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A collection of papers from the 11th Regional Private International Law Conference held in Osijek, Croatia, on 11-12 June 2014 is out now. The book, edited by Professor Mirela Župan, contains scientiffic contributions by prominent authors on topics ranging from analysing the role and/or meaning of different connecting factors (habitual residence, nationality, party autonomy) to commenting on the effects which ECtHR case law may have on the interpretation of the Hague Abduction Convention. In addition, the book contains six national reports on the operation of the Hague Abduction Convention in the region.
The links to the books in .pdf and .epub formats are available here.

Non renvoyée au Conseil constitutionnel

Readers of our blog might recall that Jan von Hein and I convened a conference on coherence in European private international law in Freiburg i.Br. (Germany) in October 2014 (see our previous post). Today, we are happy to report that the findings of the conference have just been published by the German publishing house Mohr Siebeck.

The  volume critically assesses the current state of European private international law including the law of international civil procedure. It sheds light on existing incoherences, describes the requirements for a more coherent regulation and discusses perspectives for a future European codification in the field of Private International Law. In addition, the volume contains English language summaries of each contribution as well as detailed discussion reports.

More information is available on the publisher’s website. The table of contents reads as follows:

Part 1: Grundlagen

• Jürgen Basedow, Kohärenz im Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrecht der Europäischen Union: Eine einleitende Orientierung
• Anatol Dutta, Gemeinsame oder getrennte Kodifikation von IPR und IZVR auf europäischer Ebene: Die bisherigen und geplanten Verordnungen im Familien- und Erbrecht als Vorbilder für andere Rechtsgebiete?
• Thomas Kadner Graziano, Gemeinsame oder getrennte Kodifikation von IPR und IZVR: Das schweizerische IPR-Gesetz als Modell für eine europäische Gesamtkodifikation – Lehren für die EU?

Part 2: Der räumliche Anwendungsbereich des europäischen IPR/IZVR

• Burkhard Hess, Binnenverhältnisse im Europäischen Zivilprozessrecht: Grenzüberschreitende v. nationale Sachverhalte
• Tanja Domej, Das Verhältnis nach „außen“: Europäische v. Drittstaatensachverhalte
• Andrea Schulz, Die EU und die Haager Konferenz für Internationales Privatrecht

Part 3: Subjektive und personale Anknüpfungspunkte im europäischen IPR/IZVR

• Felix Maultzsch, Parteiautonomie im Internationalen Privat- und Zivilverfahrensrecht
• Frauke Wedemann, Die Verortung juristischer Personen im europäischen IPR und IZVR
• Brigitta Lurger, Die Verortung natürlicher Personen im europäischen IPR und IZVR: Wohnsitz, gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt, Staatsangehörigkeit

Part 4: Objektive Anknüpfungsmomente für Schuldverhältnisse im europäischen IPR/IZVR

• Michael Müller, Objektive Anknüpfungsmomente für Schuldverhältnisse im europäischen IPR und IZVR: Die Behandlung vertraglicher Sachverhalte
• Haimo Schack, Kohärenz im europäischen Internationalen Deliktsrecht

Part 4: Schutz schwächerer Parteien und von Allgemeininteressen im europäischen IPR/IZVR

• Eva-Maria Kieninger, Der Schutz schwächerer Personen im Schuldrecht
• Urs Peter Gruber, Der Schutz schwächerer Personen im Familien- und Erbrecht
• Moritz Renner, Ordre public und Eingriffsnormen: Konvergenzen und Divergenzen zwischen IPR und IZVR

The November 2015 draft ‘Judgments project’ of the Hague Conference on private international law, otherwise known as the draft convention on the recognition and enforcement of judgments relating to civil and commercial matters, is a very ambitious project which at the same time risks exposing some of the inherent weaknesses of the modus operandi of the Hague Conference. This is not the right forum for an exhaustive analysis. Rather, with input from other members (Elsemiek Apers in particular) at Leuven PIL institute, I would like to flag some areas of interest. Inevitably, an obvious point of reference is the European Union’s Brussels I (Recast) regime.

First, the text itself. The Working Group’s report, which accompanies the draft, explains the history and development of the text and the various options taken. No need to repeat it here. The approach of the Convention is the same ‘mission creep’ which the 1968 Brussels Convention had to resort to, to enhance the free movement of judgments between Member States. Given that the most widespread reason for refusal of recognition and enforcement (R&E), are accusations of excessive or inappropriate exercise of jurisdiction, one can only truly co-ordinate R&E if one also co-ordinates jurisdiction. The Hague Convention takes this route in Articles 5-6, (Exclusive) bases for recognition and enforcement. Following this co-ordination of jurisdictional rules, Article 7 then limits the ground upon which R&E may be refused.

Of note is that Article 4(2)’s ban on merits review (when assessing the possibility of recognition and enforcement), probably does not extend to judgments issued by default. The Article is not clear on what is meant exactly: the first para of Article 4(2) rules out ‘review of the merits’. The second para suggests ‘The court addressed shall be bound by the findings of fact on which the court of origin based its jurisdiction, unless the judgment was given by default.’ Not being bound by findings of fact does not necessarily entail a possibility for merits review, and the text can probably do with clarification at this point.

Article 5(e)’s special jurisdictional rule for contracts, has been clarified compared with earlier versions, however the text remains subject to plenty of room for debate.

Article 8’s room for refusing R&E when the exclusive jurisdictional rules of the Convention were infringed, or where matters excluded from the Convention were at issue, could in our view do with tidying up. It currently mingles scope for refusal of R&E as such, in the case of infringement of the exclusive jurisdictional rules, with discussion of excluded matters as ‘preliminary issues’ only – a clear reference to the EU’s experience with arbitration. Without editorial perfection, however, this article, in combination with Article 2’s excluded matters, risks similar and protracted debate as was /is the case under Brussels I (and the Recast).

Further, the modus operandi, and institutional consequences of the Convention. As indicated, an exhaustive review of the Convention is not possible here. That is due in large part to the extensive comments which one could address vis-a-vis each individual entry of the text. Rather like in the case of each individual provision of the Brussels regime. In the case of the latter, the CJEU is exercised on a very regular basis with the determination of the precise meaning of the heads of jurisdiction. In the Hague process, there is no such institution. One has to rely on the application of the Convention by the signatory States. At some point, one has to assess whether it is tenable not to have some kind of review process at The Hague, lest one risks the Convention being applied quite differently in the various signatory States. Coupled with the additional lawyer of complication were the EU to accede (which it is bound to; however would it really be progress to create additional layers of differentiation?), the CJEU itself might have difficulty accepting a body of judicial review, where the text to be reviewed borders so closely unto the Brussels regime.

Geert.

Tribunal correctionnel de Paris, 32e chambre, 8 février 2016

Tribunal de grande instance de Paris, 5e chambre 1re section, 9 février 2016

N.
Espace de liberté, sécurité et justice
Le droit de l’Union permet le placement en rétention d’un demandeur d’asile lorsque la protection de la sécurité nationale ou de l’ordre public l’exige

Rendón Marín
Citoyenneté européenne
Selon l’avocat général Szpunar, un ressortissant non UE qui a la garde exclusive d’un citoyen mineur de l’UE ne saurait être expulsé d’un État membre ou se voir refuser un permis de séjour du seul fait de ses antécédents pénaux

Des conclusions de l’avocat général de la Cour de justice de l’Union européenne, Maciej Szpunar, pointent du doigt la législation française.

En carrousel matière:  Oui Matières OASIS:  Néant

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Federica Falconi, La legge applicabile ai contratti di assicurazione nel regolamento Roma I, Cedam, 2016, pp. 272, ISBN 9788813358297, Euro 24,50.

[Dal sito dell’editore] – Il volume si propone di condurre un’analisi critica della disciplina di conflitto dettata dal regolamento Roma I in relazione ai contratti di assicurazione, alla luce delle modifiche di carattere sostanziale, oltre che sistematico, apportate da tale strumento rispetto alla normativa previgente. L’esegesi delle norme del regolamento è perciò svolta mettendo in evidenza i nodi interpretativi che tuttora permangono, per poi cercare di suggerire alcune possibili soluzioni nella prospettiva di un’ulteriore, più radicale riforma.

L’indice dell’opera e ulteriori informazioni sono disponibili a questo indirizzo.

Le Parlement européen a adopté en première lecture, le 20 janvier 2016, une résolution législative approuvant la proposition de directive relative à la garantie de certains aspects de la présomption d’innocence et au droit d’assister à son procès dans le cadre des procédures pénales.

En carrousel matière:  Oui Matières OASIS:  Néant

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Encourt la cassation l’arrêt de la cour d’appel qui applique directement les dispositions d’une directive à l’encontre des prévenus. 

En carrousel matière:  Oui Matières OASIS:  Néant

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Protection des consommateurs ; Prêt

Protection des consommateurs ; Prêt

Protection des consommateurs ; Prêt

On 24 and 25 March 2017 the Observatory on the European area of freedom, security and justice, based at the Department of Legal Sciences of the University of Salerno, will host an international conference titled 60 years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome: developments and perspectives on the construction of the area of freedom, security and justice.

The Observatory is launching a call for contributions of scholars and experts in EU Law of any nationality. Abstracts, written either in English or in Italian, and relating to aspects of the European area of freedom, security and justice, including judicial cooperation in civil matters having cross-border implications, should be sent to slsg@unisa.it by 30 June 2016.

Selected papers will be published in the first issue of the review The European Area of Freedom, Security and Justice; the authors of particularly innovative contributions will be invited to attend the conference as speakers.

The call is available here.

Le 4 février 2016, le Comité des droits de l’enfant des Nations unies a publié ses observations générales adressées à la France pour qu’elle respecte mieux l’accès de tous les enfants à leurs droits fondamentaux. Elle observe notamment que « Malgré des évolutions positives reconnues par les experts et des budgets colossaux consacrés à l’enfance, la France, 6e puissance économique mondiale, tarde pourtant à atteindre les objectifs qui lui sont assignés dans ce domaine, laissant encore beaucoup trop d’enfants sur le bord de la route ».

En carrousel matière:  Non Matières OASIS:  Néant

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Non renvoyée au Conseil constitutionnel

Succession