EAPIL blog

The University of Coimbra will host, on 27 and 28 January 2023, a conference in English on the Brussels II ter Regulation.

The speakers include Antonio Fialho, Cristina González Beilfuss, Dário Moura Vicente, Geraldo Rocha, João Gomes de Almeida, Maria dos Prazeres Beleza, Paula Távora Vitor, Philippe Lortie, Pietro Franzina, Rosa Lima Teixeira, and Samuel Fulli-Lemaire.

Chandra Gracias, Dulce Lopes, Helena Mota, Rui Dias and Rui Moura Ramos will serve as discussants.

For further information, including the full programme, see here.

The monthly program of the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding private international law, as of today, is as follows.

On 12 January 2023, Advocate General  Emiliou will deliver his opinion in case C-638/22 PPU, Rzecznik Praw Dziecka e.a., on the suspension of a Hague return decision. A hearing had taken place last December. The related entry in the blog offers a summary of the facts and reproduces the questions before the Court of Justice.

Two hearings are scheduled for the same day. The first one, in case C-87/22, IT, concerns child abduction. The Regional Court of Korneuburg (Austria), asks the Court the following

1. Must Article 15 of [the Brussels II bis Regulation] be interpreted as meaning that the courts of a Member State having jurisdiction as to the substance of the matter, if they consider that a court of another Member State, with which the child has a particular connection, would be better placed to hear the case, or a specific part thereof, may request such a court to assume jurisdiction even in the case where that other Member State has become the place of habitual residence of the child following wrongful removal?
2. If Question 1 is answered in the affirmative: Must Article 15 of [the Brussels II bis Regulation] be interpreted as meaning that the criteria for the transfer of jurisdiction that are set out in that article are regulated exhaustively, without the need to consider further criteria in the light of proceedings initiated under Article 8(f) of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction?

The children V and M were born in Slovakia; like their parents, they have Slovakian nationality. Under Slovak law, the two parents have joint custody of the two children. Both parents work in Bratislava. After the children were born, the family initially lived in Slovakia and moved to Austria in spring 2014. Since 2017, the kids have been attending school in Bratislava. They speak only a few words of German. Their mother tongue is Slovak and they communicate with their parents and grandparents in that language.

The parents separated in January 2020. Since July 2020, the children have been living with their mother in Bratislava.

At the same time as an application for return under Article 8(f) of the 1980 Hague Convention, which had been brought before the Okresný súd Bratislava I (District Court Bratislava I), the father applied to the District Court, Bruck an der Leitha (Austria), for the transfer of custody of both children to him alone. In the alternative, he asked for the granting to him of primary care of the children with joint custody being retained, as well as for the transfer of temporary custody to him alone until the custody proceedings have been concluded, claiming in essence that the mother had endangered the welfare of the children by unlawfully removing them from Austria to Slovakia. He submits that she had pulled the children out of their social integration.

The mother opposed the father’s applications for custody and raised the plea of lack of international jurisdiction on the ground that the children had been habitually resident in the Slovak Republic throughout the period in question. They attended school, had their medical appointments and engaged in their recreational activities in that country, and it was only for meals and overnight stays that the children stayed in the house in Hainburg an der Donau, where they had not been socially integrated.

By order of 4 January 2021, the District Court, Bruck an der Leitha, refused the father’s application on the ground of lack of international jurisdiction. By order of the Regional Court, Korneuburg, sitting as the court ruling on appeals on the merits, of 23 February 2021, the appeal brought by the father against the order of 4 January 2021 was upheld and the contested order was amended to the effect that the mother’s plea of lack of international jurisdiction was rejected. That decision of that court was confirmed by order of the Oberster Gerichtshof (Austrian Supreme Court) of 23 June 2021.

On 23 September 2021, the mother applied to the District Court, Bruck an der Leitha, for it to request a court in the Slovak Republic, to assume jurisdiction in accordance with Article 15(5) of Regulation 2201/2003, or, in the alternative, to fulfil the request of its own motion in accordance with Article 15(1)(b) and 15(2)(b) of that regulation, on the grounds that, in addition to the return proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention before the District Court Bratislava I, and before the District Court Bratislava V, several sets of proceedings were pending before courts of the Slovak Republic, which had been instituted by both the father and the mother, and those courts had already taken extensive evidence and the courts of the Slovak Republic were for that reason better placed to rule on the parental responsibility for the two children. The father opposed the mother’s application.

By the order now being contested, the District Court, Bruck an der Leitha, requested the District Court Bratislava V, in accordance with Article 15(1)(b) of the Brussels II bis Regulation to assume jurisdiction in the proceedings concerning the custody of the two children and the father’s right of access to his children. The father has appealed against that order. The mother requests that the appeal be dismissed. Moreover, she requests that the matter be brought before the Court of Justice for an interpretation of Article 15 of the Regulation.

The second hearing corresponds to case C-832/21, Beverage City Polska, a request from the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf (Germany) on the interpretation of Article 122 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union trade mark, in conjunction with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I bis). In the litigation on the merits,  the applicant has taken the view that there is an infringement of its EU trade marks and brought an action against four defendants before the Landgericht Düsseldorf (Regional Court, Düsseldorf), for injunctive relief throughout the European Union and – later limited to acts in Germany – for information, the disclosure of accounts and a declaration of liability for damages. The third and fourth defendants argued, inter alia, that there is a lack of international jurisdiction over the action brought against them. The court refers the following question to the Court of Justice:

Are claims ‘so closely connected’ that it is expedient to hear and determine them together to prevent irreconcilable judgments, within the meaning of Article 8(1) of the [Brussels I bis Regulation], where, in infringement proceedings for infringement of an EU trade mark, the connection consists in the fact that the defendant domiciled in a Member State (here, Poland) supplied the goods which infringe an EU trade mark to a defendant domiciled in another Member State (here, Germany) whose legal representative, against whom infringement proceedings have also been brought, is the anchor defendant, if the parties are connected to each other only through the mere supply relationship beyond which there is no legal or factual connection?

None of the cases has been assigned to the Grand Chamber, therefore the hearings will not be broadcast.

In a judgment of 7 September 2022, the French supreme court for private and criminal matters (Cour de cassation) addressed several issues arising out of applications to declare enforceable judgments wrongfully filed under the Brussels I Regulation.

While the Brussels I bis Regulation does not provide for a declaration of enforceability of judgments anymore, the Succession and Matrimonial Property Regulations still do.

In 1997, the European Commission granted € 132,000 to an agency for local democracy in Croatia to offer training to local officials. With the grant came various reporting obligations to the Commission within 18 months. The individual who received the grant did not comply with them. The European Commission sued him in Croatian courts and obtained in April 2012 a judgement from a Croatian court ordering restitution of the monies.

As the debtor had relocated in France, the Commission sought to enforce the Croatian judgment in France under the Brussels I Regulation. It obtained a certificate from the Croatian court in 2014, and, in 2015, a declaration of enforceability of the judgment from an officer of a French court.

The debtor appealed to the court of appeal of Colmar (France), which declared the application for a declaration of enforceability inadmissible, on the ground that it fell outside of the scope of the Brussels I Regulation.

It is not always easy to navigate the rules on the scope of EU regulations, including, it seems, for the European Commission itself…

Croatia acceded to the European Union and to the Brussels I Regulation in 2013. In this case, therefore, not only had the proceedings been initiated before Croatia acceded, but the judgment had also been rendered the year before.

The transitional provisions in the Brussels I Regulation (Article 66) provide that, for the rules on recognition and enforcement of judgments to apply, the judgment should, at the very least, have been made after the entry into force of the Regulation, depending, in particular, on whether the Lugano Convention applied before the entry into force of the Regulation (Article 66(2)).

An interesting question was that of the powers of the French Court of Appeal. The first instance French authority had declared the Croatian judgment enforceable on the basis of the Brussels I Regulation. The power of the Court of Appeal was defined by Article 45(1) of the Regulation, which provides:

The court with which an appeal is lodged under Article 43 or Article 44 shall refuse or revoke a declaration of enforceability only on one of the grounds specified in Articles 34 and 35. (…)

As most readers will know, the grounds in arts 34 and 35 do not include that the judgment did not fall within the scope of the Regulation. Indeed, the Cour de cassation recalled that the CJEU ruled in Case C-139/10 (Prism Investments BV) that a declaration of enforceability could only be revoked on the grounds in Articles 34 and 35.

Interpreted literally, this would mean that a court of appeal could not review the first instance decision in so far as it would have found wrongly that the regulation applied.  As Adrian Briggs wrote in his treatise on Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments, Article 45(1) should “not be taken completely seriously”.

The Cour de cassation rules that Article 45 should be interpreted as limiting the power of the court of appeal to the verification of the existence of a ground in Articles 34 and 35 and the applicability of the regulation (the court suggests that this also flows from the case law of the CJEU).

While it seems clear that the court of appeal should have the power to review the applicability of the Regulation, it is unclear whether this should be considered as mandated by Article 45. If the Regulation does not apply, Article 45 should not either. The remedy should thus be, rather, that the action seeking a declaration of inadmissibility under the Regulation should be declared as inadmissible, for the Regulation would not apply.

After the European Commission was reminded about the date Croatia acceded to the EU, it logically decided that it would thus seek to enforce the Croatian judgment under the French common law of judgments.

The debtor, however, argued that the judgment of the Court of appeal dismissing the first action under the Brussels I Regulation was res judicata, and that the European Commission could not relitigate the case under a different regime.

Under French law, res judicata extends to all arguments which could have been raised in the first proceedings. This, in effect, means parties to French proceedings are under an obligation to raise immediately all possible arguments in support of their claim. In this case, the European Commission would only be given one chance to demonstrate its mastery of the law of foreign judgments.

The Cour de cassation, however, rules that, in the context of an appeal under Article 43 of the Regulation, the European Commission could not have made any argument under the French common law of judgments. As a result, the judgment of the court of appeal should not prevent the Commission from making these arguments in a new action.

The Young Property Lawyers’ Forum (YPLF) invites junior researchers to submit proposals for presentations given at its 12th annual meeting, to take place at the European Legal Studies Institute, University of Osnabrück, Germany, on 1 and 2 June 2023.

The theme of this year’s conference is Property Law and Its Boundaries and it can be dealt with from a wide range of perspectives, including but not limited to, doctrinal, theoretical, and comparative. Topics can cover, e.g., core areas of property law doctrine, intellectual property, or property law’s intersections with environmental law, family law, criminal law, administrative law, etc.

Junior researchers (graduate level up to 5 years after conferral of doctoral degree) are invited to submit abstracts of presentations to be given at the conference. Abstracts can be of completed (but unpublished) drafts and, in keeping with the YPLF’s mission as an informal network to exchange ideas, abstracts on works in progress are encouraged.

Abstracts should be sent via email to yplf@yplf.net by 1 February 2023.

The call for papers can be found here. For more information on the conference, see here.

How did things go with the EAPIL blog in 2022? The following statistics provide some answers.

About 315 posts have been published over the last twelve months. More than 80 of these consisted of reports of, or comments on, court rulings (we mostly covered rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union, but we also dealt with rulings given by the European Court of Human Rights and by domestic courts). Some 40 posts were about new or contemplated normative texts. The remaining posts mostly concerned new scholarly works or upcoming academic events.

No less than 40 posts were authored by guests, rather than the blog’s permanent editors. The EAPIL blog aims to foster dialogue among anybody interested in private international law, so new inputs are always welcome! For inquiries and submissions, please write an e-mail to blog@eapil.org or to pietro.franzina@unicatt.it.

The aggregate number of visits and “unique visitors” has increased, compared with last year (+2,8% and +19%, respectively). Interaction with readers remained intense in 2022, as attested by the comments that the blog’s posts attracted (120 in total). The number of subscribers, i.e., those who asked to be notified of new posts, raised to 600, i.e., about 170 more than one year ago.

Our Twitter account and LinkedIn profile also witnessed an increase in interactions.

The three most read posts, among those published in 2022, were Jurisdictional Immunities: Germany v. Italy, Again, on the proceedings instituted by Germany against Italy before the International Court of Justice in April;  Humpty-Dumpty, Arbitration, and the Brussels Regulation: A View from Oxford, by Adrian Briggs, concerning the ruling of the Court of Justice in the case of London Steam-Ship Owners’ Mutual Assistance Association Ltd v Spain; and Marco Buzzoni’s CJEU Adds a New Piece to the ‘Mosaic’ in Gtflix Tv.

The posts that attracted the highest number of written comments were Martina Mantovani’s Notaries and EU PIL: Taking Stock of 5 Years of Case Law, Felix Wilke’s The Silent Death of Conflict-of-Law Provisions in EU Directives?, and Erik Sinander’s Danish Supreme Court: No Tort Liability under Danish Law for Green Desert Operation in Iraq.

Many thanks to all readers, guests and commenters for feeding the exchanges.

2023 will be a year of innovations regarding the blog – and, generally, the website – of the European Association of Private International Law (various improvements are currently being studied, and will be announced in due course). The support of the blog’s community will be more important than ever!

With all best wishes for the New Year from the editors!

Ronán Feehily authored International Commercial Mediation – Law and Regulation in Comparative Context, recently published by Cambridge University Press.

In this comprehensive comparative study, Ronán Feehily analyses the legal and regulatory issues surrounding international commercial mediation and discusses their implications in a range of settings. While existing literature tends to cover mediation in general, Feehily places the commercial mediation process in its legal and regulatory context, offering an original contribution to the field. The book identifies the controversies that arise from the mediation process across numerous jurisdictions and discusses them in detail. Comparing the mediation process in Europe, North America and Australia, as well as other common, civil and ‘mixed’ jurisdictions, Feehily demonstrates where systemic differences are transcended and where they are significant. Organised systematically and written in an accessible style, Feehily offers an international, holistic guide to the commercial mediation process.

More information available here.

Naivi Chikoc Barreda (University of Ottawa) authored a book titled Succession internationale et dispositions spéciales de la lex rei sitae – Contribution à l’étude de l’impérativité internationale en matière successorale, published by L’Harmattan.

The English summary reads as follows:

While the unity of the applicable law has unquestionably dominated the history of the harmonization of conflict rules in matters of succession, from the first Hague conventions drafts to Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, its scope has always been nuanced by the special rules of the lex situs. These derogatory provisions have borrowed several techniques of intervention. Initially associated with the public policy clause, their admissibility subsequently transited through a substantially oriented choice-of-law rule, before crystallizing in an atypical clause for the application of overriding mandatory provisions. 

These special rules challenge the conceptual premises of a pyramidal understanding of the “lois de police” built on the paradigm of the domestic mandatory rule. This first monograph on the subject proposes a reflection on the “contradictions” at the heart of the traditional notion of “lois de police”, confronted with the particularities of the succession concerning assets subject to economic, family or social purposes, the conservation of which is often ensured by substantive rules respecting the deceased’s individual autonomy.

The EAPIL blog goes on “Winter Break mode”, meaning that only few posts will be published over the next few days. But stay tuned: blogging will resume as usual on 9 January 2023.

We wish you all the best for the festive season!

Almost six years have passed since 18 January 2017, when Regulation (EU) No 655/2014 establishing a European Account Preservation Order (EAPO) procedure to facilitate cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters became applicable in full.

A conference will be held in Milan, at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, on 3 March 2023, from 9.45 to 17, to discuss the operation of the EAPO Regulation in light of practice and case law.

Speakers include Gilles Cuniberti (University of Luxembourg), Elena D’Alessandro (University of Torino), Fernando Gascón Inchausti (Complutense University, Madrid), Katharina Lugani (Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf), Antonio Leandro (University of Bari), Raffaella Muroni (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart), Elena Alina Ontanu (Tilburg University), Carlos Santalò Goris (Max Planck Institute, Luxembourg), María Luisa Villamarín López (Complutense University, Madrid), and Caterina Benini (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart).

The conference will also offer an opportunity to present an article-by-article commentary of the EAPO Regulation, edited by Elena D’Alessandro and Fernando Gascón Inchausti, recently published by Edward Elgar in its Commentaries in Private International Law series. Augusto Chizzini (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart) and Luca Radicati di Brozolo (former professor of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, now partner at ArbLit, Milan) will exchange views on this work.

Some of the presentations will be delivered in English, others in Italian, with simultaneous interpretation.

Attendance is free, but prior registration is required. Details regarding registration will be provided in early January 2023, together with the detailed programme of the event.

For information, please write an e-mail to Pietro Franzina at pietro.franzina@unicatt.it.

The programme for the fourth German Conference for Young Scholars in Private International Law has been released.

The conference will be held at the Sigmund Freud University in Vienna, 23-24 February 2023.

The speakers will present papers in German and English on different aspects of the general topic “Deference to the foreign – empty phrase or guiding principle of private international law?”.

The keynote speech will be delivered by Professor Horatia Muir Watt (Sciences Po) and a panel discussion will provide practical insights.

Please register here in order to participate. Attendance will be in-person only, free of charge. The organisers can be contacted at ipr@sfu.ac.at.

Nazia Yaqub (Leeds Beckett University, UK) authored a book titled Parental Child Abduction to Islamic Law Countries – A Child Rights Analysis of the Legal Framework, published by Hart / Bloomsbury in its Studies in Private International Law.

As the world becomes smaller, family law is becoming truly global, giving rise to more and more questions for private international law. This book looks at the sensitive and complex question of child abduction, with a unique child rights perspective. Taking Islamic law as its case study, it delves into child abduction in key jurisdictions from Iran to Saudi Arabia and Libya to Pakistan. Rigorous doctrinal analysis is enhanced by empirical insights, namely interviews with abductees, parents and professionals. It is an excellent guide to a complicated field.

 The table of contents can be accessed here.

The proceedings of the Conference on the Notary’s Role in Private International Law (L’office du notaire en droit international privé) which took place on 25-26 November 2021 in Toulouse University, have been published by Dalloz.

The book, edited by Estelle Gallant, contains eighteen contributions (in French) from experts of private international law, scholars or practitioners, namely.

Contriibutors form academia include: Hugues Kenkack (Toulouse), Fabienne Jault-Seseke (Paris-Saclay), Patrick Wautelet (Liège), Pierre Callé (Paris-Saclay), Christine Bidaud (Lyon 3), Hugues Fulchiron (Lyon 3), Eric Fongaro (Bordeaux), Michel Farge (Grenoble-Alpes), A. d’Abbadie d’Arrast (Toulouse), Hélène Péroz (Nantes), Nathalie Joubert (Bourgogne-Dijon), Sara Godechot-Patris (Paris-Est Créteil), Sandrine Clavel (Paris-Saclay), Marc Nicod (Toulouse), Lukas Rass-Masson (Toulouse), Estelle Gallant (Toulouse) & Cyril Nourissat (Lyon 3).

The following authors are either notaries or legal practitioners working with notaries: Caroline Deneuville (Paris), Richard Crône (Paris), François Tremosa (Toulouse), Mariel Revillard, Marion Nadaud (Bordeaux).

The volume deals with three main topics: (1) the notary as an authority in private international law; (2) Reception and circulation of documents; (3) the drawing up of documents. It is complemented by sectoral analyses on divorce, matrimonial property regimes and international succession, and by concluding remarks on the main findings of the research.

The blurb (originally in French) reads:

The main objective of the research is to identify precisely the instruments and rules or methods of private international law the notary has to use and implement in his European and international notarial practice, whether he is drawing up or receiving deeds in his office, or circulating them across borders, in the European Union or outside the Union.

Against this background, the book’s contributions are drawing up the contours of the notary’s role in private international law, analysing and discussing its foundations, consequences and challenges.

The table of contents of the book can be accessed here.

Michiel Poesen has published an interesting article in the Common Market Law Review (issue 6 of 2022), titled Civil Litigation Against Third-Country Defendants in the EU: Effective Access to Justice as a Rationale for European Harmonization of the Law of International Jurisdiction.

The abstract reads:

The European Union has taken on an active role in harmonizing the law of international jurisdiction over civil and commercial court disputes. However, the jurisdictional rules contained in the key instrument in the area – the Brussels Ia Regulation – only apply to disputes involving EU-based defendants, save for a few exceptions where defendants domiciled in third countries are also covered. This article will explore the rationale for harmonizing the law of jurisdiction applicable to third-country defendants. This central theme is of particular interest, since further harmonization is once again on the EU’s agenda because of the upcoming revision of the Brussels Ia Regulation. The article will outline that proposals for harmonization are rooted in the aspiration to further effective access to justice. Moreover, it will demonstrate that far from a readily implementable programme, furthering access to justice is a multifaceted aim, the pursuit of which potentially has profound ramifications for the EU rules on civil jurisdiction.

As reported on this blog by Marco Pasqua, the European Commission adopted on 18 October 2022 its 2023 Work Programme, listing the legislative proposals, including in the area of private international law, that the Commission itself regarded as a priority.

On 15 December 2022, the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission signed a Joint Declaration on EU legislative priorities for 2023 and 2024. The document, as indicated in the official press release, “sets out a shared European vision for a stronger and more resilient Europe in the face of Russia’s unprovoked, brutal aggression against Ukraine and its wide-ranging impact – all the while tackling other serious challenges such as the climate crisis and economic headwinds”.

The joint declaration is accompanied by a working document, which lists 164 “key legislative proposals”, that the three institutions agreed to prioritise.

Some of these proposals either primarily relate to private international law or include provisions that have, or may have, significant private international law implications.

These include the proposal for a Directive on adapting non-contractual civil liability rules to artificial intelligence; the proposal for a Directive harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law; the proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence; the proposal for a Directive on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings (SLAPPs); the proposal for a Regulation on the digitalisation of judicial cooperation and access to justice in cross-border civil, commercial and criminal matters; and the proposal for a Regulation on the law applicable to the third-party effects of assignments of claims.

The recently adopted proposal for a Regulation aimed at harmonising at EU level the rules of private international law relating to parenthood (which Marta Requejo presented here) is not among those listed in the document.

There is also no reference to the expected developments regarding the international protection of adults.

The latest issue of the RabelsZ (Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht) has been published. As always, it contains a number of insightful articles. Here are the authors, titles and abstracts:

Moritz Renner and Torsten Kindt, Internationales Gesellschaftsrecht und Investitionsschutzrecht (Conflict of Corporate Laws and International Investment Law)

The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU has revived the debate on the conflict of corporate laws. Much attention has recently been given to the new generation of EU free trade agreements, such as the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, but their impact on conflicts in the field of corporate law remains unclear. This article proposes that the conflict-of-law effects of these agreements can be fully understood only in the light of their common background in international investment law. Building upon an analysis of the role of treaties in Germany’s conflict-of-law system and of the multiple intersections between the conflict of corporate laws and international investment law in general, the article demonstrates that the newest EU free trade agreements imply in particular the application of a restricted conflict-of-law theory of incorporation on foreign corporations originating from the respective signatory states. While the agreements’ effects on conflicts in the corporate law arena are not as far reaching as those of the EU’s freedom of establishment, they nevertheless further narrow the remaining scope of application of the traditional seat theory underlying Germany’s autonomous rules on conflicts vis-à-vis corporate law.

Tobias Lutzi and Felix M. Wilke, Brüssel Ia extendenda est? – Zur Zukunft der internationalen Zuständigkeit deutscher Gerichte in Zivil- und Handelssachen nach Ausweitung der EuGVVO (Brussels I bis extendenda est? On the Future of the International Jurisdiction of German Courts in Civil and Commercial Matters after an Extension of the Regulation)

With the expiry of the deadline of art. 79 Brussels I bis, the academic debate on a possible further extension of the Regulation to situations involving non-EU defendants is (again) gaining momentum. The present study aims to contribute to this discussion. It compares the relevant German rules on international jurisdiction over non-EU defendants with those of the Brussels I bis Regulation in order to be able to assess the consequences of a possible extension from a German perspective. The study reveals that even replacing the national rules in their entirety would not amount to a radical change. In particular, the addition of typified places of performance under art. 7 no. 1 lit. b Brussels I bis to the forum contractus and the availability of a common forum for joint defendants under art. 8 no. 1 Brussels I bis would constitute welcome improvements of the current framework. The loss of jurisdiction based on the presence of assets under § 23 ZPO would arguably be a disadvantage if not properly compensated for, e.g. through a forum necessitatis provision. The biggest advantage, though, would most likely be the harmonization of the law of international jurisdiction across the EU – which, from a German perspective, would come at a rather reasonable price.

Ulla Liukkunen, Decent Work and Private International Law (Open Access)

This article examines the decent work objective set by the ILO and UN Agenda 2030 from the point of view of private international law. It conceptualizes decent work, arguing that inclusivity of protective safeguards and structures in cross-border situations is essential to achieving the objective, and that the need for inclusivity draws attention to the relationship between labour law and private international law. The analysis offered also introduces a migration law-related perspective on decent work and the private international law of employment contracts and labour relations more generally. It is argued that understanding that the idea of inclusivity is embedded in the decent work objective brings up a global dimension which calls for uniform regulatory solutions at the international level. Decent work could be coupled relatively easily with the need for a revival of the private international law of labour relations and for developing a labour rights-based approach in private international law. It also connects private international law’s protective normative frameworks to the body of international labour standards.

Adrian Hemler, Virtuelle Verfahrensteilnahme aus dem Ausland und Souveränität des fremden Aufenthaltsstaats – Zugleich ein Beitrag zum Verhältnis des Völkerrechts zum Kollisionsrecht (Virtual Participation in Court Proceedings from Abroad and Its Effects on the Sovereignty of the Foreign State of Residence – With Consideration of the Relationship Between Public International Law and the Conflict of Laws)

Most German-speaking scholars and some German courts consider participation in virtual court proceedings from a foreign state of residence to be a violation of foreign sovereignty. This essay stakes out a contrary position. In reaching this conclusion, it focuses on the distinction between the exercise of state power abroad and the exercise of state power regarding foreign facts. Especially with regards to extraterritorial legislation, it is argued that the law’s scope of sovereign validity remains territorial even if its scope of application covers facts abroad. The discussion also shows how this distinction is equally applicable to court judgments that concern foreign elements. Furthermore, the article discusses the nature of public international law principles regarding extraterritorial legislation and their relationship to national conflict of laws provisions. Also considered is how the sovereignty principle ought to be understood in cyberspace. Having established this theoretical foundation, it is concluded that regardless of the procedural role of the respective party, participation in virtual court proceedings from a foreign state of residence does not amount to a violation of foreign sovereignty.

Corinna Coupette and Dirk Hartung, Rechtsstrukturvergleichung (Structural Comparative Law) (Open Access)

Structural comparative law explores the similarities and differences between the structures of legal systems. Theoretically grounded in systems theory and complexity science, it models legal systems as networks of documents, organizations, and individuals. Using methods from network analysis, structural comparative law measures these networks, assesses how they change over time, and draws quantitative comparisons between multiple legal systems. It differs from other approaches in its assumptions, its methods, and its goals, in that it acknowledges the relevance of dependencies between system entities and borrows more heavily from data science than from econometrics. Structural comparative law constitutes a novel addition to the comparatist’s toolbox, and it opens myriad opportunities for further research at the intersection of comparative law and data science.

Arseny Shevelev and Georgy Shevelev, Proprietary Status of the Whole Body of a Living Person

This article is a reaction to the growing economic significance of the living human body as well as its legal status. In this paper, we argue that ownership in the human body most effectively guarantees the autonomy of the human will as to the use and disposal of one’s own body, but classical ownership theory is unable to fully ensure the autonomy of the human will, since it risks reviving the institution of slavery. We will demonstrate that theories establishing rights to the body other than ownership rights are limited in content and are inherently inconsistent. At the end of the article, we will propose an abstract ownership theory that allows for the exercise of maximum freedom to dispose of the human body while one is alive and which will be devoid of the flaws of the preceding theories.

The table of contents in German is available here.

On 2 November 2022, the UK Supreme Court delivered its judgment in The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association – Forces Help and another (Respondents) v Allgemeines Krankenhaus Viersen GmbH (Appellant).

The issue at stake was whether the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978, which regulates whether a person liable from a damage may recover contribution from any other person liable, has overriding effect, and thus applies irrespective of the law governing the claim. The Rome II Regulation did not apply ratione temporis.

Mr Roberts suffered brain damage at birth in the Viersen General Hospital (AKV) in Germany in June 2000. Mr Roberts claims that this occurred as a result of the negligence of the attendant midwife, who was employed by the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association Forces Help (SSAFA). He also sued the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which will indemnify SSAFA against any liability.

SSAFA and MoD have brought a claim against AKV for contribution if Mr Roberts’ claim against them succeeds. The basis for this contribution claim is the 1978 Act. The parties agree that the law governing the contribution claim is German law and under German law, the claim would be time-barred. However, if the 1978 Act has overriding effect and if SSAFA/MoD can show that AKV is liable under it, their contribution claim will be in time.

The High Court considered this issue as a preliminary issue before the rest of Mr Roberts’ claim is decided. The High Court decided that the 1978 Act does have overriding effect and therefore SSAFA/MoD’s contribution claim against AKV is not time-barred. The Court of Appeal agreed. AKV now appeals to the Supreme Court.

The Court allowed the appeal on the grounds which were summarised in the Press Summary as follows.

The 1978 Act does not provide expressly that it has overriding effect. It does not provide that the 1978 Act applies irrespective of the foreign law otherwise applicable to the contribution claim. The question is whether such an intention must be implied from the provisions of the statute [38]. Three statutory provisions were identified variously by the Court of Appeal as supporting overriding effect: sections 1(6), 2(3)(c) and 7(3). The Supreme Court, however, considers these provisions equivocal. Their efficacy is not dependent upon overriding effect [39]-[48]. In particular, even in the absence of overriding effect, section 1(6) will be effective in many situations such as where the parties to the contribution claim are in a special relationship governed by the law of England and Wales [43].

Nothing in the admissible Parliamentary materials or the legislative history supports the view that the legislation was intended to have overriding effect [49] – [51]. However, the Bill was a Law Commission Bill and statements by the Commission in other reports suggest it was not intended to have overriding effect [52]-[55]. The weight of academic commentary strongly favours the view that the 1978 Act does not have overriding effect [73]-[79].

A line of authorities supports overriding effect. In a number of these cases overriding effect was assumed, was not directly in point and was not argued [56]-[60]. Arab Monetary Fund v Hashim (No 9) provides direct support for overriding effect, but the reasoning is open to the criticism that it is circular [61]-[68].

In coming to the conclusion that the 1978 Act was not intended to have overriding effect, the Supreme Court is influenced in particular by two considerations. First, there will be many situations in which a contribution claim will be governed by the law of England and Wales, notwithstanding the fact that the underlying liabilities are governed by a foreign law [82]. Secondly, it is difficult to see why Parliament should have intended to confer a statutory right of contribution whenever the party from whom contribution is sought can be brought before a court in this jurisdiction, regardless of the law with which the contribution claim has its closest connection. A failure of foreign law to provide for contribution claims is not a defect requiring remedy by legislation in this jurisdiction. Moreover, it would seem contrary to principle for the law of England and Wales to be applied if the contribution claim were most closely connected to a foreign system of law [83].

Under the Rome II Regulation, the law governing the claim satisfied by a person liable to the victim also governs the right of that person to seek “compensation” from other persons liable to the victim of the same claim. The Rome II Regulation, however, did not apply in this case.

The judgement eventually concludes that German law should also apply to the contribution claim in a reasoning in three steps.

The first is that, although issues of contribution used to be perceived as issues of procedure, it is now widely considered in the British common law world that it is one of substance.

The second is that the issue should be characterised as closely analogous to a restitutionary or quasi-contractual claim, and that the applicable law should be the law with which this claim is the most closely connected. In the present case, given that the claims of each person liable to the victim was governed by German law, that law would be German law as well. But Lord Lloyd-Jones explains that this could have been otherwise if there had been a special relationship between the two liable persons.

The third is that the statutes with overriding effects should be identified by assessing whether the terms of the relevant legislation cannot be applied or its purpose achieved unless it is overriding, and the legislative policy would be so significant that the statute should override the application of foreign law.

The main difference between the English rule and the Rome II Regulation is now, it seems to me, that the English rule relies on a more flexible test which, in certain cases, could lead to the application of a law other than the law governing the claim of the victim. This was critical in this case, as a particular provision of the 1978 Act somewhat required that there be cases were the law of the claim of the victim would be different from the law governing the contribution claim.

Section 1(6) of the 1978 Act provides:

References in this section to a person’s liability in respect of any damage are references to any such liability which has been or could be established in an action brought against him in England and Wales by or on behalf of the person who suffered the damage; but it is immaterial whether any issue arising in any such action was or would be determined (in accordance with the rules of private international law) by reference to the law of a country outside England and Wales.

The answer of the Court is that, for this provision to make sense, it must be possible that English law sometimes applies where foreign law governs the claim of the victim. The example given is a case where a special relationship existed between the two persons liable.

On 24 November 2022, the Court of Justice delivered an interesting judgment on the validity of a digital jurisdictional clause, i.e. the general terms and conditions containing the clause was accessible from a hypertext link mentioned in the written contract (C-358/21, Tilman, already commented here by Krzysztof Pacula and here by Geert Van Calster). In a nutshell, the Court held that such a clause is valid based on the formal requirements laid down in the Lugano II Convention (and, by analogy, in Brussels I bis Regulation) ensuring the parties’ consent to the clause, without the need for a click-wrapping system. Here lies the very point that differentiates the present case from previous ones (in particular C-322/14, Jaouad El Majdoub).

A dispute arose between Tilman, a Belgian-based company and one of its clients, Unilever, established in Switzerland, concerning unpaid invoices. Unilever challenged the international jurisdiction of the Belgian courts seized by Tilman, relying on a jurisdiction clause in favour of the English court. This clause appeared in Unilever General Terms and Conditions (GTC) but these were not directly attached to the main contract; instead, they were only accessible on the Internet via a hypertext link mentioned in the contract. Plus, the hypertext link did not directly give access to the GTC but to a website, access to which allows those general terms and conditions to be viewed.

Before the Belgian Court of cassation, Tilman invoked a violation of the formal requirements of the Lugano II Convention – which corresponds to Article 23 of Regulation 44/20021 Brussels I – with regard to the jurisdictional clause and, therefore, the invalidity of the clause for lack of informed consent on its part.

In this context, the Belgian court asked the Court of justice whether, under Article 23, §1, a) and §2, of the Lugano II Convention, consent to a jurisdiction clause can be deduced from a hyperlink inserted in a written contract, without any ‘obligation’ to click on that link.

The Court answered positively, confirming that business life is increasingly digital, including in its ‘legal dimension’, and that the main principles of contract law must thus adapt to it. This is the case of consent which is seen as genuine even in the digital sphere.

The decision of the Court of justice provides for a three-steps response.

Since the jurisdictional clause was stipulated in favour of the English court, the Court could not ignore the question of the geographical and temporal scope of the Lugano II Convention. After Brexit, the United Kingdom was refused access to the Lugano Convention (see also here and here). The applicable instrument for assessing the validity of the clause could be determined either at the date of its conclusion or at the date of the judicial proceedings. Since the issue at stake here was Brexit, i.e. the modification in time of the scope of application of EU law (including the Lugano II Convention), the Court of Justice chose the second option (for a discussion on this question, see here).

The Court rules that the legal action – the jurisdiction clause producing effects only on the date of the judicial proceedings (see Case Sanicentral, 25/79, point 6) – was brought before 31 December 2020, the termination date of the transitional period provided for in Article 126 of the UK withdrawal agreement. The latter text maintains the application of Union law, including the law on judicial cooperation in civil matters and the international agreements such as the Lugano II Convention. Therefore, the convention is applicable in the present case. The issue will be more difficult in the future (cf. here about a Swiss decision refusing the application of the Convention); in particular, the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements should be considered.

As regards the interpretation of the Lugano II Convention, the Court recalls, in a very classical way, that it must follow the principles laid down by the previous caselaw concerning the provisions at issue contained in other instruments, including the Brussels Convention and the Brussels I and Ia Regulations, insofar as these provisions are drafted in similar terms.

In order to be valid, a jurisdiction clause must be concluded, inter alia, “in writing or orally with written confirmation” (Article 23, §1). The objective is to ensure that the parties’ consent to the clause is genuine. In case of a dispute, the assessment is left to the court on the basis of this EU substantive rule. In the context of the information society and e-commerce, proof of consent may also be based on “electronic means which provides a durable record of the agreement”. This is an expression of the principle – which is becoming more and more widespread in comparative and EU contract law – of assimilating electronic transmission to written form, with a view to simplifying the conclusion of online contracts. However, according to European caselaw, this does not imply that the clause conferring jurisdiction and the GCT mentioning it are “actually” recorded permanently by the parties (see point 44 of the judgment). This nuance is crucial. In order for electronic transmission to offer the same guarantees as the paper format, in particular as regards evidence, there mere “possibility” to save and print the information before the conclusion of the contract is seen as sufficient.

In the present case, the Court of Justice notes that the jurisdiction clause is stipulated in the GTC explicitly mentioned in the written contract concluded between the parties. This procedure complies with EU law, but it must be ensured that the GTC containing the jurisdiction clause have actually been “communicated” to the contracting party, here Tilman, the Belgian company. This is in principle the case, according to previous case law, “if that information is accessible by means of a screen”. Here, the written contract provided for a hypertext link to an Internet site where the general conditions could be accessed. It is therefore necessary, according to the Court, “that hypertext link functions and can be activated by a party exercising ordinary diligence”. The Court adds that it “equates a fortiori to evidence of communication of that information”.

This analysis is relevant, but it is unclear why it is an a fortiori reasoning. Viewing general conditions on a screen expresses the fact that digital access is effective. This is not the case in the presence of a hypertext link, as long as it has not been clicked on. And then, a key practical issue is how to prove that the link does not function: by taking a photo of the screen (screenshot) which displays an ‘error message’ after the hyperlink has been clicked on?

According to the Court, it is irrelevant that Tilman, the co-contractor, did not have a box to tick on the page of the website to express acceptance of those terms and conditions, nor that the page containing those terms and conditions did not open automatically when the website was accessed. The Court implicitly applies here a proportionality test between the requirement of informed consent and the objective of not hindering commercial exchanges. It is therefore up to the party who is invited to consult the GTC online to do so. A “click” and a reading online, on a screen, are no more demanding in a hyperconnected society than reading a paper document in an annex to a contract.

Finally, the Court allows itself an obiter dictum by referring to points b) and c) of Article 23, §1, in order to clearly situate the case in “international trade”. For the record, these provisions validate jurisdiction clauses concluded in a form consistent with international commercial practice, reinforcing the private autonomy of the economic operators. I am not convinced however that this adds anything to the interpretation and especially that it corresponds (i.e. using a hypertext link to refer to the GTC including a court agreement) to the very concept of usage of international trade. But this is an open question.

This solution must be approved for at least three reasons.

Firstly, outside the digital paradigm, economic operators are supposed to be aware of the GTC of the contract and in particular of the jurisdictional clause they contain. Indeed, the GTC are an important criterion for the financial balance of the commercial agreement.

Secondly, in line with its previous case law, the Court of justice follows a different analysis of contractual consent in B2B contracts than in B2C relationships. The formal requirements laid down in EU secondary law on B2C distance contracts cannot be transposed, by analogy, to the B2B context (see point 37, C-322/14, Jaouad El Majdoub).

Thirdly, the Court’s reading of Article 23(2) is part of a more global European political and legislative context: that of the emerging ‘digital by default principle’. In the e-Government strategy, it means that delivering services digitally is the preferred option through a single contact point (see here). According to the European Commission, the same should progressively apply in the judicial cooperation in civil matters. In its 2020 Communication on Digitalisation of justice in the European Union, the Commission proposed to make “the digital channel the default option in EU cross-border judicial cooperation” (point 3.2 and see here for an update on the topic). Reading this ambition for EU Civil Justice together with the “Brussels/Lugano Regime” (as interpreted in the present case), it shows that the EU legal system is working on providing a coherent framework for international economic exchanges in the digital ecosystem.

A request for a preliminary ruling from the Areios Pagos (Greece) is pending before the Court of Justice in the case of Charles Taylor Adjusting and FD against Starlight Shipping Company and Overseas Marine Enterprises INC (C-590/21, Charles Taylor Adjusting). The summary of the request in English and other languages can be downloaded here. The questions focus on the interpretation of the Brussels I Regulation:

Is the expression ‘manifestly contrary to public policy’ in the EU and, by extension, to domestic public policy, which constitutes a ground for non-recognition and non-enforcement pursuant to point 1 of Article 34 and Article 45(1) of Regulation No 44/2001, to be understood as meaning that it extends beyond explicit anti-suit injunctions prohibiting the commencement and continuation of proceedings before a court of another Member State to judgments or orders delivered by courts of Member States where: (i) they impede or prevent the claimant in obtaining judicial protection by the court of another Member State or from continuing proceedings already commenced before it; and (ii) is that form of interference in the jurisdiction of a court of another Member State to adjudicate a dispute of which it has already been seised, and which it has admitted, compatible with public policy in the EU? In particular, is it contrary to public policy in the EU within the meaning of point 1 of Article 34 and Article 45(1) of Regulation No 44/2001, to recognise and/or declare enforceable a judgment or order of a court of a Member State awarding provisional damages to claimants seeking recognition and a declaration of enforceability in respect of the costs and expenses incurred by them in bringing an action or continuing proceedings before the court of another Member State, where the reasons given are that: (a) it follows from an examination of that action that the case is covered by a settlement duly established and ratified by the court of the Member State delivering the judgment (or order); and (b) the court of the other Member State seised in a fresh action by the party against which the judgment or order was delivered lacks jurisdiction by virtue of a clause conferring exclusive jurisdiction?

If the first question is answered in the negative, is point 1 of Article 34 of Regulation No 44/2001, as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union, to be understood as constituting a ground for non-recognition and non-enforcement in Greece of the judgment and orders delivered by a court of another Member State (the United Kingdom), as described under (I) above, where they are directly and manifestly contrary to national public policy in accordance with fundamental social and legal perceptions which prevail in Greece and the fundamental provisions of Greek law that lie at the very heart of the right to judicial protection (Articles 8 and 20 of the Greek Constitution, Article 33 of the Greek Civil Code and the principle of protection of that right that underpins the entire system of Greek procedural law, as laid down in Articles 176, 173(1) to (3), 185, 205 and 191 of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure cited in paragraph 6 of the statement of reasons) and Article 6(1) of the [European Convention on Human Rights], such that, in that case, it is permissible to disapply the principle of EU law on the free movement of judgments, and is the non-recognition resulting therefrom compatible with the views that assimilate and promote the European perspective?

The request having been lodged in September 2021, the file seems ripe to be addressed by the Court. More information will follow when available.

As announced on this blog, the 9th Journal of Private International Law conference will be hosted by the Yong Pung School of Law, Singapore Management University from 3 to 5 August 2023.

A reminder that the deadline to submit abstracts is Friday 16 December 2022 at jpil2023@smu.edu.sg. The Call for Papers is available here.

More information on the conference and the related registration can be found here.

The latest issue of the IPRax (Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts) has been published on 1 November 2022. The table of contents is available here. The following abstracts have been kindly provided to us by the editor of the journal.

U. Janzen and R. Wagner, The German implementing rules for the Brussels II ter Regulation

When the original version of the Brussels II Regulation was adopted in 2000, it was not certain whether this regulation would be such a success. In the meantime, the regulation has become one of the most important legal instruments for judicial cooperation in civil matters. The regulation has recently been revised for the second time. The following article presents the German implementing rules for this recast.

R. Magnus, A new Private International Law and new Procedural Rules for Adoptions in Germany

As a result of two recent reforms the German private international and procedural laws applicable to adoptions have changed quite substantively. Article 22 (1) sentence 1 of the Introductory Act to the German Civil Code (EG-BGB) now refers to the lex fori as the law applicable for all domestic procedures, and section 1 (2) of the Adoption effects Act (AdWirkG) introduces an obligatory recognition procedure for many foreign adoptions. The effects of these and other innovations are examined and evaluated in detail in this article.

H.-P. Mansel, Liberalization of the Private International Law of Marriage and Registered Civil Partnership: Remarks on the Place of Marriage and Registration as Connecting Factors

According to the new proposal of the German Council for Private International Law, the law of the “place of marriage” is to govern the establishment of a marriage or registered civil partnership. The article deals with this proposal and explores the question of how this place is to be determined in the case of an online marriage. It argues for the application of the law of the state where the register is kept.

B. Laukemann, Protecting procedural confidence against the insolvency estate?

According to Union law, the effects of insolvency proceedings on a pending lawsuit are governed by the lex fori – and thus not by the law of the opening Member State (s. Art. 18 European Insolvency Regulation [EIR], Art. 292 Directive 2009/138, Art. 32 Directive 2001/24). At first glance, the distinction between the lex fori and the lex concursus raised here does not cause any major problems of interpretation. But can the lex fori and its regulatory purpose, which is to guarantee protection of confidence and legal certainty in civil proceedings, also be brought into position against the liability regime of foreign insolvency proceedings? A look at Art. 7(2)(c) EIR, which, in turn, allocates procedural powers of a debtor and insolvency practitioner to the lex fori concursus, reveals the difficulties of a clear-cut demarcation between the law of the forum and the law governing insolvency proceedings. The present contribution seeks to pursue this classification problem, equally relevant in legal and practical terms, for the relevant pieces of secondary EU legislation. Recently, this legal question was submitted to the CJEU – due to the liquidation of an insurance company within the scope of the Solvency II Directive. The decision gives rise to critically examine the delimitation approach of the CJEU and to ask in general how the protection of procedural confidence, on the one hand, and insolvency-related liability interests of the creditors, on the other, can be brought into an appropriate balance.

J. Kondring, International Service by WhatsApp: Reflections on the Hague Service Convention and the 1928 Anglo-German Convention in Judgement and Recognition Proceedings

In times of electronic communication, the question arises whether cross-border service by means of electronic communication is possible. The Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Frankfurt a.M. had to decide this question in recognition proceedings for a Canadian-German service by WhatsApp. Neither the Hague Service Convention nor bilateral agreements such as the Anglo-German Convention of 1928 allow service by WhatsApp. In this respect, the article also ex-amines the interaction of section 189 German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) and Art. 15 of the Hague Service Convention in both judgment and recognition proceedings, including the relationship to the parallel Anglo-German Convention of 1928. In certain cases, Art. 15 of the Hague Service Convention moves aside and “neutralises” section 189 German Code of Civil Procedure and its legal consequences. For the recognition proceedings, Art. 15 of the Hague Service Convention will also have to be taken into account in the context of the examination of the regularity of service of the document instituting the proceedings.

S. Arnold, Applicability of Article 15(1)(c) Lugano II in cases of subsequent relocation of consumers

In its judgment (C-296/20), the ECJ follows the consumer-friendly course already taken in the mBank decision. It interpreted Article 15(1)(c) Lugano II (and by doing so also the corresponding Article 17(1)(c) Brussels Ibis Regulation). The court clarified that the provision governs the jurisdiction of a court also in such cases where a consumer who has contracted with a professional counterparty subsequently relocates to another contracting State. Thus, it is not necessary for the cross-border activities of the professional party to have already existed at the time the contract was concluded. Rather, the subsequent move of the consumer also constitutes the “pursuit” of the professional or commercial activity in the consumer’s member state. Consequently, the court strengthens the position of consumers. Even in the event of a subsequent move, they can rely on the (passive) forum of protection of Article 16(2) Lugano II and the (active) forum of Article 16(1) Lugano II at their place of residence. The burden that this decision places on the professional counterparty – the risk of foreign litigation even if the matter was purely domestic at the time the contract was concluded – seems reasonable, as choice of forum agreements (Art. 17 No. 3 Lugano II) remain possible as a means of protection.

A. Staudinger and F. Scharnetzki, The applicable law for the internal settlement between two liability insurances of a tractor-trailer combination – Karlsruhe locuta, causa non finita

If in a tractor-trailer combination the owners of the tractor unit and the trailer are not the same person and two different liability insurers cover the respective operating risk, the question arises as to the internal settlement between the two liability insurances. Here, first the conflict-of-law issue to be dealt with is the source of law that is to be used to determine the relevant statute for recourse. In its decision of 3 March 2021, the Federal Court of Justice endorsed an alternative approach based on Article 19 of the Rome II Regulation and Article 7 para. 4 lit. b) of the Rome I Regulation in conjunction with Article 46d para. 2 of the Introductory Act to the German Civil Code (EGBGB) for a situation in which a German liability insurer of the tractor seeks half compensation from a Czech trailer insurer. In the opinion of the authors, the IV. Civil Senate had, in light of the European Court of Justice’s decision of 21 January 2016 in the joined cases C-359/14 and C-475/14, an obligation to refer to the Court in Luxembourg under Article 267 para. 1 lit. b), para. 3 TFEU. So, the solution via Art. 19 Rome II Regulation seems hardly convincing, at most a special rule on conflict of laws like Art. 7 para. 4 lit. b) Rome I Regulation. Whether and to what extent Article 7 para. 4 lit. b) Rome I Regulation can be instrumentalized to enforce § 78 para. 2 VVG old version via Article 46d para. 2 EGBGB, however, should have been finally clarified by the European Court of Justice. In particular, it seems doubtful whether Article 46d para. 2 EGBGB as a national rule, which goes back to Art. 7 para. 4 lit. b) Rome I Regulation, allows a provision such as § 78 para. 2 VVG old version to be applied as a mere recourse rule between two insurers. This applies all the more since no special public interests or interests of injured parties worthy of protection are affected here.

C. Mayer, Relevance of the place of marriage for determining the applicable law in relation to the formal requirements of proxy marriage and online marriage

The decisions of the Federal Court of Justice and the Düsseldorf Administrative Court concern a double proxy marriage in Mexico and an online marriage via live video conference with an official from the US state of Utah. In both cases, the spouses were themselves in Germany. Both decisions focus on the conflict of law determination of the applicable law in relation to the formal requirements of marriage. Due to the German conflict of law rules in Art. 11 and Art. 13 Para. 4 EGBGB, the place of marriage is decisive. The Federal Court of Justice concludes that the double proxy marriage took place in Mexico, which is why the marriage was formally valid under the applicable local law. The Dusseldorf Administrative Court rules that the online marriage was concluded in Germany, so that only German law is applicable and the marriage is therefore formally invalid due to the lack of participation of a registrar. Both cases reveal inconsistencies in German conflict of laws.

S. Deuring, The Purchase of Trees Growing in Brazil: Not a Contract Relating to a Right in rem in Immovable Property or a Tenancy of Immovable Property

ShareWood, a company established in Switzerland, and a consumer resident in Austria had entered into a framework agreement and four purchase contracts for the acquisition of teak and balsa trees in Brazil. When the consumer demanded the termination of the purchase contracts, the question arose of whether this demand could be based on Austrian law, even though the parties had agreed that Swiss law should apply. Siding with the consumer, the ECJ ruled that contractual arrangements such as the present one cannot be considered contracts relating to a right in rem in immovable property or tenancy of immovable property pursuant to Art. 6(4)(c) of the Rome I Regulation. The non-applicability of this provision entails the applicability of Art. 6(2) cl. 2 of the Rome I Regulation. According to the latter, a choice of law may not have the result of depriving consumers of the protection afforded to them by provisions that cannot be derogated from by agreement by virtue of the law of the country where the consumer has his habitual residence. In consequence, the consumer could, in fact, base his action on Austrian law.

C. Benicke and N. Suchocki, Judicial approval for disclaimer of interests given by parents for their minor children – Polish cases of succession at German courts and the role of the special escape clause in Art. 15 (2) CPC 1996

Polish probate courts demand for judicial approval of any disclaimer of interest given by parents for their minor children, even if such an approval is not required under the law applicable according to Art. 17 of the Child Protection Convention 1996. If German law is applicable due to Art. 17 CPC 1996, in most cases a judicial approval for the disclaimer of interest is not required according to § 1643 (2) p. 2 BGB. As a consequence, German family courts having jurisdiction to issue a judicial approval according to Art. 5 (1) CPC 1996 cannot do so, because under German law, applicable according to Art. 15 (1) CPC 1996 no judicial approval can be issued if not required by the substantive law applicable according to Art. 17 CPC 1996. This leads to the situation that no valid disclaimer of interest can be made, even though both jurisdictions would allow it in a purely domestic case. Therefore, the question arises as to whether in such cases a German family court may issue a judicial approval due to Art. 15 (2) CPC 1996, which exceptionally allows to apply or take into consideration the law of another State with which the situation has a substantial connection. One of the various regulatory purposes of the special escape clause in Art. 15 (2) CPC 1996 consists in allowing the court to adjust the lex fori in order to solve an adaptation problem as it is in this case. The Higher Regional Court Hamm issued such a judicial approval in taking into consideration that the Polish law requires a judicial approval for the disclaimer of interest. We agree with the OLG Hamm in the result, but not in the justification. As Art. 15 (2) CPC 1996 refers only to Art. 15 (1) CPC 1996 the taking into consideration of Polish law cannot overrule that the law applicable according to Art. 17 CPC 1996 does not require a judicial approval. To solve the adaptation problem, it suffices that German law applicable according to Art. 15 (1) CPC 1996 is modified in so far that it allows the formal issuance of a judicial approval even though such an approval is not required by the substantive law applicable according to Art. 17 CPC 1996.

R. Hüßtege, German procedural law for obtaining a decision that the removal or retention of a child was wrongful – present and future

Art. 15 of the Hague Convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction requests that the applicant should obtain from the authorities of the State of the habitual residence of the child a decision that the removal or retention was wrongful within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention. The procedure for obtaining the decision is regulated incomplete in the German implementation law. Most of the problems raised will, however, be remedied by the reform of the German implementing act.

P. Schlosser, Recognition even if service of the document initiating the proceedings had not taken place?

The author is submitting that Art. 22 of the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance provides only one alternative for refusing recognition to a maintenance Judgment (“may be refused”) and that, therefore, more liberal provisions in national Law are upheld. The German code of civil procedure, § 328, seems not to be more liberal, but must be seen in the light of the overwhelming principle of safeguarding the right to be heard in court. Yet, this principle is well safeguarded, if the proposed victim in the subsequent proceedings of exequatur gets a chance to assert what he would have asserted in the original litigation but, thereby, he had no chance to achieve a different result. Under these circumstances the contrary solution would amount to a refusal of justice to the other party.

B. Heiderhoff, Refugees and the Hague Child Abduction Convention

The ECJ held that the removal of a child cannot be wrong ful in the sense of Article 2(11) of Regulation No 2201/2003 (now Article 2 sec 2(11) of Regulation No 2019/1111), if the parent has complied with a decision to transfer under Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 by leaving the country. This decision makes a valid point, but seems too general and reaches too far. The contribution shows that the integration of family law and migration law is insufficient and urges better coordination between the actors to achieve better protection of the child.

T. Frantzen, Norwegian International Law of Inheritance

Norway adopted a new act on inheritance and the administration of estates in 2019. The act came into force on 1 January 2021. The new act is based on the principles of the act on inheritance from 1972 and the act on administration of estates from 1930. This means that descendants may claim a forced share of 2/3 of the estate, however with a limitation of approximately 150,000 Euro. With the new act the amount has been increased, and it is regulated each year. A surviving spouse may, as before, claim a legal share. The spouse may alternatively choose to take over the so-called undivided estate. This means that the division of the estate is postponed.
Until the new succession act was adopted, Norwegian choice of law rules on succession were based on customary law. The general principle was that succession was governed by the law of the State in which the deceased had her/his last domicile, and that there was no, or a very limited space, for party autonomy.
The new act decides that the administration of estates may take place in Norway if the deceased had her/his last habitual residence in Norway. When it comes to succession, the main rule is that succession is governed by the law of the State where the deceased had her/his last habitual residence. Party autonomy is introduced in the new act, as a person may choose that succession shall be governed by the law of a State of which he or she was a national. The decision on the choice of law is however not valid if the person was a Norwegian citizen by the time of death. The few provisions on choice of law are based on the EuErbVO.

C. Jessel-Holst, Private international law reform in North Macedonia

In 2020, North Macedonia adopted a new Private International Law Act which replaces the 2007 Act of the same name and applies from 18.2.2021. The new Act amounts to a fundamental reform which is mainly inspired by the Acquis communautaire. It also refers to a number of Hague Conventions. The Act contains conflict-of-law rules as well as rules on procedure. Many issues are regulated for the first time. The concept of renvoi is maintained but the scope of application has been significantly reduced. As a requirement for the recognition of foreign judgments the Act introduces the mirror principle. As was previously the case, reciprocity does not constitute a prerequisite for recognition and enforcement.