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In Case C-372/16 Sahyouni SAUGMANDSGAARD ØE Opined Friday last (Opinion not yet available in EN at the time of writing of this post; the curia press release on the case helps). The case concerns the scope of application of Rome III, Regulation 1259/2010 (on enhanced co-operation Regulation on divorce and legal separation), as well as the application of its Article 10.  This Article inserts the lex fori for the lex causae, where the lex causae as identified by the Regulation makes no provision for divorce or does not grant one of the spouses equal access to divorce or legal separation on grounds of their sex.

In the previous Sahyouni Case C‑281/15, the request was considered inadmissible for lack of factual beef to the bone to allow the Court to apply its Dzodzi case-law (Joined Cases C‑297/88 and C‑197/89). In that case, the Court had held that the authors of the Treaty did not intend to exclude from the jurisdiction of the Court requests for a preliminary ruling on a provision of EU law in the specific case where the national law of a Member State refers to the content of that provision in order to determine rules applicable to a situation which is purely internal to that State and that, on the contrary, it is manifestly in the interest of the EU legal order that, in order to forestall future differences of interpretation, every provision of EU law should be given a uniform interpretation irrespective of the circumstances in which it is to be applied.

In the case at hand, Rome III is not generally applicable to decisions on divorce and legal separation issued by the authorities of third States. German residual private international law on the matter, however, makes it so applicable.

SAUGMANDSGAARD ØE first of all opines that the national court now does give the CJEU enough information for it to rule on the case. Contrary to what the German legislature
assumed, however, the AG suggests Rome III does not cover divorces which are declared without a constitutive decision of a court or other public authority, such as a divorce resulting from the unilateral declaration of a spouse which is registered by a religious court. Note that the AG for this purpose employs lex fori in the sense of EU law (the Regulation and its preparatory works), to determine whether such divorce is ‘private’ or not; not as might be considered an alternative in the case at hand, Syrian law. Those of us with an interest in Vorfrage may find this interesting.

Next, the AG does complete the analysis should the Court disagree with his view on scope of application. The question whether access to divorce provided for by the foreign law is discriminatory (this is the test of the aforementioned Article 10) must, in the view of the AG, be assessed in the abstract, and not specifically in the light of the circumstances of the case. Therefore, it suffices that the applicable foreign law be discriminatory by virtue of its content for it to be disapplied. This AG suggests that the EU legislature considered that the discrimination at issue, namely that based on the sex of the spouse, is so serious as to warrant unqualified rejection, without the possibility of exception on a case-by-case basis, of the entirety of the law which should have been applied in the absence of such discrimination. This interpretation differs from the standard application of another well-known mechanism, that of ordre public, where any assessment needs to be based on a case-by-case basis.

Finally, the AG examines whether the fact that the spouse discriminated against
possibly consented to the divorce allows the national court not to disapply the foreign law despite its discriminatory nature, and therefore to apply that law. He suggests that question be answered in the negative. The rule set out in Article 10 of the ‘Rome III’ Regulation, which is based on compliance with values considered to be fundamental, is mandatory in nature and therefore, as a result of the intention of the EU legislature, does not fall within the sphere in which the persons at issue can freely waive the protection of their rights.

A judgment to look out for.

Geert.

On 5/6 April 2018 Dr. Ana Mercedes López Rodríguez, Ph.D. and Dr. Katia Fach Gómez, LL.M will convene a conference to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. The conference will take place at University Loyola Andalucia (Seville/Spain) and is expected to comprise 3-4 Keynote Lectures and round tables with approximately 36 speakers.

Academics, practitioners and policymakers are invited to submit extended abstracts or unpublished full papers on the referred topic to the conference directors (amlopez@uloyola.es; katiafachgomez@gmail.com) by 30 November 2017.  Practitioners at all stages of their careers and senior and junior scholars (including Ph.D. students) are encouraged to participate.

The Conference directors expect to publish an edited volume in English by a relevant legal publishing house containing the most relevant papers presented in the Conference.

Further information about the submission and publication process can be found here and at the Conference website.

The European Law Institute has approved and published its new instrument, the report on the Rescue of Business in Insolvency Law. The report is available on SSRN as well as on the website of the ELI. The abstract on SSRN reads as follows:

Since the global financial crisis, insolvency and restructuring law have been at the forefront of law reform initiatives in Europe and elsewhere. The specific topic of business rescue appears to rank top on the insolvency law related agenda of both the European Union (EU) and national legislators faced by a rapid growth of insolvencies, which clearly highlighted the importance of efficient mechanisms for dealing with distressed, but viable business. For the European Law Institute (ELI), this fuelled the momentum to launch an in-depth project on furthering the rescue of such businesses across Europe. The European Law Institute, established in 2011, is an independent non-profit organisation established to initiate, conduct and facilitate research, make recommendations and provide practical guidance in the field of European legal development. Building on the wealth of diverse legal traditions, ELI’s mission is the quest for better law-making in Europe and the enhancement of European legal integration. By its endeavours, ELI seeks to contribute to the formation of a more vigorous European legal community, integrating the achievements of the various legal cultures, endorsing the value of comparative knowledge, and taking a genuinely pan-European perspective. As such, its work covers all branches of the law: substantive and procedural; private and public (see http://www.europeanlawinstitute.eu/).

The topics addressed in the Report are intended to present a tool for better regulation in the EU, developed in the spirit of providing a coherent, dynamic, flexible and responsive European legislative framework for business rescue. Mindful of the European Commission’s commitment to better legal drafting, the Report’s proposals are formulated as comprehensibly, clearly, and as consistently as possible. Still, the recommendations are not designed to be overly prescriptive of specific outcomes, given the need for commercial flexibility and in recognition of the fact that parties will bargain in the ‘shadow of insolvency law’. The Report is addressed to the European Union, Member States of the EU, insolvency practitioners and judges, as well as scholars. The targeted group many times flows explicitly from the text of a recommendation or the context in which such a recommendation is developed and presented. The Reporters cherish the belief that the report will assist in taking a next, decisive step in the evolutionary process of the European side of business rescue and insolvency law.

The Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) has just released the final French and English versions of the draft Guide to Good Practice on Article 13(1)(b) of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Child Abduction Convention) for the attention of the Special Commission meeting of October 2017 on the practical operation of the 1980 Child Abduction Convention and of the 1996 Child Protection Convention.  A Spanish translation of the document is also available.

Further information relating to the Special Commission meeting is available here: https://www.hcch.net/en/publications-and-studies/details4/?pid=6545&dtid=57

In my view, this topic will likely spark some debate at the meeting given the heightened awareness of some of the pitfalls of the Child Abduction Convention in relation to cases of domestic violence. See, for example, Taryn Lindhorst and Jeffrey L. Edleson, Battered Women, their Children, and International Law – the Unintended Consequences of the Hague Child Abduction Convention (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2012) and Honourable Brenda Hale (Baroness Hale of Richmond), “Taking Flight—Domestic Violence and Child Abduction”, Current Legal Problems (13 August 2017).

Please note that the meeting above-mentioned is open only to delegates or experts designated by the Members of the Hague Conference, invited non-Member States and International Organisations that have been granted observer status.

It does not happen too often that (the notion of) European Private International Law hits the front pages of the daily news. But on Friday it happened: Germany’s foremost (conservative) newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), addressed A.G. Saugmandsgaard’s recent opinion on the recognition of private (Sharia) divorces under the Rome III Regulation. In so doing the FAZ expressly pointed out, on page 1, that it was unclear whether “European rules on choice of law (“Europäisches Kollisionsrecht”) actually applied in the case at bar.

The A.G.’s full opinion according to which the Rome III Regulation (if it applies at all) does not allow a private divorce to be recognized as valid where the applicable foreign law is discriminatory, is available here (in a number of languages, but not in English). The official press release can be downloaded here.

Written by Veerle Van Den Eeckhout

In February 2017, the working paper “Internationaal privaatrecht in tijden van globalisering. “Neutraal” internationaal privaatrecht!?”) of Veerle Van Den Eeckhout was posted on ssrn. This paper was written in Dutch.

Meanwhile, an English, slightly extended version of the paper (“Private International Law in an Era of Globalisation. “Neutral” Private International Law? I could be brown, I could be blue, I could be violet sky”) has been made available.

The abstract reads as follows: “In times of (discussions about) globalisation, due attention must be given to the operation of rules of private international law. Examination of the ongoing developments in private international law itself and in private international law in its interaction with other disciplines from the perspective of “protection of weak parties” and “protection of planetary common goods” allows carrying out the analysis to which current developments invite.”

The English paper can be found here.

I reported earlier on Saugmandsgaard ØE’s opinion in Cases C‑168/16 and C‑169/16, Nogueira et al and Osacar v Ryanair. The CJEU yesterday held and as I put it in immediate comment on the case reported in the FT, the Court’s view clearly resonates with the current mood against social dumping.

The case here ostensibly concerns jurisdiction only, however the Rome I Regulation includes mandatory protection of the employee guaranteed by the laws of the same place where (s)he habitually carries out his /her work. Hence a finding in the context of the Brussels I Recast inevitably has an impact on applicable law, too.

Firstly the Court has no mercy for the limiting choice of court agreement in the relevant contracts (at 53): in the case of employment contracts, a jurisdiction clause cannot apply exclusively and thus prohibit the employee from bringing proceedings before the courts which have jurisdiction under the protective regime of the Brussels I Recast.

The Court then essentially reiterates its AG: The concept of ‘place where the employee habitually carries out his work’ must be interpreted as referring to the place where, or from which, the employee in fact performs the essential part of his duties vis-à-vis his employer (at 59). Referring to its earlier case-law, the Court reiterates that national courts must, in particular, determine in which Member State is situated (i) the place from which the employee carries out his transport-related tasks, (ii) the place where he returns after his tasks, receives instructions concerning his tasks and organises his work, and (iii) the place where his work tools are to be found. (at 63). The place where the aircraft aboard which the work is habitually performed are stationed must also be taken into account (at 64).

The CJEU’s judgment then zooms in particularly on the notion of ‘home base’, a term used in relevant EU civil aviation law. The concept of ‘place where, or from which, the employee habitually performs his work’ cannot be equated with any concept referred to in another act of EU law (at 65).  However that does not mean that it is irrelevant to determine the place from which an employee habitually carries out his work. In fact, the Court held, the concept is likely to play a significant role in the identification of place of habitual employment in cases as these (at 69). In fact, taking account of the facts of each of the present cases, it would only be if applications, such as those at issue in the main proceedings, were to display closer connections with a place other than the ‘home base’ that the relevance of the latter for the identification of ‘the place from which employees habitually carry out their work’ would be undermined (at 73).

Nationality of the aircraft is summarily dismissed at 75, as being of any relevance at all.

At 62, the Court, importantly, also wars against fraudulent forum shopping: ‘That circumstantial method makes it possible not only to reflect the true nature of legal relationships, in that it must take account of all the factors which characterise the activity of the employee (see, by analogy, judgment of 15 March 2011, Koelzsch, C‑29/10, EU:C:2011:151, paragraph 48), but also to prevent a concept such as that of ‘place where, or from which, the employee habitually performs his work’ from being exploited or contributing to the achievement of circumvention strategies (see, by analogy, judgment of 27 October 2016, D’Oultremont andOthers, C‑290/15, EU:C:2016:816, paragraph 48 and the case-law cited).‘

The case now goes back to Mons howeer as has been reported, it is almost inconceivable for that court not to find Charleroi to be the place of habitual employment. Despite Ryanairs bravado, it is clear this judgment blows a hole in its regulatory strategy.

Geert.

(Handbook of) EU Private International Law, 2nd ed 2016, Chapter 2, Heading , Chapter 3, Heading 3.2.5.

Michael Broeders and Ulrike Verboom have excellent overview of the decision back in May by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal not to recognise the Russian liquidation order of 1 August 2006 regarding OAO Yukos Oil Company. The refusal to recognise is based on ordre public: in particular, a finding was made that the Russian order contravenes the principles of due process hence also ordre public. Reference was made in extenso to decisions by the European Court of Human rights against Russia in related cases in 2011 and 2014.

Michael and Ulrike also refer to previous case-law of the Dutch Supreme Court which held that on the basis of the lex concursus (here: Russian), there is no principled objection to the Russian trustee in bankruptcy to exercise his powers as such trustee in The Netherlands.

Geert.

Yummie: Dutch High Court asks the European Court of Justice for assistance in qualifying anti-avoidance /fraudulent conveyance mechanisms. (Guest blog in Dutch).

Corporate Finance Lab

De Nederlandse Hoge Raad stelde op 8 september het Europese Hof van Justitie enkele interessante prejudiciële vragen over de Peeters/Gatzen-vordering (ECLI:NL:HR:2017:2269). Voor hen die er het raden naar hebben wie die Peeters of Gatzen dan wel zijn, eerst een korte toelichting. De andere lezers kunnen gelijk naar de navolgende alinea’s scrollen.

In eerdere posts wezen we al op de actio pauliana als techniek van schuldeisersbescherming. Ze laat schuldeisers, en na faillissement de boedel, toe om handelingen niet-tegenwerpelijk te laten verklaren, mits voldaan is aan bepaalde voorwaarden. We noemen hier omwille van de bondigheid enkel de voornaamste twee:

• de ene voorwaarde is verhaalsbenadeling: het beslag op het schuldeisersvermogen wordt bemoeilijkt of uitgehold, bijvoorbeeld omdat de schuldenaar goederen wegschenkt aan vrienden;
• de andere voorwaarde is het zogenoemde subjectief element: de schuldenaar heeft de bestreden handeling verricht met “wetenschap van benadeling” of zelfs “bedrieglijke intentie”.

Soms is de pauliaanse niet-tegenwerpelijkheid…

View original post 458 more words

More (not much more) information is here. Guangjian Tu provided a Chinese perspective on the Convention ten years ago. Two other recent publications are in this context: Zheng Sophia Tang and Alison Lu Xu on Choice of Court Agreements in Electronic Consumer Contracts in China, and King Fung Tsang, Chinese Bilateral Judgment Enforcement Treaties, 40 Loy. L.A. Int’l. & Comp. L. Rev. 1 (2017) (only on heinonline).

For your second conflicts reading of the day I thought I should serve something more substantial. In A (an Austrian company) v M (a company located in Luxembourg) the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) had to decide on the determination of the locus delicti commissi in the event of infringement of copyright. M had effectively siphoned off to its website, some of A’s satellite broadcasts. Plenty of CJEU precedent is referred to (Hejduk; Austro Mechana; to name a few).

Thank you very much indeed Klaus Oblin for providing me with copy of the judgment – back in early June. Effectively, at issue was  the infringement of a duty to pay.  Klaus has excellent overview of the issues, of which the following are definitely worth highlighting. The Supreme Court justifiably of course emphasises autonomous interpretation of Article 7(2) Brussels I Recast. Yet autonomous interpretation does not provide all the answers. There are plenty of instances where locus delicti commissi is not easily identified, such as here.

The Oberster Gerichtshof seeks support in the Satellite Directive 93/83, but notes that the Directive includes no procedural clauses, let alone any regarding international jurisdiction (at 2.4.2. It refers to the German Bundesgerichtshof’s decision in Oscar). It then completes the analysis by reference to national law:

Section 42b(1) of the Act on Copyrights and Related Rights to classify breach of copyright as a tort (CJEU Kalfelis would have been a more correct reference) ; and

Section 907a(1) of the Civil Code) to identify the locus of the delicti commissi: because monetary debts in acordance with that section must be discharged at the seat of the creditor, the domestic courts at the Austrian seat of the collecting society have jurisdiction. In coming to its conclusion, the court (at 3.2) refers pro inspiratio to Austro Mechana, not just the CJEU’s judgment but also the ensuing national judgment.

Now, lest I am mistaken, in Austro Mechana the CJEU did not identify the locus delicti commissi: it simply qualified the harm arising from non-payment by Amazon of the remuneration provided for in Austrian law, as one in tort: at 52 of its judgment: it follows that, if the harmful event at issue in the main proceedings occurred or may occur in Austria, which is for the national court to ascertain, the courts of that Member state have jurisdiction to entertain Austro-Mechana’s claim. (emphasis added)

Given its heavy reliance on national law, I would suggest the judgment skates on thin ice. Reference to the CJEU seemingly was not contemplated but surely would have been warranted. Kainz is a case in point where locus delicti commissi was helpfully clarified by Luxembourg, Melzer one for locus damni.

Geert.

(Handbook of) European Private international Law, 2nd ed. 2016, Chapter 2, heading 2.2.11.2.

As I turn my attention to clearing the blog queue, a light posting to begin with. Kind of light, that is, because for the plaintiffs at issue of course the issue is not at all a laughing matter. I am assuming readers will be somewhat aware of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge having taken action against ‘Closer’ (more precisely, the publishers, SAS Mondadori), for invasion of privacy after photos appeared of the couple relaxing poolside in a French private residence. The photos were taken with sniper lenses some distance away. Like everyone else, I have not seen the photos.

Following an earlier injunction the couple have now been awarded damages. I have not managed to locateactual text of either injunction (going back to 2012) or last week’s judgment on the substance of the matter. If any reader can assist, I would be most obliged.

I often use the case in my very introductory class of private international law for it illustrates a wide plethora of conflicts issues: why did the couple decide to sue in France rather than England where it easily would have standing; how do the injunction proceedings in particular illustrate enforcement issues; where do Gleichlauf, forum shopping etc. come in. I will not reveal all the ifs and buts here for it would spoil the fun for future classes. Conflicts buffs will see the attraction of the case for teaching purposes.

Geert.

On the occasion of the 80th birthday of Jürgen Samtleben, a Symposium will be held on 6 and 7 October 2017 at the Max-Planck-Institute in Hamburg, under the title: Focus Latin America — International Conflicts and Legal Order.

There will be presentations in German, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Registration is free, and due until 15 September 2017, through e-mail: veranstaltungen@mpipriv.de.

The program is available here.

The Center of Legal Studies on Efficiency of the Contemporary Law Systems (Cejesco – University of Reims) organizes a conference at the Faculty of Law on 13 September 2017 on the evolution of Law in China.

In this occasion, the book “International Sale of Goods – A Private International Law Comparative and Prospective Analysis of Sino-European Relations” (N. Nord and G. Cerqueira, Springer, 2017) will be presented to the academic community.

Topics and speakers:

The Evolution of the Law in China – Nicolas Nord, Associate Professor, University of Strasbourg

Book Comments – Cyril Nourissat, Professor, University Jean Moulin – Lyon 3.

The conference will be chaired by Gustavo Cerqueira, Associate professor, University of Reims.

For further information on the conference:  https://univ-droit.fr/actualites-de-la-recherche/manifestations/24173-l-evolution-du-droit-en-chine

For further information on the book: http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319540351

Can we teach private international law through film? Yes we can, and not only through Green Card. Three sources in Spanish provide ample material, including some for non-Spanish speakers.

The first, most comprehensive and academic one, comes from the Proyecto DeCine, a network of Spanish law professors interested in teaching law through film. The result is a fabulous  book full with detailed didactic materials on different films, which is also available for free online. Several of the films discussed are in English or exist in translation.

The second source, a series of blog posts by Angel Espiniella Menéndez, professor for private international law at the University Oviedo, provides valuable recommendations, organized by subject matter, in monthly instalments. So far, he has provided five: person and capacity,   protection of minors, parentage, marriage, and breakdown of marriage. Hopefully, more are coming

Finally,  MillenniumDiPR.com provides a rather eccentric list of ten private international law related movies with some unexpected themes: Titanic for international family law, The Martian for conflicts with Martian law, etc. Only for the daring.

But all of this is in Spanish. Who has recommendations in other languages? Or who writes the guide in English?

The Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) has just issued a Note on the concept of “purposeful and substantial connection” in Article 5(1)(g) and 5(1)(n)(ii) of the February 2017 draft Convention of the Judgments Project for the attention of the Special Commission meeting of November 2017 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments. The February 2017 draft Convention is available here.

This Note was prepared by Professor Ronald A. Brand and Dr Cristina M. Mariottini. Professor Geneviève Saumier provided comments.

Article 5(1)(g) and 5(1)(n)(ii) reads as follows:

Article 5(1)

“A judgment is eligible for recognition and enforcement if one of the following requirements is met” – […]

(g)

“[T]he judgment ruled on a contractual obligation and it was given in the State in which performance of that obligation took place, or should have taken place, in accordance with

(i) the parties’ agreement, or

(ii) the law applicable to the contract, in the absence of an agreed place of performance

unless the defendant’s activities in relation to the transaction clearly did not constitute a purposeful and substantial connection to that State;” (our emphasis)

(n)(ii)

“[T]he judgment concerns the validity, construction, effects, administration or variation of a trust created voluntarily and evidenced in writing, and – […]

(ii) the law of the State of origin is expressly or impliedly designated in the trust instrument as the law governing the aspect of the trust that is the subject of the litigation that gave rise to the judgment[, unless the defendant’s activities in relation to the trust clearly did not constitute a purposeful and substantial connection to that State];” […] (our emphasis)

Other information relating to the meeting is available at https://www.hcch.net/en/projects/legislative-projects/judgments/special-commission.

Please note that the meeting above-mentioned is open only to delegates or experts designated by the Members of the Hague Conference, invited non-Member States and International Organisations that have been granted observer status.

The good tradition of the biannual Petar Sarcevic conferences is being continued this year with the 5th conference titled Information and Data: The Road Ahead. It will take place in a beautiful Croatian coastal tourist and conference resort Opatija, on 6 and 7 October.

This two-day event will provide ample oportunities for the professionals and scholars to discuss current issues of protection of confidential information, business secrets and personal data in the context of technological advancement and resulting economic and social developments. The conference is divided into three sessions:
– Protection of confidential information v access/disclosure
– Managing data protection: A tall order for controllers and subjects
– Litigation in the midst of economic and technological changes.
The wast range of speakers includes members of the judiciary (EU and national), representatives of the executive branch, leading lawyers and prominent academics.

For additional information about the conference, programme, speakers, venue and special early-bird rates expirying on 10 September please consult the conference webpage.

Leuphana Law School is looking for a highly skilled and motivated Ph.D. candidate and fellow (wissenschaftliche/r Mitarbeiter/in) on a part-time basis (50%) as of 1 December 2017.

The successful candidate holds a first law degree (ideally the First State Exam (Germany) or LL.M. (UK)/J.D. (USA)/similar degree) and is interested in private international law, international economic law, and intellectual property law—all from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. A very good command of German and English is expected; good IT skills are required.

The fellow will be given the opportunity to conduct his/her own Ph.D. project (under the faculty’s regulations). The position is paid according to the salary scale E-13 TV-L, 50%. The initial contract period is three years, with an option to be extended. The research fellow will conduct research as part of the unit led by Professor Dr. Tim W. Dornis (Chair in Private Law, International Private and Economic Law, and Comparative Law) and will have an independent teaching obligation (2 hours/week).

If you are interested in this position, please send your application (cover letter, CV, and relevant documents) by 4 October 2017 to

Leuphana Universität Lüneburg

Personalservice, Corinna Schmidt

Kennwort: WiMi Rechtswissenschaften

Universitätsallee 1

21335 Lüneburg

bewerbung@leuphana.de

Leuphana University is an equal opportunity employer.

The job advert in full detail is accessible here

http://www.leuphana.de/news/jobs-und-karriere/forschung-lehre/ansicht-forschung-lehre/datum/2017/08/24/wissenschaftlichen-mitarbeiterin-zur-juristischen-promotion.html

Today (6 September 2017) Bolivia joined the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention). With the accession of Bolivia, the Apostille Convention now has 115 Contracting Parties. The Apostille Convention will enter into force for Bolivia on 7 May 2018.

Four out of the last five States that have joined the Apostille Convention since December 2015 have been from the Americas (Brazil, Chile, Guatemala and Bolivia). The Apostille Convention has already entered into force for Brazil and Chile and will enter into force for Guatemala on 18 September 2017.

There are 5 States that are yet to join the Apostille Convention from the Americas: Canada, Cuba, Guyana, Haiti and Jamaica.

For more information visit https://www.hcch.net/en/news-archive/details/?varevent=568. The full list of Contracting Parties is available here.

For the first time, a Chinese court has recognized and declared enforceable a commercial monetary judgment from the United States. Jie Huang from the University of New South Wales provides more information and commentary. Some further information and background from Don Clarke is here.