Droit international général

A quick update related to the insolvency regulation (Regulation 2015/848): on 30 August 2022 the Commission adopted Decision (EU) 2022/1437 confirming the participation of Ireland in Regulation (EU) 2021/2260 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2015/848 on insolvency proceedings to replace its Annexes A and B.

The Decision takes up the notification to the Commission of 31 May 2022 whereby Ireland notified its wish, in accordance with Article 4 of Protocol (No 21), to accept and be bound by Regulation (EU) 2021/2260 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The preamble explains that there are no specific conditions attached to the participation of Ireland in Regulation (EU) 2021/2260 and there is no need for transitional measures; the measure concerned by the current notification of Ireland merely updates the Annexes A and B to that Regulation containing the list of national insolvency proceedings and the list of national insolvency practitioners, respectively. The Decision has entered into force the day after its publication in the Official Journal, thus on 1 September 2022.

Those in Luxembourg on 8 September 2022 may want to attend the hearing in case C-393/21, Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey. The request for a preliminary ruling comes from the Lietuvos Aukščiausiasis Teismas (Lithuania), and was lodged on 28 June 2021. It focuses on Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims. The provision addresses the stay or limitation of enforcement. The request will oblige the Court to decide on the scope, conditions of application and extent of the review carried out by a competent court or authority of the Member State of enforcement under Article 23(c), and on the possibility of simultaneously applying several measures referred to in this article. A final question raises the issue of the relationship between the stay of the enforcement procedure under the above mentioned Article 23, and that provided for by Article 44(2) of Regulation No 1215/2012.

The facts of the case are the following.

In enforcement proceedings, a bailiff operating in Lithuania is executing an order of the Amtsgericht Hünfeld (Local Court, Hünfeld, Germany) of 14 June 2019, on the basis of a European Enforcement Order certificate of 2 December 2019 regarding the recovery of a debt of EUR 2 292 993.32 from the debtor, Arik Air Limited.

Claiming that the certificate had been issued unlawfully because the procedural documents of the Local Court, Hünfeld, had not been duly served on it, thus causing it to miss the time limit for lodging objections, Arik Air Limited applied to the Landgericht Frankfurt am Main (Regional Court, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) for withdrawal of the European Enforcement Order certificate of 2 December 2019. In an order of 9 April 2020, that court stated that execution of the enforcement order of 24 October 2019 would be stayed if Arik Air Limited paid a security of EUR 2 000 000.

Arik Air Limited, requested the bailiff to stay the enforcement proceedings in the Republic of Lithuania until the debtor’s claims for withdrawal of the European Enforcement Order certificate had been examined in a final procedural decision of the court in Germany. The bailiff refused to stay the enforcement proceedings.

By order of 11 June 2020, the Kauno apylinkės teismas (District Court, Kaunas, Lithuania), before which an action regarding this refusal was brought, did not uphold the action. The court stated that the debtor’s request had already been examined by a court of the State of origin in the order of 9 April 2020 and, therefore, it had no grounds to examine it.

By order of 25 September 2020, the Kauno apygardos teismas (Regional Court, Kaunas) set aside the order of the court of first instance, upheld the action brought by Arik Air Limited, and ordered the stay of the enforcement proceedings pending a full examination of the applicant’s claims by a final judgment of the German court that had jurisdiction. The appellate court stated that, in view of the disproportionately great harm which might be caused in the enforcement proceedings, an application regarding a European Enforcement Order certificate to a court of the State where it was issued was a sufficient ground for staying the enforcement proceedings. Taking the view that there was nothing in the case file to confirm that the security specified in the order of the Regional Court, Frankfurt am Main, of 9 April 2020 had been paid, the appellate court concluded that there was no ground to believe that the question of the suspension of enforcement measures in the enforcement proceedings had been examined by the court of the State origin.

On 16 December 2020, the interested party, Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey GmbH, brought an appeal on a point of law before the Lietuvos Aukščiausiasis Teismas (Supreme Court of Lithuania).

The questions referred read:

1. How, taking into account the objectives of Regulation  805/2004, inter alia the objective of accelerating and simplifying the enforcement of judgments of Member States and effective safeguarding of the right to a fair trial, must the term ‘exceptional circumstances’ in Article 23(c) of Regulation 805/2004 be interpreted? What is the discretion that the competent authorities of the Member State of enforcement have to interpret the term ‘exceptional circumstances’?
2. Are circumstances, such as those in the present case, related to judicial proceedings in the State of origin which decide a question regarding the setting aside of the judgment on the basis of which a European Enforcement Order was issued to be regarded as relevant when deciding on the application of Article 23(c) of Regulation  805/2004? According to what criteria must the appeal proceedings in the Member State of origin be assessed and how comprehensive must the assessment of the proceedings taking place in the Member State of origin that is carried out by the competent authorities of the Member State of enforcement be?
3. What is the subject matter of the assessment when deciding on the application of the term ‘exceptional circumstances’ in Article 23 of Regulation No 805/2004: must the impact of the respective circumstances of the dispute when the judgment of the State of origin is challenged in the State of origin be assessed, must the possible potential benefit or harm of the respective measure specified in Article 23 of the regulation be analysed, or must the debtor’s economic abilities to implement the judgment, or other circumstances, be analysed?
4. Under Article 23 of Regulation  805/2004, is the simultaneous application of several measures specified in that article possible? If the answer to this question is in the affirmative, what criteria must the competent authorities of the State of enforcement rely on when deciding on the merits and proportionality of the application of several of those measures?
5. Is the legal regime laid down in Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters to be applied to a judgment of the State of origin regarding the suspension (or cancellation) of enforceability, or is a legal regime similar to that specified in Article 44(2) of that regulation applicable?

Sitting judges are C. Lycourgous, S. Rodin, J.C. Bonichot, L.S. Rossi, and O. Spineanu-Matei (reporting). An opinion has been requested from P. Pikamäe.

On the same day, the Court will render a three-judges decision (O. Spineanu-Matei reporting, sitting with S. Rodin and L.S. Rossi) in case C-399/21, IRnova. The request by the Svea hovrätt, Patent- och marknadsöverdomstolen (Sweden) was lodged on June 28, 2021. In the dispute on the merits, the company FLIR has applied for patents on certain inventions in inter alia the United States of America and China. IRnova brought an action seeking a declaration that IRnova has better entitlement to the inventions than FLIR. The action was dismissed at first instance on the ground that it is related so closely to the registration and invalidity of patents that the Swedish courts do not have jurisdiction to hear the case. IRnova has lodged an appeal against this dismissal decision before the referring court. This is thus a request for interpretation of Article 24(4) of Regulation (EU)  1215/2012 with just one question:

Is an action seeking a declaration of better entitlement to an invention, based on a claim of inventorship or co-inventorship according to national patent applications and patents registered in a non-Member State, covered by exclusive jurisdiction for the purposes of Article 24(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters?

Before getting into it, the Court will need to decide whether the Regulation applies at all, taking into account that the dispute arose between two companies having their registered office in the same Member State, and that it seeks to establish a right of ownership, probably also arising in Sweden. There is indeed a foreign element – the case concerns patent applications made and patents granted abroad: but this foreign element is not located on the territory of a Member State, but in China and the US.

The next PIL event will take place on September 15. The Court will then hand down its decision on C-18/21, Uniqa Versicherungen. The reference was sent by the Oberster Gerichtshof (Austria), and lodged January 12, 2021. It consists of just one question, on Regulation 1896/2006:

Are Articles 20 and 26 of Regulation 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 creating a European order for payment procedure to be interpreted as meaning that those provisions preclude an interruption of the 30-day period for lodging a statement of opposition to a European order for payment, as provided for in Article 16(2) of that regulation, by Paragraph 1(1) of the Austrian Bundesgesetz betreffend Begleitmaßnahmen zu COVID-19 in der Justiz (Federal Law on accompanying measures for COVID-19 in the administration of justice), pursuant to which all procedural periods in proceedings in civil cases for which the event triggering the period occurs after 21 March 2020 or which have not yet expired by that date are to be interrupted until the end of 30 April 2020 and are to begin to run anew from 1 May 2020?

I reported here on the request. AG Collins’s opinion was delivered on March 31, 2022:

Articles 16, 20 and 26 of Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 creating a European order for payment procedure do not preclude the adoption, in the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, of a national measure that interrupted the 30-day time limit for lodging a statement of opposition to a European order for payment contained in Article 16(2) thereof.

The deciding chamber is one of five judges, namely K. Jürimäe (reporting), K. Lenaerts, N. Jääskinen, M. Safjan, and N. Piçarra.

On 1st September 2023, the Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters will enter in force between the European Union (save Denmark) and Ukraine, following their ratification on 29 August 2022.

Source: https://www.hcch.net/en/news-archive/details/?varevent=870

On 29 August 2022, Ukraine ratified the Hague Protocol of 23 November 2007 on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations, which will enter in force for this country on 1 December 2022.

Source: https://www.hcch.net/en/news-archive/details/?varevent=870

The latest issue of the „Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax)“ features the following articles:

(These abstracts can also be found at the IPRax-website under the following link: https://www.iprax.de/en/contents/)

 

J. Richter: Cross-border service of writs of summons according to the revised EU Service Regulation

The service of judicial documents, particularly the service of writs of summons, is of central importance in civil proceedings. In cross-border proceedings, service of legal documents poses particular problems, which are addressed by the European Regulation on the Service of Documents. The revision of this regulation, which will enter into force on 1 July 2022, provides an opportunity to examine the current and future rules by taking the example of the international service of writs of summons.

 

G. van Calster: Lex ecologia. On applicable law for environmental pollution (Article 7 Rome II), a pinnacle of business and human rights as well as climate change litigation.

The European Union rules on the law that applies to liability for environmental damage, are an outlier in the private international law agenda. EU private international law rules are almost always value neutral. Predictability is the core ambition, not a particular outcome in litigation. The rules on applicable law for environmental damage, contained in the Rome II Regulation on the law that applies to non-contractual obligations, are a clear and considered exception. Courts are struggling with the right approach to the relevant rules. This contribution maps the meaning and nature of those articles, their application in case-law, and their impact among others on business and human rights as well as climate change litigation.

 

M. Castendiek: “Contractual” rights of third parties in private international law

Although contractual rights are usually limited to the parties, almost all jurisdictions in Europe recognize exceptions of this rule. Whereas those “contractual” rights of third parties are strictly limited in common law countries, German and Austrian Law even extend contractual duties of care on third persons related to the parties. Prior to the Rome Regulations, the conflict-of-law judgments on those “contracts with protective effect in favour of third parties” differed between German and Austrian courts.

The article points out that a consistent jurisdiction on this issue needs a clear distinction between contractual and non-contractual rights even between the parties of the contract. It points out that the Regulation Rome I covers only obligations that would not exist without the contract. Those obligations remain contractual even if they entitle a third party.

“Contractual” duties of care corresponding with negligence in tort, on the other hand, fall within the scope of the Regulation Rome II. For the contracting parties as well as for third parties, the conflict-of-laws in claims following the disregard of such duties is determined by the application of Article 4 Regulation Rome II. The article provides criteria to determine whether the close connection rule in Article 4(3) Regulation Rome II can lead to the application of the law governing the contract.

 

C. von Bary: News on Procedural Consumer Protection from Luxemburg: Consumer Status and Change of Domicile

In two recent decisions, the CJEU continues to refine the contours of procedural consumer protection in cross-border disputes. In the case of a person who spent on average nine hours a day playing – and winning at – online poker, the court clarified that factors like the amount involved, special knowledge or the regularity of the activity do not as such lead to this person not being classified as a consumer. It remains unclear, however, which criteria are relevant to determine whether a contract is concluded for a purpose outside a trade or profession. Further, the CJEU stated that the relevant time to determine the consumer’s domicile is when the action is brought before a court. This seems to be true even if the consumer changes domicile to a different member state after the conclusion of the contract and before the action is brought and the seller or supplier has not pursued commercial or professional activities or directed such activities at this member state. This devalues the relevance of this criterion to the detriment of the professional party.

 

W. Voß: The Forum Delicti Commissi in Cases of Purely Pecuniary Loss – a Cum-Ex Aftermath

Localising the place of damage in the context of capital investment cases is a perennial problem both under national and European civil procedural law. With prospectus liability having dominated the case law in the past decades, a new scenario is now increasingly coming into the courts’ focus: liability claims resulting from cum-ex-transactions. In its recent decision, the Higher Regional Court of Munich confirms the significance of the place of the claimant’s bank account for the localisation of purely financial loss in the context of sec. 32 German Civil Procedure Code but fails to provide any additional, viable reasoning on this notoriously debated issue. The decision does manage, however, to define the notion of principal place of business as delimitation of the scope of application of the Brussels regime convincingly. Incidentally, the text of the judgment also proves an informative lesson for the recently flared-up debate about anonymization of judicial decisions.

 

L. Hornkohl: International jurisdiction for permission proceedings under the German Telemedia Act (TMG) in cases of suspected abusive customer complaints on online marketplaces

In its decision of 11 March 2021, the Cologne Higher Regional Court denied the international jurisdiction of the Cologne courts for permission proceedings under the German Telemedia Act (TMG) in cases of suspected abusive customer complaints in online marketplaces. The Cologne court decision combined several precedents of the German Federal Court and the European Court of Justice. Although the Cologne Higher Regional Court decided that permission proceedings constitute a civil and commercial matter within the meaning of the Brussels I Regulation, international jurisdiction could not be established in Germany. The place of performance according to Art. 7 No. 1 lit. b second indent Brussels Ibis Regulation must, in case of doubt, uniformly be determined at the place of establishment of the online marketplace operator in Luxembourg. Article 7 No. 2 of the Regulation also does not give jurisdiction to German courts. The refusal to provide information per se is not a tort in the sense of Article 7 No. 2. Furthermore, there is no own or attributable possibly defamatory conduct of the platform operator. Contradictory considerations of the German legislator alone cannot establish jurisdiction in Germany.

 

A. Spickhoff: Contract and Tort in European Jurisdiction – New Developments

The question of qualification as a matter of contract or/and of tort is among others especially relevant in respect to the jurisdiction at place of performance and of forum delicti. The decision of the court of Justice of the European Union in res Brogsitter has initiated a discussion of its relevance and range to this problem. Recent decisions have clarified some issues. The article tries to show which. The starting point is the fraudulent car purchase.

 

R.A. Schütze: Security for costs for UK plaintiffs in German civil proceedings after the Brexit?

The judgment of the Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt/Main deals with one of the open procedural questions of the Brexit: the obligation of plaintiffs having permanent residence in the United Kingdom to provide security of costs in German civil proceedings. The Court has rightly decided that from January 1st, 2021 plaintiff cannot rely on sect. 110 par. 1 German Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) anymore as the United Kingdom is no longer member of the EU. If the plaintiff has lodged the complaint before January 1st, 2021, the obligation to provide security of costs arises at that date and security can be claimed by respondent according to sect. 110 CCP. However, the Court has not seen two exceptions from the obligation to provide security for costs according to sect. 110 par. 2 no. 1 and 2 CCP which relieve plaintiff from the obligation to provide security of costs if an international convention so provides (no. 1) or if an international convention grants the recognition and execution of decisions for costs (no. 2). In the instant case the court had to apply art. 9 par. 1 of the European Convention on Establishment of 1955 and the Convention between Germany and the United Kingdom on Recognition and Execution of Foreign Judgments of 1960, both Conventions not having been touched by the Brexit. Facit therefore: claimants having permanent residence in the United Kingdom are not obliged to provide security for costs in German Civil proceedings.

 

H. Roth: Qualification Issues relating to § 167 Civil Procedure Code (Zivilprozessordnung, ZPO)

§ 167 of the Civil Procedure Code (ZPO) aims to relieve the parties of the risk accruing to them through late official notification of legal action over which they have no control. This norm is part of procedural law. It is valid irrespective of whether a German court applies foreign or German substantive law. The higher regional Court (Oberlandesgericht) of Frankfurt a.M. found differently. It holds that § 167 should only be considered when German substantive law and thus German statute of limitations law is applied.

 

A. Hemler: Undisclosed agency and construction contract with foreign building site: Which law is applicable?

Does the term “contract for the provision of services” in Art 4(1)(b) Rome I Regulation include a building contract with a foreign building site? Or should we apply the exception clause in Art 4(3) Rome I Regulation if the building site is abroad? Which law governs the legal consequences of undisclosed agency, i.e. how should we treat cases where a contracting party acts as an agent for an undisclosed principal? Furthermore, what are the legal grounds in German law for a refund of an advance payment surplus in such a building contract? In the case discussed, the Oberlandesgericht (Higher Regional Court) Köln only addressed the latter question in detail. Unfortunately, the court considered the interesting PIL issues only in disappointing brevity. Therefore, based on a doctrinal examination of the exception clause in Art 4(3) Rome I Regulation, the paper discusses whether the scope of the general conflict of laws rule for contracts for the provision of services should exclude building contracts with a foreign building site by virtue of a teleological limitation. It also sheds light on the dispute around the law governing cases of undisclosed agency. The paper argues that Art 1(2)(g) Rome I Regulation is not applicable in this regard, i.e. the issue is not excluded from the Rome I Regulation’s scope. Instead, it is covered by Art 10(1) Rome I Regulation; hence, the law governing the contract remains applicable.

 

S.L. Gössl: Uniqueness and subjective components – Some notes on habitual residence in European conflict of laws and procedural law

The article deals with the case law of the ECJ on the habitual residence of adults, as addressed in a recent decision. The ECJ clarified that there can only ever be one habitual residence. Furthermore, it confirms that each habitual residence has to be determined differently for each legal acts. Finally, in the case of the habitual residence of adults, subjective elements become more paramount than in the case of minors. In autonomous German Private International Law, discrepancies with EU law may arise precisely with regard to the relevance of the subjective and objective elements. German courts should attempt to avoid such a discrepancy.

 

D. Wiedemann: Holidays in Europe or relocation to Bordeaux: the habitual residence of a child under the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction

A man of French nationality and a woman of Chilean nationality got married and had a daughter in Buenos Aires. A few months after the birth of their daughter, the family travelled to Europe, where they first visited relatives and friends and finally stayed with the man’s family in Bordeaux. One month and a few days after they arrived in Bordeaux, mother and daughter travelled to Buenos Aires and, despite an agreement between the spouses, never returned to Bordeaux. The father in France asked Argentinean authorities for a return order under the HCA. According to the prevailing view, the HCA only applies, if, before the removal or retention, the child was habitually resident in any contracting state except for the requested state. The court of first instance (Juzgado Civil) assumed a change of the child’s habitual residence from Argentina to France, but, considering that the lack of the mother’s consent to move to France results in a violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, it granted an exception under Art. 20 HCA. The higher court (Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Civil) and the Argentinian Supreme Court (Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación) required the manifestation of both parents’ intent for a change of the child’s habitual residence. The higher court saw a sufficient manifestation of the mother’s intent to move to France in the termination of her employment in Buenos Aires and ordered the return. In contrast, the CSJN refused to give weight to the termination of employment as it happened in connection with the birth of the daughter.

 

H.J. Snijders: Enforcement of foreign award (in online arbitration) ex officio refused because of violation of the defendant’s right to be heard

With reference to (inter alia) a judgement of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, some questions regarding the consideration of requests for recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in the Netherlands are discussed. Should the State Court ex officio deal with a violation of public order by the arbitral tribunal, in particular the defendant’s right to be heard, also in default proceedings like the Amsterdam one? In addition, which public order is relevant in this respect, the international public order or the domestic one? Furthermore, does it matter for the State Court’s decision that the arbitral awards dealt with were issued in an online arbitration procedure (regarding a loan in bitcoin)? Which lessons can be derived from the decision of the Amsterdam Court for drafters of Online Arbitration Rules and for arbitral tribunals dealing with online arbitration like the arbitral e-court in the Amsterdam case? The author also points out the relevance of transitional law in the field of arbitration by reference to a recent decision of the Dutch Supreme Court rejecting the view of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal in this matter; transitional law still is dangerous law.

 

 

Notifications:

E. Jayme/E. Krist: The War of Aggression on Ukraine: Impact on International Law and Private International Law –Conference, March 31st , 2022 (via Zoom)

C. Budzikiewicz/B. Heiderhoff: „Dialogue International Family Law“- Conference, April 1st-2nd, 2022 in Marburg

On 19 September 2022, within the framework of the EU-FamPro Project, a conference titled Couples’ Property with Cross-Border Implications: Uniting Academic Discussions and Practical Concerns will be held in Almeria, followed by a seminar on Practical Challenges in the Application of the Twin Regulations. Remote participation is also available.

The conference and the seminar are the two main parts of an event of the EU-FamPro (E-training on EU Family Property Regimes) Project, co-funded by the European Union and conducted by the University of Camerino (coord.), the Law Institute of Lithuania, the University of Almeria, the University of Ljubliana, and the Rijeka University.

The Conference will provide an international forum where the Partners of the Project illustrate the contribution of the E-learning experience to the dissemination and understanding of the recent EU regulations on matrimonial property and property of registered partnerships (Twin Regulations), while academics, policymakers, and practitioners exchange their views on the different roles of legal professionals applying EU family property law.

The Seminar will focus on specific and cross-cutting issues related to the application of the Twin Regulations. The presentations are planned to cover the application of the Twin Regulations in the different national experiences, especially with regard to jurisdictional rules, determination of applicable law and party autonomy. Specific attention will also be given to the interaction of property regulations and Regulation on Succession.

Further info on the event is available on the Project website and the event programme is available here.

The edited volume Frontiers in Civil Justice: Privatisation, Monetisation and Digitisation (eds. Xandra Kramer, Jos Hoevenaars, Betül Kas and Erlis Themeli) has been published by Elgar.

The book is the third edited volume resulting from the project Building EU Civil Justice, funded by an ERC consolidator grant, at Erasmus School of Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Twenty authors from a wide range of countries and with different backgrounds have contributed.

The book studies three interrelated frontiers in civil justice from a European and from national perspectives, combining theory with policy and insights from practice: the interplay between private and public justice, the digitization of justice, and litigation funding. These current topics are viewed against the backdrop of the requirements of effective access to justice and the overall goal of establishing a sustainable civil justice system in Europe.

The combined works take on a pan-European perspective and zoom in on several jurisdictions, thereby providing a holistic exploration of current civil justice debates and frontiers. The book includes chapters dedicated to the interaction between public and private justice (ADR), the digitisation of both private dispute resolution and court litigation, including the rapid development and use of advanced forms of Artificial Intelligence, and the funding of justice, especially collective actions and settlements by means of third party litigation funding and common funds.

More information is available at the publisher’s website here. The first Introductory chapter is open access available on the website.

 

The DynamInt Research Group at Humboldt University (located in the heart of Berlin, close to the Brandenburg Gate) invites international post-docs working in the field of European law (broadly understood) to apply for a research stay lasting between 3 and 6 months.

Applications are excepted on a rolling basis (no deadline). Successful candidates will receive a financial allowance and will be provided with a fully equipped working place. It is possible to teach classes while staying at Humboldt University. However, teaching is not mandatory.

Further information is available here: https://www.rewi.hu-berlin.de/de/lf/oe/rhp/stellenausschreibungen/postdoc

Conventions & Instruments

On 29 August 2022, the European Union deposited its instrument of accession to the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention, becoming the first Contracting Party to the Convention, and Ukraine deposited its instrument of ratification, becoming the second Contracting Party to the Convention. As a result, the Judgments Convention will enter into force on 1 September 2023 – just over four years after its adoption on 2 July 2019. More information is available here.

On 29 August 2022, Ukraine deposited its instrument of ratification of the HCCH 2007 Maintenance Obligations Protocol. The Protocol, which currently has 32 Contracting Parties, will enter into force for Ukraine on 1 December 2022. More information is available here.

 

Vacancies

Applications are now open for the position of Legal Officer within the Transnational Litigation & Apostille Division of the Permanent Bureau of the HCCH. The deadline for the submission of applications is 14 October 2022. More information is available here.

Applications are now open for the 2023 Peter Nygh HCCH Internship. The deadline for the submission of applications is 30 September 2022. More information is available here.

 

Upcoming Events

The inaugural CODIFI Conference will be held online from 12 to 16 September 2022. CODIFI will examine issues of private international law in the Commercial, Digital, and Financial (CODIFI) sectors, highlighting developments in the digital economy and fintech industries as well as clarifying the roles of core HCCH instruments: the 1985 Trusts Convention, the 2006 Securities Convention, and the 2015 Choice of Law Principles. More information is available here.

 

These monthly updates are published by the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), providing an overview of the latest developments. More information and materials are available on the HCCH website.

HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention Repository

In preparation of the Conference on the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention on 9/10 June 2023, taking place on campus of the University of Bonn, Germany, we are offering here a Repository of contributions to the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention. Please email us if you miss something in it, we will update immediately…

Update of 31 August 2022: New entries are printed bold.

Please also check the “official” Bibliography of the HCCH for the instrument.

 

I. Explanatory Reports

Garcimartín Alférez, Francisco;
Saumier, Geneviève „Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters: Explanatory Report“, as approved by the HCCH on 22 September 2020 (available here) Garcimartín Alférez, Francisco;
Saumier, Geneviève “Judgments Convention: Revised Draft Explanatory Report”, HCCH Prel.-Doc. No. 1 of December 2018 (available here) Nygh, Peter;
Pocar, Fausto “Report of the Special Commission”, HCCH Prel.-Doc. No. 11 of August 2000 (available here), pp 19-128

 

II. Bibliography

Ahmed, Mukarrum “Brexit and the Future of Private International Law in English Courts”, Oxford 2022 Åkerfeldt, Xerxes ”Indirekta behörighetsregler och svensk domsrätt – Analys och utredning av svensk domstols behörighet i förhållande till 2019 års Haagkonvention om erkännande och verkställighet” (Examensarbete inom juristprogrammet, avancerad nivå, Örebro Universitet, 2021 ; available here)

 

“Indirect jurisdiction and Swedish law – Analysis and inquiry of the jurisdiction of Swedish courts in relation to the 2019 Hague Convention on Recognition and Enforcement” Al-Jubouri, Zina Hazem “Modern trends for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters accordance the 2019 Hague Convention”, Tikrit University Journal for Rights (TUJR) 2022-03, pp. 79-109 (available here) Amurodov, Jahongir “Some issues of Ratification of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (2019) by the Republic of Uzbekistan”, Uzbek Law Review 2020-03, pp. 11-116 (available here) Arslan, Ilyas “The 2019 Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters”, Uluslararasi Ticaret ve Tahkim Hukuku Dergisi 10 (2021), pp. 329-402 Badr, Yehya Ibrahim “The Hague 2019 Convention for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judicial Decisions: A Comparative Study”, International Journal of Doctrine, Judiciary, and Legislation (IJDJL) 2 (2021), pp. 427-468 (available here) Balbi, Francesca “La circolazione delle decisioni a livello globale: il rogetto di convenzione della Conferenza dell’Aia per il riconoscimento e l’esecuzione delle sentenze straniere” (Tesi di dottorato, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 2019; available: here) Beaumont, Paul “Forum non Conveniens and the EU rules on Conflicts of Jurisdiction: A Possible Global Solution”, Revue Critique de Droit International Privé 2018, pp 433-447 Beaumont, Paul R. “Judgments Convention: Application to Governments”, Netherlands International Law Review (NILR) 67 (2020), pp 121-137 Beaumont, Paul;
Holliday, Jane (eds.) “A Guide to Global Private International Law”, Oxford 2022, forthcoming. Biresaw, Samuel Maigreg “Appraisal of the Success of the Instruments of International Commercial Arbitration vs. Litigation and Mediation in the Harmonization of the Rules of Transnational Commercial Dispute Settlement”, preprint (DOI:10.21203/rs.3.rs-953987/v1). Blanquet-Angulo, Alejandra “Les Zones d’ombre de la Convention de La Haye du 2 Juillet 2019”, Revue Internationale de Droit Comparé (RIDC), 73 (2021), pp. 53-71 Blom, Joost “The Court Jurisdiction and Proceedings Transfer Act and the Hague Judgments and Jurisdictions Projects”, Osgoode Hall Law Journal 55 (2018), pp 257-304 Bonomi, Andrea “European Private International Law and Third States”, Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax) 2017, pp 184-193 Bonomi, Andrea “Courage or Caution? – A Critical Overview of the Hague Preliminary Draft on Judgments”, Yearbook of Private International Law 17 (2015/2016), pp 1-31 Bonomi, Andrea;
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An appraisal of the Brussels Ia Regulation in the globalizing context of the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention”, Uniform Law Review 26 (2021), pp. 1-13 Popov, Vasiliy “Grounds for Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Russia”, Issues of Russian Justice 15 (2021), pp. 137-152 Povlakic, Meliha “Country Report Bosnia and Herzegovina”, in GIZ (ed.), Cross-Border Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judicial Decisions in South East Europe and Perspectives of HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention, Skopje 2021, pp. 42-81 (available here) Qerimi, Donikë “Country Report Kosovo”, in GIZ (ed.), Cross-Border Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judicial Decisions in South East Europe and Perspectives of HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention, Skopje 2021, pp. 82-113 (available here) Qian, Zhenqiu “On the Common Courts Provision under the Draft Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments”, Wuhan University International Law Review
2019-01, pp. 59-74 (available here) Qian, Zhenqiu;
Yang, Yu “On the Interpretation and Application of the Cost of Proceedings Provision under the Hague Judgment Convention”, China Journal of Applied Jurisprudence 2020-04, pp. 96-108 Reisman, Diana A. A. “Breaking Bad: Fail –Safes to the Hague Judgments Convention”, Georgetown Law Journal 109 (2021), pp. 880-906 Revolidis, Ioannis « From the ashes we will rise – recognition and enforcement of international judgments after the revival of the Hague Convention », Lex & Forum 4/2021 Reyes, Anselmo „Implications of the 2019 Hague Convention on the Enforcement of Judgments of the Singapore International Commercial Court”, in Rolf A. Schütze, Thomas R. Klötzel, Martin Gebauer (eds.), Festschrift für Roderich C. Thümmel zum 65. Geburtstag, Berlin 2020, pp 695-709 Ribeiro-Bidaoui, João “The International Obligation of the Uniform and Autonomous Interpretation of Private Law Conventions: Consequences for Domestic Courts and International Organisations”, Netherlands International Law Review 67 (2020), pp 139 – 168 Rumenov, Ilija “Implications of the New 2019 Hague Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments on the National Legal Systems of Countries in South Eastern Europe”, EU and Comparative Law Issues and Challenges Series (ECLIC) 3 (2019), pp 385-404 Rumenov, Ilija “Country Report North Macedonia”, in GIZ (ed.), Cross-Border Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judicial Decisions in South East Europe and Perspectives of HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention, Skopje 2021, pp. 138-179 (available here) Rumenov, Ilija “The indirect jurisdiction of the 2019 Hague Convention on recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil or commercial matters – Is the “heart” of the Convention”, SEELJ Special Edition No. 8 (2021), pp. 9-45 Sachs, Klaus;
Weiler, Marcus “A comparison of the recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions under the 1958 New York Convention and the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention”, in Rolf A. Schütze, Thomas R. Klötzel, Martin Gebauer (eds.), Festschrift für Roderich C. Thümmel zum 65. Geburtstag, Berlin 2020, pp 763-781 Saito, Akira “Advancing Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Developments of Inter-Court Diplomacy and New Hague Judgments Convention”, Kobe Law Journal 2019-03, pp. 59-110 (available here) Salim, Rhonson “Quo Vadis Consumer Dispute Resolution? – UK & EU Cross Border Consumer Dispute Resolution in the Post Brexit Landscape”, Revista Ítalo-Española De Derecho Procesal 2022-01, forthcoming (E-pub ahead available here) Sánchez Fernández, Sara “El Convenio de la Haya de Reconocimiento y Ejecución de Sentencias”, Revista Española de Derecho Internacional 73 (2021), pp. 233-252 Saumier, Geneviève “Submission as a Jurisdictional Basis and the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention”, Netherlands International Law Review (NILR) 67 (2020), pp 49-65 Schack, Haimo “Wiedergänger der Haager Konferenz für IPR: Neue Perspektiven eines weltweiten Anerkennungs- und Vollstreckungsübereinkommens?“, Zeitschrift für Europäisches Privatrecht (ZeuP) 2014, pp 824-842 Schack, Haimo „Das neue Haager Anerkennungs- und Vollstreckungsübereinkommen“, Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax) 2020, pp 1-96 Senicheva, Marina “The Relevance and Problems of the Hague Convention of July 2, 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Ratification by the Russian Federation”, Advances in Law Studies 8 (2020), online (available: here) Shan, Juan “A study on the Anti-trust Provisions in the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters”, Chinese Yearbook of Private International Law and Comparative Law 2019-01, pp. 318-335 Shchukin, Andrey Igorevich “Indirect International Jurisdiction in the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments of 2019 (Part 1)”, Journal of Russian Law No. 2020-07, pp. 170-186 (available here) Shchukin, Andrey Igorevich “Indirect International Jurisdiction in the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments of 2019 (Part 2)”, Journal of Russian Law No. 2020-11, pp. 140-54 (available here) Shen, Juan “Further Discussion on the Drafts of the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction and Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters and Considerations from Chinese Perspective”, Chinese Review of International Law 2016-06, pp. 83-103 (available here) Silberman, Linda “Comparative Jurisdiction in the International Context: Will the Proposed Hague Judgments Convention be Stalled?”, DePaul Law Review 52 (2002), pp 319-349 Silberman, Linda “The 2019 Judgments Convention: The Need for Comprehensive Federal Implementing Legislation and a Look Back at the ALI Proposed Federal Statute”, NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 21-19 (available here) Skvortsova, Tatyana Aleksandrovna;
Denyak, Victoria Yurievna “On the issue of Recognition and Enforcement of Court Decisions of a Foreign State in the Russian Federation”, Collection of selected Articles of the International Scientific Conference, Saint Petersburg (2021), pp. 258-261 Solomon, Dennis “Das Haager Anerkennungs- und Vollstreckungsübereinkommen von 2019 und die internationale Anerkennungszuständigkeit“, in Rolf A. Schütze, Thomas R. Klötzel, Martin Gebauer (eds.), Festschrift für Roderich C. Thümmel zum 65. Geburtstag, Berlin 2020, pp 873-893 Song, Jianli “ ‘Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Civil and Commercial Judgments’ and its influence on my country”, People’s Judicature (Application) 2020-01, pp. 88-92 (available here) Song, Lianbin; Chen, Xi “The Judicial Difference and International Coordination of the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Punitive Damages Judgements: Also on China’s Corresponding Measures Under the Frame of HCCH Convention”, Jiang-Huai Tribune 2021-03, pp. 111-113 Spitz, Lidia „Homologação De Decisões Estrangeiras No Brasil –  A Convenção de Sentenças da Conferência da Haia de 2019 e o contrôle indireto da jurisdição estrangeira”, Belo Horizonte 2021 Spitz, Lidia „Refusal of Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments on Public Policy Grounds in the Hague Judgments Convention – A Comparison with The 1958 New York Convention“, YbPIL 21 (2019/2020), pp 333-364 Stein, Andreas „Das Haager Anerkennungs- und Vollstreckungsübereinkommen 2019 – Was lange währt, wird endlich gut?“, Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax) 2020, pp 197-202 Stewart, David P. „Current Developments: The Hague Conference adopts a New Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters”, American Journal of International Law (AJIL) 113 (2019), pp 772-783 Stitz, Olivia “Comity, Tipping Points, and Commercial Significance: What to expect of the Hague Judgments Convention”, Corporate and Business Law Journal (Corp. & Bus. L.J.) 2 (2021), pp. 203-236 (available here) Storskrubb, Eva “The EU Commission’s Proposal for the EU to Accede to the Hague Judgments Convention”, EU Law Live Weekend Edition No. 75 (2021), pp. 10-16 (available here) Suk, Kwang-Hyun “Principal Content and Indirect Jurisdiction Rules of the Hague Judgments Convention of 2019”, Korea Private International Law Journal 2020-02, pp. 3-83 Sun, Jin;
Wu, Qiong “The Hague Judgments Convention and how we negotiated it”, Chinese Journal of International Law 19 (2020) (available here) Sun, Xiaofei;
Wu, Qiong “Commentary and Outlook on the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters”, Journal of International Law 2019-01, pp. 155-164+170 Symeonides, Symeon C. “Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: The Hague Convention of 2019”, in Symeon C. Symeonides, Cross-Border Infringement of Personality Rights via the Internet, Leiden 2021, pp. 130-144 Symeonides, Symeon C. « The Hague Treaty for the Recognition of Foreign Decisions-The Lowest Common Denominator », Lex & Forum 4/2021 Takeshita, Keisuke “The New Hague Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Analysis on its Relationship with Arbitration”, Japanese Commercial Arbitration Journal (JCA) 2020-02, pp. 10-15 (available here) Takeshita, Keisuke “The New Hague Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments”, Japanese Commercial Arbitration Journal

Part 1: JCA 2020-04, pp. 40-45 (available here)

Part 2: JCA 2020-05, pp. 40-45 (available here)

Part 3: JCA 2020-06, pp. 42-49 (available here)

Part 4: JCA 2020-10, pp. 40-46 (available here)

Part 5: JCA 2020-11, pp. 35-41 (available here)

Part 6: JCA 2020-12, pp. 43-48 (available here)

Part 7: JCA 2021-02, pp. 50-56 (available here)

Part 8: JCA 2021-04, pp. 45-51 (available here)

Part 9: JCA 2021-07, pp. 46-53 (available here)

Part 10: JCA 2021-09, pp. 40-46

Part 11: JCA 2021-10, pp. 48-54

Part 12: JCA 2022-01, pp. 45-52

Part 13: JCA 2022-03, pp. 44-51

Part 14: JCA 2022-05, pp. 58-55

Part 15 JCA 2022-07, pp. 49-55 Taquela, María Blanca Noodt ; Abou-Nigm, Verónica Ruiz “News From The Hague: The Draft Judgments Convention and Its Relationship with Other International Instruments”, Yearbook of Private International Law 19 (2017/2018), pp 449-474 Teitz, Louise Ellen “Another Hague Judgments Convention? – Bucking the Past to Provide for the Future”, Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law 29 (2019), pp 491-511 Tian, Hongjun “The Present and Future of the Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments in Northeast Asia: From the Perspective of the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention”, Chinese Yearbook of Private International Law and Comparative Law 2019-01, pp. 300-317 Tian, Xinyue;
Qian, Zhenqiu;
Wang, Shengzhe “The Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments (Draft) and China’s Countermeasure – A Summary on the Fourth Judicial Forum of Great Powers”, Chinese Yearbook of Private International Law and Comparative Law 2018-01, pp. 377-388 Trooboff, Peter D.;
North, Cara; Nishitani, Yuko;
Sastry, Shubha; Chanda, Riccarda “The Promise and Prospects of the 2019 Hague Convention: Introductory Remarks”, Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting 114 (2020), pp. 345-357 Tsang, King Fung;
Wong, Tsz Wai “Enforcement of Non-Monetary Judgments in Common Law Jurisdictions: Is the Time Ripe?”, Fordham International Law Journal 45 (2021), pp. 379-428 (available here) van der Grinten, Paulien;
ten Kate, Noura „Editorial: The 2019 Hague Judgments Convention”, Nederlands Internationaal Privaatrecht (NIPR) 2020, pp 1-3 van Loon, Hans “Towards a global Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters”, Nederlands Internationaal Privaatrecht (NIPR) 2020, pp 4-18 van Loon, Hans “Towards a Global Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters”, Collection of Papers of the Faculty of Law, Niš 82 (2019), pp 15-35 van Loon, Hans “Le Brexit et les conventions de La Haye”, Revue critique de droit international privé (Rev. Crit. DIP) 2019, pp. 353-365 Viegas Liquidato, Vera Lúcia “Reconhecimento E Homologação De Sentenças Estrangeiras : O Projeto De Convenção Da Conferência da Haia”, Revista de Direito Brasileira 2019-09, pp. 242-256 Wagner, Rolf “Ein neuer Anlauf zu einem Haager Anerkennungs- und Vollstreckungsübereinkommen“, Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax) 2016, pp 97-102 Wang, Quian “On Intellectual Property Right Provisions in the Draft Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments”, China Legal Science 2018-01, pp. 118-142 (available here) Wang, Yahan “No Review of the Merits in Recognizing and Enforcing Foreign Judgments”, China Journal of Applied Jurisprudence 2020-04, pp. 78-95 Weidong, Zhu “The Recognition and Enforcement of Commercial Judgments Between China and South Africa: Comparison and Convergence”, China Legal Science 2019-06, pp 33-57 (available here) Weller, Matthias “The HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention: New Trends in Trust Management?”, in Christoph Benicke, Stefan Huber (eds.), Festschrift für Herbert Kronke zum 70. Geburtstag, Bielefeld 2020, pp 621-632 Weller, Matthias “The 2019 Hague Judgments Convention – The Jurisdictional Filters of the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention”, Yearbook of Private International Law 21 (2019/2020), pp 279-308 Weller, Matthias “Das Haager Übereinkommen zur Anerkennung und Vollstreckung ausländischer Urteile”, in Thomas Rauscher (ed.), Europäisches Zivilprozess- und Kollisionsrecht, Munich, 5th ed. 2022 Weller, Matthias „Die Kontrolle der internationalen Zuständigkeit im Haager Anerkennungs- und Vollstreckungsübereinkommen 2019“, in Christoph Althammer/Christoph Schärtl (eds.), Festschrift für Herbert Roth, Tübingen 2021, pp. 835-855 Wilderspin, Michael;
Vysoka, Lenka “The 2019 Hague Judgments Convention through European lenses”, Nederlands Internationaal Privaatrecht (NIPR) 2020, pp 34-49 Wu, Qiong “The Overview of the 22nd Diplomatic Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law”, Chinese Yearbook of International Law 2019, pp. 337-338 Xie, Yili “Research on the Intellectual Property Infringment System of the Hague Judgments Convention”, China-Arab States Science and Technology Forum 2021-09, pp. 190-194 Xu, Guojian “Comment on Key Issues Concerning Hague Judgment Convention in 2019 “, Journal of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law 35 (2020), pp 1-29 Xu, Guojian “To Establish an International Legal System for Global Circulation of Court Judgments”, Wuhan University International Law Review 2017-05, pp 100-130 Xu, Guojian “Overview of the Mechanism of Recognition and Enforcement of Judgements Established by HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention”, China Journal of Applied Jurisprudence No. 2020-02, pp 65-77 Xu, Guojian “On the Scope and Limitation of the Global Circulation of Court Judgments: An Analysis on the Application Scope of the 2019 Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters”, Chinese Yearbook of Private International Law and Comparative Law 2019-01, pp. 269-299 Yang, Yujie “On the Rules of indirect Jurisdiction responding to Litigation – Based on Article 5, Paragraph 1, Item 6 of the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters” (Master Thesis China Foreign Affairs University Beijing 2021) Yekini, Abubakri

  “The Hague Judgments Convention and Commonwealth Model Law – A Pragmatic Perspective”, Oxford 2021. Yeo, Terence “The Hague Judgments Convention – A View from Singapore”, Singapore Academy of Law Journal (e-First) 3rd August 2020 (available here) Yuzhakov, D.A. “Legal Regulation of the Procedures for Enforcement of Decisions of Foreign Courts in Economic Disputes”, Urgent Issues of the Entrepreneurship Law, Civil Litigation and Arbitration (Perm State University) No. 4 (2021), pp. 119-123 (available here) Zasemkova, Olesya Fedorovna “ ‘Judicial Convention’ as a New Stage in the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments”, Lex Russica 2019-10, pp. 84-103 (available here) Zasemkova, Olesya Fedorovna “Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in the Context of the Adoption of the « Judicial Convention » 2019”, in Zhuikov V.M., Shchukin A.I. (eds.), Liber Amicorum Natalia Ivanovna Marysheva, pp. 196-211 Zernikow, Marcel “Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Decisions in MERCOSUR Letters Rogatory (Carta Rogatória) and National Civil Procedure” Yearbook of Private International Law 22 (2020/2021), pp. 353-380 Zhang, Chunliang;
Huang, Shan “On the Common Courts Rules in Hague Judgments Convention – China’s way for the Judicial Assistance under Belt and Road Initiative”, Journal of Henan University of Economics and Law 2020-05, pp. 103-113 Zhang, Lizhen “On the Defamation Problem in the Hague Judgments Project: Ever In and Now out of the Scope”, Wuhan University International Law Review 2019-01, pp. 41-58 (available here) Zhang, Wenliang “The Finality Requirement of Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments”, Wuhan University Law Review 2020-02, pp. 19-38 Zhang, Wenliang; Tu, Guangjian “The Hague Judgments Convention and Mainland China-Hong Kong SAR Judgments Arrangement: Comparison and Prospects for Implementation”, Chinese Journal of International Law 20 (2021), pp. 101-135 Zhang, Wenliang;
Tu, Guangjian “The 1971 and 2019 Hague Judgments Conventions: Compared and Whether China Would Change Its Attitude Towards The Hague”, Journal of International Dispute Settlement (JIDS), 2020, 00, pp. 1-24 Zhang, Zhengyi;
Zhang, Zhen “Development of the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters and Its Implication to China”, International and Comparative Law Review 2020, pp. 112-131 Zhao, Ning “The HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention, adding essential components for an effective international legal framework on recognition and enforcement”, in UIHJ (ed.), David Walker (dir.), Cyberjustice, de nouvelles opportunités pour l’huissier de justice / Cyberjustice, New Opportunities for the Judicial Officer – XXIVe Congrès de l’Union Internationale des Huissiers de Justice – Dubai – 22 au 25 Novembre 2021, Bruxelles 2021, pp. 120-133 Zhao, Ning “Completing a long-awaited puzzle in the landscape of cross-border recognition and enforcement of judgments: An overview of the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention”, Swiss Review of International and European Law (SRIEL) 30 (2020), pp 345-368 Zirat, Gennadii “Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters: A new Contribution of the Hague Conference on Private International Law to the Unification of International Civil Procedure”, Ukrainian Journal of International Law 2020-03, pp. 105-112 (available here)

 

III. Recordings of Events Related to the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention

ASADIP; HCCH “Conferencia Internacional: Convención HCCH 2019 sobre Reconocimiento y Ejecución de Sentencias Extranjeras”, 3 December 2020 (full recording available here and here) ASIL “The Promise and Prospects of the 2019 Hague Convention”, 25-26 June 2020 (full recording available here and here) Department of Justice Hong Kong; HCCH “Inaugural Global Conference – 2019 HCCH Judgments Convention: Global Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments”, 9 September 2019 (recording available here) HCCH “HCCH a|Bridged: Innovation in Transnational Litigation – Edition 2021: Enabling Party Autonomy with the HCCH 2005 Choice of Court Convention”, 1 December 2021 (full recording available here) HCCH “22nd Diplomatic Session of the HCCH: The Adoption of the 2019 Judgments Convention”, 2 July 2020 (short documentary video available here) JPRI; HCCH; UNIDROIT; UNCITRAL “2020 Judicial Policy Research Institute International Conference – International Commercial Litigation: Recent Developments and Future Challenges, Session 3: Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments”, 12 November 2020 (recording available here) UIHJ; HCCH “3rd training webinar on the Hague Conventions on service of documents (1965) and recognition and enforcement of judgements (2019)”, 15/18 March 2021 (full recording available here in French and here in English) University of Bonn; HCCH “Pre-Conference Video Roundtable on the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention: Prospects for Judicial Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Matters between the EU and Third Countries”, 29 October 2020 (full recording available here) Lex & Forum Journal; Sakkoula Publications SA « The Hague Conference on Private International Law and the European Union – Latest developments », 3 December 2021 (full recording available here)

 

In view of the upcoming revision of the instrument, the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg in collaboration with EAPIL and KU Leuven hosts a (hybrid) international conference on “The Brussels Ibis Reform” scheduled for Friday, 9 September 2022. As part of the ongoing efforts within EAPIL, the event will serve to discuss the results of the corresponding working group chaired by Burkhard Hess and Geert van Calster as well as the application of the Regulation in general. In addition, legal experts will present on pertinent topics such as insolvency proceedings, arbitration and third state relations. The overarching goal of the discourse is to prepare an academic position paper that is to advise the the European Commission in the – mandatory although delayed –  evaluation process.

Further information on the MPI Conference and online registration can be found in the attached programme and on the event’s website. A first overview of relevant aspects is provided in a Research Paper by Burkhard Hess.

Programme_The Brussels Ibis Reform

The International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (Unidroit) is conducting an online consultation on the draft Model Law on Factoring.

The online consultation will run for 12 weeks, from 29 July until 21 October 2022.

The purpose of the consultation is to: (1) Raise awareness about the instrument; (2) Ensure that the instrument is well suited to application in different contexts, including both civil law and common law jurisdictions as well as developing economies, emerging markets, and developed economies; (3) Seek feedback from parties engaged in factoring on whether the instrument sufficiently addresses issues that arise under existing legal frameworks and will improve factoring arrangements in those States that implement the Model Law; (4) Solicit comments on the drafting of the instrument itself.

The public consultation has three aspects:

1. The launch of this webpage on the UNIDROIT website allowing interested parties to access the draft Model Law on Factoring and facilitating the submission of comments.
2. The circulation of the draft Model Law on Factoring directly to interested parties.
3. The organisation of one or more consultation events to discuss the content of the draft instrument with stakeholders.

Further information, including on the draft Model Law on Factoring itself, is available here.

Just about a month ago, as previously reported, the EU formally decided to accede to the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention – a decision that has now been implemented by depositing the instrument of accession with the Convention’s Depositary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. At the same time, Ukraine has deposited its instrument of ratification, thus becoming the second contracting party.

As per its Article 28(1), the Convention will enter into force on 1 September 2023 for all EU Member States (except Denmark) and Ukraine.

The Convention currently has five additional signatories: Costa Rica, Israel, the United States of America, Uruguay, and, somewhat delicately, the Russian Federation.

This post was contributed by Dr. Vincent Richard, who practices with Wurth Kinsch Olinger in Luxembourg.

The end of the summer is the right time to draw readers’ attention to the recent entry into force in all EU Member States except Denmark of the Evidence Regulation recast on 1 July 2022 (Regulation 2020/1783).

The Evidence Regulation facilitates the cross-border taking of evidence by allowing a court or authority to request a court located in another Member State to take evidence there. The Regulation also allows courts to take evidence directly from another Member State after having asked permission from the central authority of that Member State.

The main goal of the recast is to bring the Evidence Regulation into the digital era by imposing that all communications and exchanges of documents should be carried out through a decentralised IT system such as e-CODEX and by encouraging the taking of evidence through videoconferencing. Additionally, the recast facilitates the direct taking of evidence and it introduces interesting changes to the notion of “court” under the Regulation.

Electronic Transmission of Requests through e-CODEX

The main objective of the recast is to impose an electronic transmission of requests and documents among courts using the Evidence Regulation. To that end, Article 7 (former Article 6 of Regulation 1206/2001) was entirely modified to provide for a fully dematerialised procedure and to allow electronic signatures, governed by Regulation no 910/2014 on electronic identification.

Communication between courts relies on the e-CODEX system, which is a decentralised and interoperable system for cross-border communication, allowing secure communication between preapproved and identifiable users such as judges and clerks. The e-CODEX system has already been used to connect the commercial registers of the Member States and in several pilot projects. The solution has been tested by a limited number of States in the application of the European Payment Order, Small Claims and European Account Preservation Order Regulation. The Regulation on the taking of evidence and the Regulation on the service of documents are the first texts on judicial cooperation in civil matters to require Member States to deploy access points to the e-CODEX system, but the Commission wishes to generalize the method, both in civil and criminal matters. On this issue, the reader may consult a recent blog post by Marta Requejo on the entry into force of the e-CODEX Regulation.

Because of the technical difficulties that this transformation entails, the relevant article (Article 7) did not enter into force in July 2022 with the rest of the Regulation but it will enter into force in 2025, three years after the adoption of the implementing regulation defining technical specifications (Commission implementing regulation (EU) 2022/422 of 14 March 2022).

Taking of Evidence through Videoconferencing

Where the taking of evidence requires the hearing of a person who is not in the territory of the requesting court, the Regulation encourages Member States to use videoconferencing whenever possible (Articles 12 and 20). This technology can be used to hear a party, a witness, an expert or even a child in the context of the application of Regulation 2019/1111. The recast encourages the use of videoconferencing, whether the taking of evidence is carried out by the requested court or directly by the requesting court.

The Notion of “Court” under the Regulation

Article 2 of the recast provides two definitions. One on the “decentralised IT system” and one on the notion of “court”. The latter definition is worth mentioning because it aimed to close the debate as to whether notaries can use the Evidence Regulation. (On the broader issue of notaries in EU PIL, see the post by Martina Mantovani on this blog, here)

Under the recast, the notion of court encompasses not only courts per se but also “other authorities in Member States as communicated to the Commission under Article 31(3), that exercise judicial functions, that act pursuant to a delegation of power by a judicial authority or that act under the control of a judicial authority, and which are competent under national law to take evidence for the purposes of judicial proceedings in civil or commercial matters”.

Hence, Member States are free to delegate the taking of evidence to notaries or court clerks and other Member States must respect this choice as long as it was communicated to the Commission. Recital 5 specifies that this definition includes authorities that qualify as courts under other Union legal acts, such as Brussels I bis, Brussels II ter and the Succession Regulation.

Direct Taking of Evidence

Article 19 to 21 of the recast further encourages requesting courts to use direct taking of evidence after asking permission from the central authority where the evidence is located. If that central body does not answer within 30 days of acknowledgement of receipt of the request, article 19(5) provides that the requesting court may send a reminder. Interestingly, if the requesting court does not receive a reply within 15 days of the acknowledgement of receipt of the reminder, the request for the direct taking of evidence shall be considered accepted. The Regulation, therefore, provides that the silence of the central body is equivalent to implicit acceptance of the taking of evidence on its territory. Exceptionally, the central body may, however, still refuse the taking of evidence after the deadline until the moment of the actual direct taking of evidence.

Conclusion

The Evidence Regulation has never been used much but it remains a useful tool at the disposal of judges and counsels who need to gather evidence abroad in cross-border disputes. The introduction of the e-CODEX system and the use of videoconferencing should speed up the process of obtaining evidence abroad.

Moreover, the recast foreshadows the method that will be followed in judicial cooperation in the coming years and it will be interesting to observe the implementation of e-CODEX in all Member States.

The European Commission has announced that the European Union and Ukraine both joined the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention today. More specifically, the EU has acceded and Ukraine has ratified the Convention on 29 August 2022.

Didier Reynders, EU Commissioner for Justice, said:

Today‘s accession is the culmination of years of intense efforts. By being the first to accede to the Convention together with Ukraine, the European Union paves the way for others to join soon. The wider the accession rate of States to the Hague Judgments Convention, the more powerful an instrument it will become for the benefit of more citizens, more companies, and wider international trade and investment.

The Convention will enter into force for the EU and Ukraine on 1 September 2023.

A delicate question will then be whether EU Member States will apply the Convention to judgments issued by courts located in any part of Ukraine under Russian “control” (whatever that may mean, and if any by then).

Unless Russia, which has signed the Convention, becomes a Contracting State in the meantime.

The blog is back from summer recess with a post on Airbus Investors Recovery Limited v Airbus SE, where the first instance court at Amsterdam by way of preliminary judgment deals with the law applicable to an investor suit. Claimant has had the investment claims of a number of Airbus investors assigned to it. The core of the claim is that Airbus has tortiously caused damage to the investors in both the act, and in the correspondence leading to, and after, settlement with various financial authorities following allegations of corruption in securing aircraft orders. 

Oddly, no reference at all is made to Petrobas, despite the issues there being similar – perhaps the court in Airbus rejected relevance of the Petrobas decision for that case was held prior to CJEU Vereniging voor Effectenbezitters (VVE v BP).

I flagged many of the issues at issue in the judgment, in my post on applicable law which followed the jurisdictional discussion by the CJEU in VVE v BP.

The judgment is in Dutch of course however non-Dutch speakers may refer to it anyway, for the extract of Airbus’ choice of law provisions in the 2019 annual accounts [2.6]. This is relevant with a view to the discussion on transparency obligations following CJEU VVE v BP. 

The court, and one assumes parties were in agreement for the issue is not discussed, first of all assumes the liability is non-contractual. I continue to be of the view that this need not necessarily be the case. Focusing the discussion on Rome II therefore, the court also accepts readily that the lex societas carve-out of Rome II does not apply (reference is made [5.3] to CJEU Treuhand). Parties are in agreement [5.6] that for Dutch investors, Dutch law applies per Article 4(2) Rome I (shared habitual residence).

[5.10] Airbus absolutely correctly in my view insist that the CJEU’s Brussels Ia application in VVE must not simply be extrapolated to the applicable law issues at stake here. The court essentially disagrees ([5.10] in fine) and in my view it is wrong to do so.

It then [5.111], not entirely convincingly in my view, dismisses application of Article 4(1), holding that this Article in its view always leads to two applicable laws in each investor-Airbus relationship: that of the market in which the shares were bought (which will have subjected the sales to information requirements), always accompanied by Dutch law for that is where in any event listing information needed to be given.

Having ruled out A4(1), it settles for Dutch law under Article 4(3) as the law of the place of the seat of the corporation that issues financial instruments, largely citing predictability. I am not convinced.

Reference to the CJEU, requested by Airbus, is dismissed, as is [5.17] immediate appeal against the applicable law finding. Airbus will no doubt appeal the final judgment to review the issue of applicable law, too. I would suggest they have plenty of reason to do so.

Geert.

EU Private International Law, 3rd ed. 2021, Chapters 2 and 4.

 

The Nigerian Bar Association recently published articles on Nigerian law. Interestingly, the first two articles are on Nigerian conflict of laws. This should probably not come as a surprise because the editor-in-chief, Professor Uche Chukwumaeze, specialises in Nigerian conflict of laws.

The articles and abstracts read as follows:

O Uka, “Internal Conflict of Laws in Nigeria: Making a Case for the Consolidation of Rules of Jurisdiction in Inter-State Disputes”

“Owing to the central place that jurisdiction occupies in the adjudication process in Nigeria, jurisdictional conflicts will continue to take up precious judicial time into the foreseeable future. A lesser-known facet of these conflicts is the one among the various High Courts in Nigeria in actions in personam. Until recently, Nigerian courts have had to resolve these conflicts and generally interprete internal conflict of laws questions without the benefit of the direction that legislation and high-quality academic works provide. This paper examined the position on the jurisdiction of courts in inter-State jurisdictional challenges in actions in personam. It analysed decisions which tackled territorial jurisdiction challenges in actions in personam with a view to highlighting their inherent errors. Ultimately, the paper proposed a hierarchical roadmap for Nigerian courts to adopt in determining the issue of jurisdiction in inter-State in personam disputes which if followed, would potentially go a long way towards resolving the protracted jurisdictional conflicts between Nigerian courts, reduce the largely unnecessary challenges to these courts’ authority, significantly reduce the notorious delays in the determination of cases in Nigeria, and eliminate one of the biggest impediments to the smooth administration of the justice delivery system in Nigeria.”

 

I Olawunmi, “Party Autonomy and Commercial Expectations: How are the Nigerian Courts faring on Choice of Law and Forum Clauses in Contracts beyond Borders?”

“Where a contract bears a transnational coloration, it is only instinctual to have the parties agree on specific arrangements to guide their commercial endeavour. It is a legal right for parties to a contract to freely negotiate the terms to govern their agreement. This underpins the principle of party autonomy that guides the law of contract globally. It is a common practice to have parties to an international commercial contract select the law to govern their agreement. Since conflict is inevitable in any human relationship, parties can also agree to the forum to resolve their disputes. Parties can choose arbitration or even litigate in a foreign court over a contractual dispute. This paper aims to x-ray party autonomy, law and forum clauses, their different effects and the judicial attitude of Nigerian courts to them, especially for contracts entered into and/or are to be performed in Nigeria. The author adopts the doctrinal methodology of research, with reliance placed on both primary and secondary sources. This paper recommends that the courts should not derogate from the doctrine of party autonomy in determining commercial disputes as practical as possible, as this would help investors achieve their contractual goals.”

Following the abolition of exequatur by the Brussels I bis Regulation (Article 39), a new model (application for refusal of enforcement, Articles 46-51) has been introduced. So far, case law has been scarce in the vast majority of Member States. Greece was no exception to the rule.

A dispute between a Cypriot and a Greek company led to a series of judgments, which demonstrate the problems of mixing EU with domestic procedures. The facts of the case are complicated, at least for Greek practice standards, departing from the average scheme of creditor v debtor.

Facts

Stage 1: Cyprus

The case began in Cyprus. A Cypriot aviation company (creditor = C) started litigation against another Cypriot company before the district court of Nicosia (debtor 1 = D1). C requested the return of a Cessna aircraft, of which it was the owner. The aircraft was leased to D1. The latter did not appear in the proceedings. The default judgment was served to D1. At some point, C was informed that the aircraft was not anymore in Cyprus. D1 had subleased the aircraft to a private aviation company situated in Thessaloniki (debtor 2 = D2).

Stage 2: Greece

In light of the above circumstances, C filed an action against D2 before Thessaloniki courts. However, ordinary proceedings do not offer chances of a speedy dispute resolution. Indeed, the hearing of the action is scheduled to take place end September 2022. C had not time to lose. It obviously was in a dire need to get hold of the aircraft as soon as possible. Therefore, five days after filing the action, C decided to follow a different path: It served both the judgment and the certificate of Article 53 of the Brussels I bis Regulation (issued by the Nicosia court) to D2, requesting the return of the aircraft, in accordance with the order of the Cypriot court.

Stage 3: The remedies of D2

Faced with the sword of Damocles, D2 opened three sets of proceedings: an application for refusal of enforcement; an action to oppose execution (five days after filing the above application); an application to suspend enforcement (filed same day with the action).

The grounds of defence were identical: Some of the grounds referred to the classic impediments featured under Article 45 of the Brussels I bis Regulation, namely public policy and violation of the right to be heard, aiming at the refusal of enforcement. The remaining grounds challenged the execution proceedings.

Judgements

The rulings of the Thessaloniki courts:

1. The first decision (Thessaloniki Court of first Instance, 19 November 2021, unreported) concerned the action to oppose execution. The court did not enter into the merits of the case. It stated that, taking into account the melange of grounds against enforceability and enforcement, it must stay proceedings, until the court seised with the application for refusal of enforcement renders its ruling. The court underlined that it had no powers to examine the grounds against the execution proceedings, because D2 explicitly requested the court to examine the latter grounds (i.e., those against execution proceedings), only if it rejects the former. (i.e., those against enforceability)
2. The second decision (Thessaloniki Court of first Instance, 16 February 2022, unreported) concerned the application for refusal of enforcement. Again, the court did not enter into the merits of the case. A number of issues were in need of clarification, so that the court could render judgment. Therefore, the court ordered the stay of proceedings, requesting evidence with respect to the following issues:

First, the court was not aware of the right of D2 to challenge the Cypriot judgment in the state of origin, pursuant to Cypriot law of civil procedure.

Second, the court was not aware of the Cypriot provisions on the service of process to legal entities.

Third, the court requested the original certificate of the service of process to D1.

Fourth, the court requested the production of a document, which will certify whether the Cypriot judgment is final and conclusive

3. The third decision (Thessaloniki Court of first Instance – summary proceedings, 9 March 2022, unreported) concerned the application to suspend enforcement. It focused on the defence raised by D2 with respect to the certificate under Article 53. Upon scrutiny of the certificate, the court traced two defects: First, the certificate stated that the judgment was rendered in contradictory proceedings, although the judgment was given in default of appearance, as evidenced in the judgment issued by the Nicosia court. Second, the certificate did not include the date of service. The above were considered as vices of the enforceable foreign judgment, on the grounds of which the execution is founded. Therefore, the court ordered the temporary stay of execution, until the judgment on the action to oppose execution id rendered. NB: No reference was made to Article 44 Brussels I bis Regulation

Assessment

On a European level, judgments dealing with refusal of enforcement under the Brussels I bis Regulation are a sheer rarity. This may be evidenced by reading the reports published in the JUDGTRUST and EFFORTS projects.

Greece has not taken steps to clarify the landscape concerning Article 47 Brussels I Regulation. Greek legal scholarship supports unanimously the right of the judgment debtor to file a single remedy, challenging both enforceability and enforcement, i.e., an action to oppose execution. This has been accepted by the courts in the case at hand. However, D2 opted for the opposite solution: Applying prevailing lawyer tactics, it filed two separate documents, accumulating all possible grounds in each of them. It didn’t work the way it was expected. Luckily, D2 managed to suspend execution. Hence, the battle is still on ground zero. More judgments will follow, most probably reaching the Supreme Court.

Given that the courts did not enter into the merits (save the court ordering suspension of execution based on substantial evidence / the balance of probabilities), many intriguing issues are left unanswered: The right of C to initiate execution against a non-litigant in the country of origin; the obligation of D2 to challenge the Cypriot decision, without being a party to the proceedings; the significance of the errors found in the certificate under Article 53 on the level of enforceability. These are matters which will surely be scrutinized by the courts in the forthcoming proceedings. However, before concluding this post, it should be mentioned that the courts referred to three core rulings of the CJEU, offering guidance for the next set of litigation, namely the ruling of 2016 in the case of Rudolfs Meroni v Recoletos, the ruling of 2015 in the case of Diageo Brands BV, and the ruling of 2012 in Trade Agency.

P.S. A recent decision of the Thessaloniki Court of first instance, issued at the end of December 2021, examined the application for refusal of the Greek company against the enforcement of a judgment issued by the court of Reggio Emilia in 2021. More information about the case is available here.

The third issue of the Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly for 2022 was recently published. It features the following case notes and articles:

A Briggs, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”

R Bork, “The Arbitrability of Insolvency-Related Claims”

CH Tham, “Assignments, Assignees and the Burden of an Arbitration Clause”

The latest issue of the IPRax (Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts) will be published on 1 September 2022. It contains a number of interesting articles and case comments regarding issues of jurisdiction and applicable law. The table of contents is available here. The following abstracts have been kindly provided to us.

J. Richter, Cross-border service of writs of summons according to the revised EU Service Regulation

The service of judicial documents, particularly the service of writs of summons, is of central importance in civil proceedings. In cross-border proceedings, service of legal documents poses particular problems, which are addressed by the European Regulation on the Service of Documents. The revision of this regulation, which will enter into force on 1 July 2022, provides an opportunity to examine the current and future rules by taking the example of the international service of writs of summons.

G. van Calster, Lex ecologia. On applicable law for environmental pollution (Article 7 Rome II), a pinnacle of business and human rights as well as climate change litigation

The European Union rules on the law that applies to liability for environmental damage, are an outlier in the private international law agenda. EU private international law rules are almost always value neutral. Predictability is the core ambition, not a particular outcome in litigation. The rules on applicable law for environmental damage, contained in the Rome II Regulation on the law that applies to non-contractual obligations, are a clear and considered exception. Courts are struggling with the right approach to the relevant rules. This contribution maps the meaning and nature of those articles, their application in case-law, and their impact among others on business and human rights as well as climate change litigation.

M. Castendiek, “Contractual” rights of third parties in private international law

Although contractual rights are usually limited to the parties, almost all jurisdictions in Europe recognize exceptions of this rule. Whereas those “contractual” rights of third parties are strictly limited in common law countries, German and Austrian Law even extend contractual duties of care on third persons related to the parties. Prior to the Rome Regulations, the conflict-of-law judgments on those “contracts with protective effect in favour of third parties” differed between German and Austrian courts.
The article points out that a consistent jurisdiction on this issue needs a clear distinction between contractual and non-contractual rights even between the parties of the contract. It points out that the Regulation Rome I covers only obligations that would not exist without the contract. Those obligations remain contractual even if they entitle a third party.
“Contractual” duties of care corresponding with negligence in tort, on the other hand, fall within the scope of the Regulation Rome II. For the contracting parties as well as for third parties, the conflict-of-laws in claims following the disregard of such duties is determined by the application of Article 4 Regulation Rome II. The article provides criteria to determine whether the close connection rule in Article 4(3) Regulation Rome II can lead to the application of the law governing the contract.

C. von Bary, News on Procedural Consumer Protection from Luxemburg: Consumer Status and Change of Domicile

In two recent decisions, the CJEU continues to refine the contours of procedural consumer protection in cross-border disputes. In the case of a person who spent on average nine hours a day playing – and winning at – online poker, the court clarified that factors like the amount involved, special knowledge or the regularity of the activity do not as such lead to this person not being classified as a consumer. It remains unclear, however, which criteria are relevant to determine whether a contract is concluded for a purpose outside a trade or profession. Further, the CJEU stated that the relevant time to determine the consumer’s domicile is when the action is brought before a court. This seems to be true even if the consumer changes domicile to a different member state after the conclusion of the contract and before the action is brought and the seller or supplier has not pursued commercial or professional activities or directed such activities at this member state. This devalues the relevance of this criterion to the detriment of the professional party.

W. Voß, The Forum Delicti Commissi in Cases of Purely Pecuniary Loss – a Cum-Ex Aftermath

Localising the place of damage in the context of capital investment cases is a perennial problem both under national and European civil procedural law. With prospectus liability having dominated the case law in the past decades, a new scenario is now increasingly coming into the courts’ focus: liability claims resulting from cum-ex-transactions. In its recent decision, the Higher Regional Court of Munich confirms the significance of the place of the claimant’s bank account for the localisation of purely financial loss in the context of sec. 32 German Civil Procedure Code but fails to provide any additional, viable reasoning on this notoriously debated issue. The decision does manage, however, to define the notion of principal place of business as delimitation of the scope of application of the Brussels regime convincingly. Incidentally, the text of the judgment also proves an informative lesson for the recently flared-up debate about anonymization of judicial decisions.

L. Hornkohl, International jurisdiction for permission proceedings under the German Telemedia Act (TMG) in cases of suspected abusive customer complaints on online marketplaces

In its decision of 11 March 2021, the Cologne Higher Regional Court denied the international jurisdiction of the Cologne courts for permission proceedings under the German Telemedia Act (TMG) in cases of suspected abusive customer complaints in online marketplaces. The Cologne court decision combined several precedents of the German Federal Court and the European Court of Justice. Although the Cologne Higher Regional Court decided that permission proceedings constitute a civil and commercial matter within the meaning of the Brussels I Regulation, international jurisdiction could not be established in Germany. The place of performance according to Art. 7 No. 1 lit. b second indent Brussels Ibis Regulation must, in case of doubt, uniformly be determined at the place of establishment of the online marketplace operator in Luxembourg. Article 7 No. 2 of the Regulation also does not give jurisdiction to German courts. The refusal to provide information per se is not a tort in the sense of Article 7 No. 2. Furthermore, there is no own or attributable possibly defamatory conduct of the platform operator. Contradictory considerations of the German legislator alone cannot establish jurisdiction in Germany.

A. Spickhoff, Contract and Tort in European Jurisdiction – New Developments

The question of qualification as a matter of contract or/and of tort is among others especially relevant in respect to the jurisdiction at place of performance and of forum delicti. The decision of the court of Justice of the European Union in res Brogsitter has initiated a discussion of its relevance and range to this problem. Recent decisions have clarified some issues. The article tries to show which. The starting point is the fraudulent car purchase.

R.A. Schütze, Security for costs for UK plaintiffs in German civil proceedings after the Brexit?

The judgment of the Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt/Main deals with one of the open procedural questions of the Brexit: the obligation of plaintiffs having permanent residence in the United Kingdom to provide security of costs in German civil proceedings. The Court has rightly decided that from January 1st, 2021 plaintiff cannot rely on sect. 110 par. 1 German Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) anymore as the United Kingdom is no longer member of the EU. If the plaintiff has lodged the complaint before January 1st, 2021, the obligation to provide security of costs arises at that date and security can be claimed by respondent according to sect. 110 CCP. However, the Court has not seen two exceptions from the obligation to provide security for costs according to sect. 110 par. 2 no. 1 and 2 CCP which relieve plaintiff from the obligation to provide security of costs if an international convention so provides (no. 1) or if an international convention grants the recognition and execution of decisions for costs (no. 2). In the instant case the court had to apply art. 9 par. 1 of the European Convention on Establishment of 1955 and the Convention between Germany and the United Kingdom on Recognition and Execution of Foreign Judgments of 1960, both Conventions not having been touched by the Brexit. Facit therefore: claimants having permanent residence in the United Kingdom are not obliged to provide security for costs in German Civil proceedings.

H. Roth, Qualification Issues relating to § 167 Civil Procedure Code (Zivilprozessordnung, ZPO)

§ 167 of the Civil Procedure Code (ZPO) aims to relieve the parties of the risk accruing to them through late official notification of legal action over which they have no control. This norm is part of procedural law. It is valid irrespective of whether a German court applies foreign or German substantive law. The higher regional Court (Oberlandesgericht) of Frankfurt a.M. found differently. It holds that § 167 should only be considered when German substantive law and thus German statute of limitations law is applied.

A. Hemler, Undisclosed agency and construction contract with foreign building site: Which law is applicable?

Does the term “contract for the provision of services” in Art 4(1)(b) Rome I Regulation include a building contract with a foreign building site? Or should we apply the exception clause in Art 4(3) Rome I Regulation if the building site is abroad? Which law governs the legal consequences of undisclosed agency, i.e. how should we treat cases where a contracting party acts as an agent for an undisclosed principal? Furthermore, what are the legal grounds in German law for a refund of an advance payment surplus in such a building contract? In the case discussed, the Oberlandesgericht (Higher Regional Court) Köln only addressed the latter question in detail. Unfortunately, the court considered the interesting PIL issues only in disappointing brevity. Therefore, based on a doctrinal examination of the exception clause in Art 4(3) Rome I Regulation, the paper discusses whether the scope of the general conflict of laws rule for contracts for the provision of services should exclude building contracts with a foreign building site by virtue of a teleological limitation. It also sheds light on the dispute around the law governing cases of undisclosed agency. The paper argues that Art 1(2)(g) Rome I Regulation is not applicable in this regard, i.e. the issue is not excluded from the Rome I Regulation’s scope. Instead, it is covered by Art 10(1) Rome I Regulation; hence, the law governing the contract remains applicable.

S.L. Gössl, Uniqueness and subjective components – Some notes on habitual residence in European conflict of laws and procedural law

The article deals with the case law of the ECJ on the habitual residence of adults, as addressed in a recent decision. The ECJ clarified that there can only ever be one habitual residence. Furthermore, it confirms that each habitual residence has to be determined differently for each legal acts. Finally, in the case of the habitual residence of adults, subjective elements become more paramount than in the case of minors. In autonomous German Private International Law, discrepancies with EU law may arise precisely with regard to the relevance of the subjective and objective elements. German courts should attempt to avoid such a discrepancy.

D. Wiedemann, Holidays in Europe or relocation to Bordeaux: the habitual residence of a child under the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction

A man of French nationality and a woman of Chilean nationality got married and had a daughter in Buenos Aires. A few months after the birth of their daughter, the family travelled to Europe, where they first visited relatives and friends and finally stayed with the man’s family in Bordeaux. One month and a few days after they arrived in Bordeaux, mother and daughter travelled to Buenos Aires and, despite an agreement between the spouses, never returned to Bordeaux. The father in France asked Argentinean authorities for a return order under the HCA. According to the prevailing view, the HCA only applies, if, before the removal or retention, the child was habitually resident in any contracting state except for the requested state. The court of first instance (Juzgado Civil) assumed a change of the child’s habitual residence from Argentina to France, but, considering that the lack of the mother’s consent to move to France results in a violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, it granted an exception under Art. 20 HCA. The higher court (Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Civil) and the Argentinian Supreme Court (Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación) required the manifestation of both parents’ intent for a change of the child’s habitual residence. The higher court saw a sufficient manifestation of the mother’s intent to move to France in the termination of her employment in Buenos Aires and ordered the return. In contrast, the CSJN refused to give weight to the termination of employment as it happened in connection with the birth of the daughter.

H.J. Snijders, Enforcement of foreign award (in online arbitration) ex officio refused because of violation of the defendant’s right to be heard

With reference to (inter alia) a judgement of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, some questions regarding the consideration of requests for recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in the Netherlands are discussed. Should the State Court ex officio deal with a violation of public order by the arbitral tribunal, in particular the defendant’s right to be heard, also in default proceedings like the Amsterdam one? In addition, which public order is relevant in this respect, the international public order or the domestic one? Furthermore, does it matter for the State Court’s decision that the arbitral awards dealt with were issued in an online arbitration procedure (regarding a loan in bitcoin)? Which lessons can be derived from the decision of the Amsterdam Court for drafters of Online Arbitration Rules and for arbitral tribunals dealing with online arbitration like the arbitral e-court in the Amsterdam case? The author also points out the relevance of transitional law in the field of arbitration by reference to a recent decision of the Dutch Supreme Court rejecting the view of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal in this matter; transitional law still is dangerous law.