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Experts judiciaires

The CJEU has just rendered its decision in Case C-800/19 Mittelbayerischer Verlag (currently only available in French). The Court held that the courts of the claimant’s ‘centre of interests’ have jurisdiction (on this basis) only if the content complained of contains ‘objective and verifiable elements allowing to identify, directly or indirectly, the claimant as an individual’ (para 46). Accordingly, a Polish Holocaust survivor could not sue a German publishing house over the use of the term ‘Polish extermination camp’ in an online article in Poland.

The factual and legal background of the case are described in some detail in our report on the AG Opinion – in a nutshell, the case is about whether a Polish survivor of the Holocaust can sue the publisher of a German newspaper in Poland for an alleged violation of his personality rights (including his national dignity) by an online article containing the phrase ‘Polish extermination camp’. As the claimant sought a range of remedies, at least some of which should only be available in a court with ‘full’ jurisdiction (as per the Court’s decision in Case C-194/16 Bolagsupplysningen, para 48), he needed to rely on the Court’s ‘centre of interests’ criterion to seize the Polish courts. Yet, both the referring court and AG Bobek had doubts if this criterion would not require some kind of limit to prevent the publisher of an online article to be sued in all member states in which a person potentially affected in their national dignity might have their centre of interests.

Upon a first reading of the decision, four aspects may be noted:

(1) The Court appears to have followed the AG’s proposition to adopt “a narrow and minimalist approach [to] this case” (Opinion, para 43). Thus, instead of a full reconsideration of the ‘centre of interests’ criterion, let alone of its interpretation of Art. 7(2) Brussels Ia with regard to personality rights as a whole (as Geert van Calster was hoping for), the Court has opted for its incremental readjustment.

(2) But the importance of the readjustment should not be underestimated. Despite giving access to the ‘full’ range of remedies, the Court has never had an opportunity to specify the exact requirements of ‘centre of interests’ jurisdiction as introduced in Joined Cases C-509/09 and C-161/10 eDate. Although clearly intended to protect the claimant (see eDate, para 47), para 50 of the decision certainly left room for additional requirements regarding the connection between the publication in question and the forum.

The CJEU now has indeed picked up this paragraph and argues that in a situation such as the present one, in which the claimant has – unlike in eDate and Bolagsupplysningen – not been directly targeted by the publication in question, it would hurt the aim of predictability if the claimant could sue for the entirety of the damage (and all injunctions) at their ‘centre of interests’, which the defendant could not reasonably predict (paras 35–38). In support, the Court also cites the need for a particularly close link between the case and the forum for special jurisdiction (para 40), as well as the aim to prevent a multiplication of grounds of jurisdiction (para 39 – a point not easily reconcilable with the Court’s continued adherence to the mosaic principle). On this basis, it formulates the rule cited above:

[46] article 7, point 2, du règlement no 1215/2012 doit être interprété en ce sens que la juridiction du lieu où se trouve le centre des intérêts d’une personne prétendant que ses droits de la personnalité ont été violés par un contenu mis en ligne sur un site Internet n’est compétente pour connaître, au titre de l’intégralité du dommage allégué, d’une action en responsabilité introduite par cette personne que si ce contenu comporte des éléments objectifs et vérifiables permettant d’identifier, directement ou indirectement, ladite personne en tant qu’individu.

(3) It is certainly a step forward that for once, the Court acknowledges the difficulties that its previous case law created for defendants of claims of alleged violations of personality rights through the internet (as to which see Lutzi, Private International Law Online, 2020, paras 4.75–83).

Yet, the Court does not go as far as proposed by AG Bobek, who, like AG Cruz-Villalón did before him, suggested the introduction of an objective foreseeability test, focusing on the relationship between the forum and the content in question (Opinion, paras 58–74; which would not necessarily have prevented the Polish courts from taking jurisdiction here). As a consequence, the new criterion introduced by the Court will raise many of the difficult questions of fact that AG Bobek warned against (Opinion, paras 45–57).

(4) The fact that the Court only considered ‘centre of interests’ jurisdiction may be seen as confirmation that at least some of the remedies sought by the claimant were ‘indivisible’ and therefore required ‘full’ jurisdiction. In this regard, the decision lends support to the reading of Bolagsupplysningen according to which most, if not all injunctions fall into this category (see Stadler, JZ 2018, 94, 95; Lutzi (2018) 34 LQR 208, 212).

With regard to the case at hand, the Court has been very clear that it does not pass the newly introduced threshold for ‘centre of interests’ jurisdiction (see also paras 36, 43, 45):

[44] Or, en l’occurrence, [le demandeur] n’est manifestement pas identifié en tant qu’individu, que ce soit directement ou indirectement, dans le contenu mis en ligne sur le site Internet de Mittelbayerischer Verlag […].

Accordingly, the Court did not need to engage with a number of follow-up questions raised obiter by AG Bobek (paras 75–87), including the potential role of the e-Commerce Directive.

Overall, it seems like the court has added another piece to the mosaic (pun intended) that is its case law on international jurisdiction for violations of personality rights through the internet. It appears not unlikely that the Court will continue to incrementally readjust individual pieces of this mosaic, rather than ever reconsidering it in its entirety – the next opportunity for which is just around the corner with Case C-251/20 Gtflix Tv.

Professor Jürgen Basedow does not need any introduction.

A volume published by Intersentia, titled EU Private Law. Anatomy of a Growing Legal Order, summarises, updates and completes studies he has published since the late 1980s. It exists as e-book (although this is not a book to read on the screen, but to hold in the hands).

EU law covers numerous sectors of private law and is still expanding. Due to its fragmentary nature, most legal literature addresses specific areas such as EU labour law, EU company law, EU private international law, EU consumer law, etc. In contrast, this book presents an innovative approach in its analysis of EU private law, considering its continuous expansion as an ongoing process and interrogating some central questions: What is private law in the framework of the EU? How does EU private law relate to traditional concepts of private law? What is the impact on horizontal relations of the law of the Union which was established with a view to the integration of peoples in Europe? Is the frequent reference to the policy orientation of EU law sufficient to overcome the differences between public and private law?

Like the growth rings of a tree the numerous acts and judgments of EU private law feed from the trunk and the roots, which developed in the vertical relations between the Union and the Member States. The foundations of EU law, which often have a background in legal history, comparative experience and public international law, impact upon horizontal relations in a manner previously unknown in national systems of private law.

Across ten parts grouped in four books devoted to foundations, principles, enforcement and implementation, respectively, as well as the external dimension, the author elaborates on the peculiarities of EU private law as compared to the traditional analysis of private law in any given national legal system. The author traces throughout the book the origins of legal principles and rules in comparative law, legal history and public international law and their application and development in EU private law instruments and the judgments of the CJEU. This comparison helps to strengthen our understanding of those peculiarities and paves the way for a comprehensive critical assessment of the state of EU private law today.

The table of contents is accessible at the website of Intersentia.

A book like this one is good news for academia.

Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości
Liberté d'établissement
Selon l’avocat général Bobek, la directive « services » s’applique aux procédures disciplinaires engagées à l’encontre d’avocats dont le résultat est susceptible d’affecter la capacité de ces derniers à fournir des prestations juridiques

AB e.a.
Avocate générale Kokott : mandat d’arrêt européen motivé par l’enlèvement du fils d’un ancien président slovaque et émis après la révocation d’une amnistie

M.I.C.M.
Liberté d'établissement
L’enregistrement systématique d’adresses IP d’utilisateurs et la communication de leurs noms et adresses postales au titulaire des droits intellectuels ou à un tiers afin de permettre d’introduire un recours en indemnisation sont admissibles sous certaines conditions

The new issue of Rivista di diritto internazionale privato e processuale (Volume 57, Issue 1/2021) is out.

It features three articles, two in Italian, the other in English, whose abstracts are provided below.

Fausto Pocar, Riflessioni sulla recente convenzione dell’Aja sul riconoscimento e l’esecuzione delle sentenze straniere (Reflections on the Recent HCCH Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments)

The Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, concluded on 2 July 2019 in the framework of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, signifies a further, albeit partial, step in the context of the more ambitious project, initiated over twenty-five years ago, aimed at achieving a so-called “double” convention on jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil or commercial matters. Through the careful consideration of the salient features of the Convention – some of which appear to be innovative in character, whereas others evoke more solutions – as well as of the interactions that the Convention’s adoption (and possible entry into force) entails in the existing multilateral treaty landscape, including the 2005 HCCH Convention on Choice of Court Agreements, the Author offers a dynamic and contextualized reading of the new instrument, emphasizing its lights and shadows, and illustrating the underlying interests surrounding the Convention’s possible ratification by the European Union.

Federica Favuzza, Riflessioni in margine all’entrata in vigore del c.d. SOFA dell’Unione Europea (Reflections on the Entry into Force of the EU SOFA)

On 1 April 2019, the 2003 Status of Forces Agreement between the EU Member States finally entered into force. This international agreement applies within the territory of the EU and aims to define the legal status of individuals and entities involved in the preparation and execution of the tasks referred to in Art. 42 TEU, i.e. in the context of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). After examining its scope of application, the Author provides an overview of some of the main legal issues that the Agreement raises in respect of the exercise of criminal and civil jurisdiction. The analysis highlights the drafters’ deference to the approach and wording of the NATO SOFA. This choice is understandable, especially considering that individuals and entities involved in the CSDP are often also deployed in NATO context. However, in the Author’s view, it risks reproducing in the context of the EU some known difficulties and critical issues arisen in nearly 70 years of practice in the interpretation and application of the NATO SOFA.

Caterina Benini, Remarks on the Commission’s Proposal on the Law Applicable to the Third-Party Effects of Assignment of Claims [in English]

The paper provides an overview of the European Commission’s proposal on the law applicable to the third-party effects of the assignment of claims. The Proposal, based on a sensitive balance between the interests of the factoring and the securitisation industries, fosters the foreseeability of the applicable law and the harmony of solutions. The combination of the law of the assignor as general rule with the law of the assigned claim as exception is consistent with the solution adopted at the international level and fits the property interests underlying the assignment of claims. Normative consistency with the Insolvency Regulation is depicted as one of the main goals of the Proposal. However, due to the mismatches between the connecting factors adopted in the two instruments, such goal risks to remain only on paper. To avoid this, the present article suggests localising the assignor’s habitual residence at the company’s registered office under the COMI notion adopted under the Insolvency Regulation.

The issue also contains a review, by Francesca Clara Villata, of Felix M. Wilke’s A Conceptual Analysis of European Private International Law. The General Issues in the EU and its Member States.

The table of contents of the issue is available here.

La Cour européenne des droits de l’homme, si elle reconnaît l’existence d’une vie familiale entre les mères d’intention et l’enfant né d’une mère porteuse, refuse de condamner l’Islande sur le fondement de l’article 8 de la Convention européenne.

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La personne détenue et visée par un mandat d’arrêt européen qui, sans motif légitime, refuse son extraction, est réputée avoir comparu, avoir refusé de consentir à sa remise aux autorités requérantes et ne pas avoir renoncé à la règle de spécialité.

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Renforcement de la protection des lanceurs d’alerte, élargissement du statut protecteur aux personnes morales, création d’une autorité compétente unique… Voici un panorama des propositions visant à faire évoluer le droit français relatif à la protection des lanceurs d’alerte dévoilées sous forme de synthèse par le ministère de la Justice.

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