Latin for "inconvenient forum" this common law doctrine allows a court to dismiss a civil action (even though the forum or venue is proper and the court has jurisdiction over the case and the parties) where an appropriate and more convenient alternative forum exists in which to try the action.

In English law, the appropriate forum is the one in which the case may most suitably be tried in the interests of all the parties and the ends of justice. Where the jurisdiction of the English court is based on service of the proceedings outside the jurisdiction, permission to serve the proceedings outside the jurisdiction will only be granted if the court is satisfied that England and Wales is the proper place (or forum conveniens) in which to bring the claim.

In the US, forum non conveniens should be distinguished from transfer. In particular, forum non conveniens does not apply when the alternative forum is a different court within the same judicial system (for example, another federal district court).

For further guidance, see Practice note, Jurisdiction: an overview.