Comparative Legal Analysis of the Institution of Backtracking (Renvoi) and Related Issues in the International Private Law of Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela

In order to harmonize international private law, its development taking into account the modern legal spirit and thought, there is a need to analyze foreign experience in reforming the relevant legal institutions, as well as the approaches that have developed in relation to them in foreign doctrine and practice. The paper presents the results of a comparative legal study of the legislative design and application of the institute of renvoi in three Latin American countries — the Republic of Ecuador, the United Mexican States, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The scientific novelty of the work is due to the lack of relevant comparative studies of the institute of renvoi in the legal systems of Latin American countries. The purpose is to build a systemic and comprehensive understanding of the institute of renvoi in these countries. The author sets the following tasks: to analyze approaches to understanding and assessing the institute of renvoi, as well as related issues, in the foreign doctrine of these states; to form a list of legal and successor features of the implementation of the institute of renvoi in each country; to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the institute of renvoi in the respective countries. The methods used are the method of comparative analysis and the method of content analysis. The results of the work and individual conclusions can be borrowed for the development of the institute of renvoi in national systems. The practical significance lies in the possibility of using the main provisions when applying the law of the specified states, as well as when resolving disputes with a corresponding foreign element. The result of the study is the identification of three different approaches to renvoi: limited implementation of the institute in the absence of general provisions and narrow judicial discretion (Ecuador); consolidation of the first‑degree renvoi as a general rule, and second‑degree renvoi as an exception, as well as broad judicial discretion (Mexico); admission first‑ and second‑degree renvoi without additional conditions and narrow judicial discretion (Venezuela). A comparative legal analysis of the institution of backtracking allows us to conclude that the use of renvoi and related institutions is most successfully regulated in Mexican law, but it is in Venezuela that it is fully established without any restrictions.