Flux européens

Thank you Govert Coppens for alerting me to the PCIA award‘s publication. I had reported earlier on this case in which  the Canadian owner of an eco-tourist facility in Barbados sued the Government of Barbados for an alleged breach of the full protection and security provision (among other provisions) in the Canada- Barbados bilateral investment treaty. Peter Allard argues in his claim that Barbados breached its treaty obligations by failing to enforce its domestic environmental laws, which he alleges led to the environment being spoilt and a loss of tourist revenues at his eco-resort.

The Tribunal is careful not to phrase the case as a pioneering case or a case in any way anything but run of the mill. This is evident from its very consideration (at 53) that ‘underlying the claims is a fundamental factual disagreement as to whether the Claimant has suffered loss or damage as a result of any actions or inactions of Barbados.’

This subsequently leads the Tribunal into what is effectively peer review of parties’ opposing expert reports on variety in fish and bird species, salinity, the health of crabs, etc., coming down in favour of Barbados: no convincing case of deterioration was made by claimant. One must bear in mind that the burden of proof lies with the latter. Next the Tribunal concluded that, even if it had found that there was a degradation of the environment at the Sanctuary during the Relevant Period (which it did not), it would not have been persuaded that such degradation was caused by any actions or inactions of Barbados.

The Tribunal further found that, being aware of the environmental sensitivities of the Sanctuary, Barbados took reasonable steps to protect it (at 242). It formulates Barbados’ BIT duties here as being a duty of care, not strict liability. It then undertook due diligence of the steps Barbados had taken to address known environmental concerns for the area and concluded (at 249) that ‘Barbados’ approach in addressing the Sluice Gate and general pollution issues at the Sanctuary as part of its governance of the entire area does not fall short of what was appropriate and sufficient for purposes of the duty of due diligence required by Article II(2)(b) of the BIT.‘

 

This tribunal was clearly not in a law-making mood but that arguably does not matter. The analysis it undertakes unequivocally and matter of factly establishes that countries’ indifference (quod non in casu) to take steps necessary to contain and remedy environmental degradation are a clear breach of BITS’ core requirements.

Geert.

The last part of this title is a bit of a stretch, apologies: soundbite beats nuance. I reported earlier on the High Court’s referral to the CJEU in the Cosmetics Regulation case, C-592/14 . The Court held last week, 21 September. Much like in C-366/10, the emissions trading /aviation case, the Court was unimpressed with accusations of extraterritoriality (‘territory’ is not discussed in the judgment) and does not even flag WTO concerns (Bobek AG had, and simply suggested this is an issue that solely lies with the WTO itself to resolve).

Referring to the need to interpret the Regulation with a view to its object and purpose, the Court insists that in particular to avoid easy circumvention of the Regulation, data obtained from animal testing carried out outside the EU, cannot be employed for the marketing of cosmetics in the EU, even if those tests had to be performed so as to meet the regulatory requirements of third countries.

Of course in WTO jargon, this recalls the discussion of non-product incorporated production processes and -methods (n-PR PPMs) however the Court is more concerned with regulatory efficiency.

Geert.

With many conflict of laws classes fresh underway, it is good to be reminded of the classics. Forum non conveniens was at issue in Kaynes v BP, at the Court of Appeal for Ontario. There is a pending class action in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas. The class in that proceeding includes current plaintiff and other Canadian investors who purchased BP securities on the NYSE.

The judgment has ample and concise background, please refer to it for same. The Court of appeal has now lifted a stay, previously put in place on forum non conveniens ground, in light of changed circumstance. The U.S. District Court judge ruled that as the moving party and his proposed Canadian class were members of the class represented by the lead plaintiffs, he was not entitled to now assert a separate class action based upon a claim that the lead plaintiffs had not pursued. Second, the U.S. District Court judge ruled that the moving party’s claim was time-barred under the Ontario Securities Act. Plaintiff and other members of his proposed class are free to pursue individual claims in the U.S. District Court (not already represented in the class action) based on Ontario securities law, subject to any defences BP may advance, including a limitations defence. (Note that the US court therefore holds limitations to be part of the lex causae, not lex fori).

Since the US court do not claim exclusive jurisdiction over the litigation, and given that if a case were to go ahead in the US, it would be subject to Ontario law, the stay was lifted.

The case is a good illustration that forum non conveniens is live and evolving, not static.

Geert.

In Zulfikarpašić Case C-484/15, Bot AG opined on 8 September. At issue is the intepretation of ‘court’ and ‘judgment’ in the European enforcement order Regulation. Mutatis mutandis therefore the case has implications for most other EU private international law instruments, which employ similar terms. In all of these Regulations, the terms ‘court’ and ‘judgment’ are under- or not at all defined.

The question was submitted in the context of a dispute between Ibrica Zulfikarpašić, a lawyer established in Croatia, and Slaven Gajer, who is also domiciled in Croatia, regarding the certification as a European Enforcement Order, of a writ of execution issued by a notary based on an authentic document.  The referring court essentially inquires whether a notary who, in accordance with Croatian law, has issued a definitive and enforceable writ of execution based on an authentic document has the power to certify it as a European Enforcement Order where it has not been opposed. If the answer is no, the referring court asks whether a national court can carry out that certification where the writ of execution concerns an uncontested claim.

Article 4(1) of Regulation 805/2004 defines ‘judgment’ as ‘any judgment given by a court or tribunal of a Member State, whatever the judgment may be called, including a decree, order, decision or writ of execution, as well as the determination of costs or expenses by an officer of the court’. Article 2(a) of the Brussels I Recast Regulation now includes exactly the same definition. Yves Bot himself summarised the CJEU’s case-law on the notion of ‘judgment’ in the Brussels I Regulation in Gothaer. He reiterates that Opinion here and I should like to refer readers to my earlier summary of the Opinion in Gothaer.

After a tour de table of the various opinions expressed ia by the EC and by a number of Member States, the Advocate General submits that the concept of ‘court’ should be interpreted, for the purposes of Regulation No 805/2004, as covering all bodies offering guarantees of independence and impartiality, deciding on their own authority by a judgment which, first, was or may be subject to an exchange of arguments before being certified as a European Enforcement Order and, second, may be challenged before a judicial authority (at 108). A functional approach, therefore (at 109).

Advocate General Bot submits therefore that an enforcement title such as a writ of execution issued by a notary based on an authentic document constitutes a judgment within the meaning of Article 4(1) of Regulation No 805/2004, provided that the notary with power to issue that writ adjudicates, in the exercise of that specific function, as a court, which requires him to offer guarantees as to his independence and impartiality and to decide on his own authority by a judgment which, first, was or may be subject to an exchange of arguments before being certified as a European Enforcement Order and, second, may be challenged before a judicial authority. 

Whether these conditions are fulfilled is for the national courts to assess.

This Opinion and the eventual judgment by the Court will also be relevant for the application of the Succession Regulation, 650/2012. In matters covered by that Regulation, notaries throughout the EU have an important say and may quite easily qualifies as a ‘court’. Bot AG refers to the Regulation’s definition of ‘court’ at 71 ff of his current Opinion.

Geert.

European private international law, second ed. 2016, Chapter 2, Heading 2.2.16.1.1. Chapter 6, Heading 6.2.1.

 

Élection des présidents de chambre du Tribunal de l’Union européenne

Conseil / LTTE
Relations extérieures
L’avocat général Sharpston considère que la Cour devrait annuler, pour vice de procédure, les mesures maintenant le Hamas et les LTTE sur la liste de l’Union européenne des organisations terroristes

Commission / République tchèque
Libre circulation des marchandises
En refusant de reconnaître les poinçons de garantie pour métaux précieux apposés par WaarborgHolland, un bureau de garantie néerlandais, la République tchèque a enfreint le droit de l’Union

European Federation for Cosmetic Ingredients
Rapprochement des législations
Le droit de l’Union protège le marché européen contre des produits cosmétiques dont les ingrédients ont fait l’objet d’expérimentations animales

One cannot have one’s cake and eat it. Meaning once the cake has been eaten, it is gone and you no longer have it. (Apologies but this saying is so often misunderstood I thought I should clarify).

Anyways, the Flemish tax administration had something along these lines in mind when it recently ruled in a case involving a Liechtenstein Stiftung. Many thanks to De Broeck & Van Laere for bringing the ruling to my attention. The Inland Revenue generally employ quite a lot of deference towards trusts and Stiftungs of all kind. In the case at hand however it requalified the transfer of means from the Stiftung to the heirs of the deceased, as being of a contractual nature. That is because the deceased, upon creation of the Stiftung, had issued such precise instructions in the Stiftung’s by-laws, that the hands of the trustees (or equivalent thereof) had been tied.  This essentially takes away a crucial part of the Stiftung’s nature, and no longer shields the assets from the (Flemish) taxman. The cake has been eaten.

Geert.

 

M. Marc van der Woude est élu Vice-président du Tribunal de l’Union européenne

M. Marc Jaeger est réélu Président du Tribunal de l’Union européenne

Ledra Advertising / Commission et BCE
Politique économique
La Cour confirme le rejet des recours en annulation et rejette sur le fond les recours en indemnité concernant la restructuration du secteur bancaire chypriote

Entrée en fonctions de nouveaux Membres à la Cour de justice et au Tribunal de l’Union européenne

Klyuyev / Conseil
Relations extérieures
Le Tribunal de l’UE confirme le gel de fonds de trois Ukrainiens dont M. Viktor Yanukovych, ancien président de l’Ukraine, pour la période allant du 6 mars 2015 au 6 mars 2016

Schmitt
Rapprochement des législations
Selon l’avocat général Sharpston, les organismes chargés de surveiller le système de qualité des fabricants de dispositifs médicaux sont susceptibles de voir leur responsabilité engagée à l’égard des patients en cas de manquement à leurs obligations découlant des règles de l’Union relatives à la sécurité des produits

Mc Fadden
SERV
L’exploitant d’un magasin qui propose gratuitement au public un réseau Wi-Fi n’est pas responsable des violations de droits d’auteur commises par un utilisateur

Morningstar / Commission
Concurrence
Le Tribunal de l’UE confirme la décision de la Commission de valider les engagements de Thomson Reuters visant à remédier à son abus de position dominante sur le marché des flux de données en temps réel consolidés

Giurisprudenza / Case law

Corte di giustizia, sentenza del 16 giugno 2016, causa C-511/14, Pebros Servizi Srl — Le condizioni in presenza delle quali, in caso di sentenza contumaciale, un credito si considera “non contestato”, ai sensi dell’articolo 3, par. 1, 2° comma, lett. b), del Regolamento (CE) n. 805/2004 sul titolo esecutivo europeo per i crediti non contestati, devono essere determinate in modo autonomo, sulla base di questo solo regolamento.  ♦  Court of Justice, judgment of 16 June 2016, case C-511/14, Pebros Servizi Srl — The conditions according to which, in the case of a judgment by default, a claim is to be regarded as ‘uncontested’, within the meaning of the second subparagraph of Article 3(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims, must be assessed autonomously, solely in accordance with that regulation.

Corte di cassazione (Sezioni unite), sentenza n. 17989 del 13 settembre 2016 — Le obbligazioni pecuniarie che devono essere adempiute al domicilio del creditore ai sensi dell’art. 1182, comma 3, del codice civile sono soltanto quelle liquide, per tali intendendosi le obbligazioni delle quali il titolo determini l’ammontare o indichi criteri determinativi non discrezionali [Nota: il principio di diritto assume rilievo, quando il rapporto contrattuale controverso sia retto dal diritto italiano, anche agli effetti della determinazione del locus solutionis dell’obbligazione dedotta in giudizio ai sensi dell’art. 7 n. 1, lett. a), del Regolamento n. 1215/2012 sulla competenza giurisdizionale e il riconoscimento delle decisioni in materia civile e commerciale].  ♦  Italian Supreme Court (United chambers), judgment No 17989 of 13 September 2016 — Article 1182(3) of the Italian Civil Code provides that pecuniary obligations are to be performed at the domicile of the creditor. The provision only applies to ‘liquid’ obligations, ie, obligations of a fixed amount. For the latter requirement to be met, it must be established that either the amount was determined in the contract, or that the contract set forth non-discretionary rules for the determination of the amount due [Note: as regards obligations arising out of contracts governed by Italian law, the finding of the Court is relevant to the identification of the place of performance of the obligation in question pursuant to Article 7(1)(a) of Regulation n. 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition of judgments in civil and commercial matters].

Strumenti normativi / Legal texts

Gli Stati Uniti hanno ratificato la Convenzione dell’Aja del 2007 sull’esazione internazionale di prestazioni alimentari nei confronti di figli e altri membri della famiglia. La Convenzione, già in vigore per l’UE e alcuni Stati extraeuropei, entrerà in vigore per gli Stati Uniti il 1° gennaio 2017. ♦  The US has ratified the Hague Convention on the international recovery of child support and other forms of family maintenance. The Convention, which is already in force for the EU and some extra-European States, will enter into force for the US on 1 January 2017.

Eventi / Events

New Trends in EU Private International Law – Milano, 15 settembre / September 2016 [Tra i relatori / Speakers include: Fausto Pocar, Paul Lagarde, Jürgen Basedow, Christian Kohler, Francisco Garcimartín Alférez, Manlio Frigo, Stefania Bariatti]

Dottrina / Scholarship

Mariel Revillard, Stratégie de transmission d’un patrimoine international – Nouvelles perspectives (2 ed.), Defrénois, 2016, ISBN 9782856232897, Euro 62 — Les successions occupent une place prépondérante dans le droit international privé de la famille. Chaque année, un nombre considérable de successions internationales sont réglées en France. Des ressortissants de nationalité étrangère décèdent, soit en France, soit à l’étranger, laissant des biens non seulement en France mais dans d’autres pays. Des Français acquièrent des biens étrangers. L’introduction de ces éléments d’extranéité soulève des questions spécifiques au regard de la dévolution future de leur succession.  La répartition d’un patrimoine dans différents pays suscite des problèmes de droit international privé et le notaire intervient de plus en plus à titre préventif dans la préparation d’une succession internationale (estate planning). Ceci suppose une parfaite connaissance des règles de conflit de lois, du droit interne étranger et de la fiscalité internationale en matière de succession. À la suite de l’entrée en application du règlement successions du 4 juillet 2012 qui opère de profonds bouleversements dans le droit des successions internationales, l’étude des successions internationales s’établit en distinguant le régime de droit commun applicable aux successions ouvertes avant le 17 août 2015 et celles ouvertes à partir du 17 août 2015. Le nouveau droit européen des successions justifiait donc cette seconde édition et ouvre aux notaires de nouvelles perspectives de planification successorale.

James Fawcett, Maire Ni Shuilleabhain, Sangeeta Shah, Human Rights and Private International Law, Oxford University Press, 2016, ISBN 9780199666409, GBP 210 — Examining the impact, both actual and potential, of human rights concerns on private international law as well as the oft overlooked topic of the impact of private international law on human rights, this work represents an invaluable resource for all those working or conducting research in these areas. Human Rights and Private International Law is the first title to consider and analyse the numerous private international law cases discussing human rights concerns arising in the commercial law context, alongside high profile cases dealing with torture (Jones v. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and same sex marriage (Wilkinson v Kitzinger).The right to a fair trial is central to the intersection between human rights and private international law, and is considered in depth along with the right to freedom of expression; the right to respect for private and family life; the right to marry; the right to property; and the prohibition of discrimination on the ground of religion, sex, or nationality. Focussing on, though not confined to, the human rights set out in the ECHR, the work also examines the influence of human rights on private international law in countries which are not a party to the ECHR, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.

Alberto De Franceschi (ed.), European Contract Law and the Digital Single Market, Intersentia, 2016, ISBN 9781780684222, Euro 69 — The EU is committed to making the Single Market fit for the digital age, by enhancing the protection of consumers and data subjects, while providing businesses with the legal certainty they need to invest in this field and support growth and innovation. In this context, European Contract Law and the Digital Single Market, an edited collection consisting of carefully selected contributions by leading scholars, addresses the impact of digital technology on European Private Law in light of the latest legislative developments including the EU Regulation of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on free movement of such data, as well as the European Commission’s proposals of 9 December 2015 for a Directive on the supply of digital content, for a Directive on online and other distance sale of goods and for a Regulation on the cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market. The book analyses new and urgent issues in the field of contract, data protection, copyright and private international law: namely the EU approach to personal information as a tradeable commodity and as the object of a fundamental right of the individuals concerned, the protection of consumers’ and users’ rights in contracts for the supply of digital content and on online and other distance sales of goods, the cross-border portability of online content services, the new features of standard contracts in the digital market and the issues surrounding the emergence of the so called platform economy.

Da oggi post meno frequenti, tutti bilingui, contenenti ciascuno segnalazioni di natura diversa: pronunce giurisprudenziali, sviluppi normativi, eventi scientifici etc.

Beginning from today, posts will appear less frequently, they will all be written both in Italian and in English, and each will cover case law, normative developments, academic events etc.

SOPO
Le recours à des contrats à durée déterminée successifs pour couvrir des besoins permanents dans le domaine des services de santé est contraire au droit de l’Union