Home-Country Rule Definition: A form of international agreement in which a host country allows a foreign national to continue to fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of his country of origin even as regards acts or commerce in the host country. This form of international agreement is extremely rare as it contractually allows a foreign law to encroach upon the territory of the host state. A home-country rule agreement means that while a foreign national or foreign corporation operate within the jurisdiction of the other signatory to the home-country rule form of international agreement, in regards to his actions or commerce in the host country, the individual or the corporation cannot be regulated, prosecuted or sued in the host country by their courts but must be prosecuted or sued by and in the home country and with reference to the home-country's law. Thus, the host country relinquishes its jurisdiction over the foreign national, in favor of the courts of the relevant foreign or home-country. Further, subspecies of home-country rule models have been developed in international law reflecting a scale of home-country rule such as the application of home-country rules only where they are equivalent to host-country rules. REFERENCES: Duhaime, Lloyd, Dictionary of International Law Duhaime, Lloyd, Legal Definition of Diplomatic Immunity Duhaime, Lloyd, Legal Definition of Formal Reciprocity Duhaime, Lloyd, Legal Definition of National Treatment Duhaime, Lloyd, Legal Definition of Reciprocity Handa, S., Copyright Law in Canada (Toronto: Butterworths, 2002). Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!