Two fundamental ideas govern the determination of international jurisdiction: the notion of national sovereignty and the concept of effectiveness and convenience. These ideas stem from the scholarly and judicial efforts that emerged in Anglo-American jurisprudence and have subsequently influenced legal thought in many other countries. The first idea led to the establishment of the authority that national legislators in each country have to set regulations regarding their national courts' jurisdiction in handling international disputes, resulting in conflicts of jurisdiction among courts in different states. Over time, this conflict evolved into actual disputes in judicial proceedings between states, particularly when the same claim or a related one is brought before two courts in different countries.
This scenario created a need for mechanisms to coordinate between the independent legal systems of various nations, allowing national courts to relinquish their jurisdiction in favor of a foreign court to facilitate coexistence among independent legal systems. Consequently, the relinquishment of jurisdiction becomes a means to resolve conflicts in judicial proceedings brought before two courts in different states, whether through the relinquishment of jurisdiction in cases brought before a foreign court or through the relinquishment of jurisdiction in connection with another claim being heard in a foreign court.