The common law principle of forum non conveniens is a discretionary power that enables an English court to decline to hear a case on the basis that a court with competent jurisdiction in another country is the most appropriate forum to try the case.
This principle is no longer applicable between countries that are signatories to the Brussels and Lugano Conventions and Regulation 44/2001 (which has effectively superseded the Conventions), as the Regulation provides its own rules to determine jurisdiction between member states. Most notable, and of relevance to this article, is Article 2, which provides that defendants shall be sued in the courts of the country of their domicile.
