice. Dismissing without prejudice means the case is dropped but the person can refile it later, possibly in a better court or with more information about the applicable law.