Aldricus

Parental Care and the Best Interests of the Child in Muslim Countries, edited by / a cura di Nadjma Yassari, Lena-Maria Möller, Imen Gallala-Arndt, SPringer, 2017, ISBN 9789462651739, pp. 353, EUR 145,59

This book is the first analysis of parental care regimes in Muslim jurisdictions, both in a comparative and country-specific sense. It contains the proceedings of a workshop on Parental Care and the Best Interests of the Child in Muslim Countries that the Max Planck Research Group “Changes in God’s Law: An Inner-Islamic Comparison of Family and Succession Law” hosted in Rabat, Morocco in April 2015. This workshop saw a total of 15 country reports presented on questions of custody, guardianship and their development within different Muslim jurisdictions (ranging from Indonesia to Morocco), a number of which are included in full in the book. Each of these country reports contains a historical perspective on the evolution of domestic rules regarding custody and guardianship, and on the introduction and development of the notion of the best interests of the child. Most importantly, the prevailing legal norms, both substantive and procedural, are explored and particular attention is given to legal practice and the role of the judiciary. In addition to a selection of country reports from the workshop, the volume includes two comparative analyses on questions of parental care in both public and private international law. With a high practical relevance for legal practitioners working in the area of cross-border custody disputes and the most up-to-date assessment of parental care regimes beyond a pure analysis of statutory law, this book combines a number of country reports authored by experts who have worked or are still based in the respective countries they are reporting on and thus contains in-depth discussions of legal practice and custody law in action.

Venerdì 30 giugno 2017 si terrà a Torino un convegno intitolato Il riconoscimento e l’esecuzione di decisioni e lodi arbitrali stranieri: trends e sviluppi recenti, organizzato dell’Union Internationale des Avocats, dall’Ordine degli Avvocati di Torino e dal Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza dell’Università di Torino.

La locandina dell’evento è disponibile qui.

Recognition of Foreign Administrative Acts, edited by / a cura di J. Rodríguez-Arana Munoz, M. Garcìa Pérez, J.J. Perna Garcìa, C. Aymerich Cano, Springer, 2016, ISBN 9783319189741, pp. 388, EUR 135,19.

This book presents an analysis of the concept of the administrative act and its classification as ‘foreign’, and studies the administrative procedure for adopting administrative acts in a range of countries in and outside Europe. While focusing on the recognition and execution of foreign administrative acts, the book examines the validity, efficacy and enforceability of foreign administrative acts at national level. The book starts with a general analysis of the issue, offering general conclusions about the experiences in different countries. It then analyses the aforementioned themes from the perspective of the domestic law of different European nations and a number of international organisations (European Union, MERCOSUR, and Andean Community). In addition, the book studies the role of the European Union in the progress towards the recognition and execution of foreign administrative acts, where the principle of mutual recognition plays a vital part. Finally, the book analyses the international conventions on the recognition and execution of administrative acts and on the legalisation of public documents.

Gerard McCormack, Andrew Keay, Sarah Brown, European Insolvency Law – Reform and Harmonization, Edward Elgar, 2017, ISBN: 9781786433305, 512 pp, GBP 95

Critically analysing the substantive law of insolvency in the EU countries as a whole, this book carries out horizontal cross-cutting analysis of the data gathered from a study of national insolvency laws. It selects particular areas for detailed discussion and considers the pros and cons of particular legislative solutions. Using the US and Norway as comparator countries, the expert authors identify areas where disparities in national laws produce problems that have impacts outside national boundaries. They analyse these against key policy goals including: improving economic performance throughout the EU; promoting a more competitive business environment; efficient asset allocation; and building more stable and sustainable human capital in terms of support for entrepreneurs and responses to consumer over-indebtedness. The book also considers possible reform and harmonization measures situated against the wider contextual background of the Capital Markets Union and the Europe 2020 agenda of promoting jobs and growth. Discerning and practical, European Insolvency Law will appeal to academics in both insolvency and finance as well as insolvency practitioners and lawyers. Its reform suggestions will be of interest to EU Member States’ government departments, while also providing a useful reference for consumer associations and debt charities.

L’11 e il 12 maggio 2017 il Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza dell’Università Roma Tre ospita la nuova edizione dell’annuale incontro fra i giovani cultori del diritto internazionale. Il tema di quest’anno è Frontiere, spazi giuridici e territorio.

Le relazioni toccano, fra gli altri, anche temi di diritto internazionale privato.

Il programma completo dell’incontro è disponibile a questo indirizzo.

The first issue of a new periodical, called Freedom, Security & Justice: European Legal Studies, is now on-line.

In addition to the inaugural editorial by Angela Di Stasi, the issue hosts contributions (some written in Italian, others in English) by Maria Caterina Baruffi (on international child abduction), Dominik Düsterhaus (on mutual trust), Caterina Fratea (on the labour mobility), Angela Maria Romito (on cross-border debt recovery), Valentina Faggiani (on fundamental guarantees in criminal proceedings), Maria Font i Mas (on the movement of public documents across borders), Sílvia Morgades-Gil (on forced migration) and Alfredo Rizzo (on the external dimension of the European area of freedom, security and justice).

The University of Ferrara will host on 5 May 2017 a seminar titled ‘Universal Civil Jurisdiction – Which Way Forward?‘, in cooperation with the Interest Groups on International and European Human Rights Law and Private International Law of the Italian Society of International and EU Law (ISIL).

The seminar will be chaired by Judge Giorgio Gaja (International Court of Justice). Speakers and discussants include Beatrice Bonafè (University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’), Francesco Costamagna (University of Turin), Malgosia Fitzmaurice (Queen Mary University of London), Serena Forlati (University of Ferrara), Pietro Franzina (University of Ferrara), Patrick Kinsch (University of Luxembourg), Fabrizio Marongiu Buonaiuti (University of Macerata), Makane Moïse Mbengue (University of Geneva), Cesare Pitea (University of Parma), Chiara Ragni (University of Milan), Cedric Ryngaert (University of Utrecht), Andrea Saccucci (University of Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’). 

Si svolgerà a Ferrara, il 5 maggio 2017, un seminario intitolato “Universal Civil Jurisdiction – Which Way Forward?”, organizzato in cooperazione con i Gruppi di interesse sul Diritto internazionale ed europeo dei diritti umani e sul Diritto internazionale privato e processuale della Società italiana di diritto internazionale e diritto dell’Unione europea (SIDI).

I lavori saranno coordinati dal Giudice Giorgio Gaja (Corte internazionale di giustizia). Interverranno: Beatrice Bonafè (Università di Roma‘La Sapienza’), Francesco Costamagna (Università di Torino), Malgosia Fitzmaurice (Queen Mary University di Londra), Serena Forlati (Università di Ferrara), Pietro Franzina (University di Ferrara), Patrick Kinsch (Università di Lussemburgo), Fabrizio Marongiu Buonaiuti (Università di Macerata), Makane Moïse Mbengue (Università di Ginevra), Cesare Pitea (Università di Parma), Chiara Ragni (Università di Milano), Cedric Ryngaert (Università di Utrecht), Andrea Saccucci (Università della Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’).

Silvia Pfeiff,  La portabilité du statut personnel dans l’espace européen, Bruylant, 2017, ISBN 9782802757429, pp. 718, EUR 150

Opposer un refus de reconnaissance au statut personnel d’un individu revient à renier une partie de son identité. Le fait que des citoyens européens puissent subir les inconvénients liés, par exemple, à un refus de reconnaissance de leur mariage, de leur partenariat ou de leur filiation lors de l’exercice de leur liberté de circulation est-il compatible avec les droits et libertés garantis par la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme et les traités européens ? Cette question a mené l’auteur à s’interroger sur l’étendue des droits et libertés européens, tels qu’ils découlent de la jurisprudence de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme et de la Cour de justice de l’Union européenne, et à explorer les pistes de solutions que recèle aujourd’hui le droit européen en tant que cadre supranational pour l’ensemble des États membres. Sur base de cet acquis européen est élaborée une méthode européenne de la reconnaissance. Celle-ci impose aux autorités nationales d’intégrer la logique européenne dans leur raisonnement lorsqu’elles sont saisies de la question de la reconnaissance d’un élément du statut personnel cristallisé par l’intervention d’une autorité publique d’un État membre. Ce faisant, elle ambitionne de réduire la survenance de statuts personnels boiteux et de contribuer ainsi à faciliter la circulation des citoyens. Cet ouvrage s’inscrit dès lors à la croisée du droit de la famille, du droit international privé, du droit européen et des droits fondamentaux.

Benjamin Hayward, Conflict of Laws and Arbitral Discretion – The Closest Connection Test, Oxford University Press, 2017, ISBN 9780198787440, pp. 408, GBP 125

Arbitration is the dispute resolution method of choice in international commerce, but it rests on a complex legal foundation. In many international commercial contracts, the parties will choose the law governing any future disputes. However, where the parties do not choose a governing law, the prevailing approach in arbitration is to afford arbitrators broad and largely unfettered discretion to choose the law considered most appropriate or most applicable. The uncertainty resulting from this discretion potentially affects the parties’ rights and obligations, the performance of their contract, the presentation of their cases, and negotiations undertaken to settle their disputes. In this text, Dr Benjamin Hayward critically reviews the prevailing approach to the conflict of laws in international commercial arbitration. The text adopts a focused and detail-oriented analysis – being based on a study of more than 130 sets of arbitral laws and rules from around the world, and drawing heavily on arbitral case law. Nevertheless, it remains both practical and accessible, taking as its focus the needs and expectations of commercial parties, who are the ultimate users of international commercial arbitration. This text identifies the difficulties that result from resolving conflicts of laws through broad and unconstrained arbitral discretions. It establishes that a bright-line test would be a preferable way to resolve arbitral conflicts of laws. Specifically, it recommends a modified Art. 4 Rome Convention rule as the ideal basis for law reform in this area of arbitral procedure.

Il Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza dell’Università di Roma Tre ospita una serie di incontri su temi di diritto internazionale privato.

Interverranno: Pietro Franzina (il 10 Aprile 2017, La tutela internazionale dell’adulto vulnerabile), Caroline Adolphsen (2 maggio 2017, Children seeking asylum in Europe: a Scandinavian approach), Francesco Salerno (2 maggio 2017, “Bruxelles I-bis” e titolo esecutivo europeo: l’efficacia delle decisioni straniere nelle discipline uniformi europee), Javier Carrascosa González (8 maggio 2017, Il nome nel diritto internazionale privato e Matrimonio tra persone dello stesso sesso e unioni registrate in Europa), Maria Asunción Cebrián Salvat (8 maggio 2017, Il regime patrimoniale nel matrimonio e nelle unioni registrate), Javier Carrascosa González e Maria Asunción Cebrián Salvat (9 maggio 2017, Il divorzio nel diritto dell’Unione europea: giurisdizione e legge applicabile e Il regolamento dell’Unione europea sulle successioni) e Francesca Pietrangeli (15 maggio 2017, La clausola di individuazione della legge applicabile al contratto).

Gli incontri si collocano nel quadro delle attività della Cattedra di Diritto internazionale della prof.ssa Antonietta Di Blase.

Maggiori informazioni nella locandina reperibile a questo indirizzo.

This post has been written by Nicolò Nisi, Research Assistant at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

On 10 March 2017, the German Bundestag finally voted the bill to facilitate the handling of domestic group insolvencies (Gesetzes zur Erleichterung der Bewältigung von Konzerninsolvenzen), which was initially presented in early 2013.

It is a much-awaited development, which follows the introduction in the new EU Insolvency Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2015/848) of specific provisions addressing the insolvency of EU groups of companies, i.e., groups where the parent company and the subsidiaries have their centre of main interests in at least two Member States.

Under current German law, each legal entity is subject to its own insolvency proceeding and the decision to open the proceedings is determined separately and independently for each entity (‘one company, one insolvency, one proceeding’). It means that different insolvency courts open separate proceedings for each insolvent group member, with the appointment – in many cases – of several insolvency practitioners. This approach has its benefits in terms of legal certainty, but it overlooks the wider picture of the group. It is, in fact, not suitable for the group restructuring or the sale of the group business as a going concern.

Although the principle that separate proceedings are to be opened in respect of different group members remains unchanged, the new provisions introduce four main innovations to the German Insolvency Code (Insolvenzordnung).

To begin with, they establish the possibility for a group company – not necessarily the (ultimate) parent – to apply for the opening of insolvency proceedings over the other insolvent group entities (so-called procedural consolidation), provided that such concentration of jurisdiction is justified by the common interests of the group’s creditors and the requesting company is not manifestly of minor importance for the group as a whole (§ 3a).

A ‘group venue’ is then established for all the group companies. In the case of more applications, a priority rule applies or, when not possible, the application made by the company with the highest number of employees in the previous financial year prevails. If a request to open insolvency proceeding against a group member is submitted afterward to a different court, the latter may transfer the proceeding to the group court (§ 3d).

Secondly, when insolvency proceedings in respect of various group members are opened in different courts, it is possible to appoint the same person as insolvency practitioner for all group companies concerned, insofar it is in the creditors’ interests and possible conflicts of interest may be covered by the appointment of a special practitioner (§ 56b). This should avoid the occurrence of frictions, inefficiencies and information asymmetries, which could endanger an optimal result.

Thirdly, the insolvency practitioners appointed in the proceedings opened in relation to different members of the same group are obliged to cooperate and share all relevant information, insofar as the interests of the creditors of the respective group company would not be prejudiced (§ 269a). Similar duties are also provided concerning insolvency courts (§ 269b) and creditors’ committees (§ 269c). Under the last provision, however, cooperation shall only take place by request of one of the creditors’ committees and through the appointment of a group creditors’ committee, which should assist the insolvency practitioners and the creditors’ committee within the individual proceedings.

Finally, each group company in whose respect an insolvency proceeding has been requested or already opened – alternatively the (preliminary) creditors’ committee of a group company – may request before the court of the group venue the opening of a ‘coordination proceeding’, which should further facilitate the coordinated liquidation or restructuring of insolvent groups (§ 269d). The coordination court shall then appoint an independent coordinator (§ 269e), who oversees the execution of the proceeding in the interest of creditors, in particular by submitting a coordination plan (§ 269f).

Such plan should describe in detail all the relevant measures to be implemented within the individual insolvency proceedings, including the proposals concerning (i) the restoration of economic performances of the group members; (ii) the settlement of intra-group disputes; and (iii) the contractual arrangements among insolvency practitioners (§ 269h).

It is worth stressing that the group coordination proceeding does not have a binding effect on the individual proceedings, in that the insolvency practitioners may decide not to follow the recommendations of the coordinator, only subject to the duty to explain to the creditors the reasons for doing so (‘comply or explain’) (§ 269i). However, if the creditors are not persuaded and vote in favour of the arrangements contained in the group plan, but the practitioner does not adapt accordingly the insolvency plan at the level of individual proceeding, he may risk to be held liable for damages.

Except for the first point on procedural consolidation, which is positively considered by the prevailing literature in the case of an integrated group as a tool to simplify the going-concern sale of the business or the global group-wide restructuring, the new German rules resemble closely the ones recently adopted in the Recast Insolvency Regulation. The latter, in fact, were proposed by the German delegations within the European Parliament and the Council. Also at the European level, a group coordination proceeding has been introduced in order to facilitate the group restructuring, even though the participation of various practitioners is not binding and rests on a voluntary basis (see Articles 61 et seq.).

This solution has been the object of different evaluations, mostly skeptical. Indeed, it seems that the introduction of a coordination proceeding will not make a significant difference in the practice of group insolvencies. Even overlooking the problems arising from non-compliance with the coordinator’s recommendations, one should pay attention to limiting the costs (including the coordinator’s remuneration under § 269g) and the duration of the proceeding, in order to preserve its efficiency and to ensure its success in the interest of creditors, thus avoiding it may result in additional complexity.

Si terrà a Torino, il 17 e il 18 marzo 2017, il secondo tirocinio formativo dedicato al regolamento n. 1215/2012 concernente la competenza giurisdizionale, il riconoscimento e l’esecuzione delle decisioni in materia civile e commerciale (Bruxelles I bis), il quarto evento organizzato nella cornice del progetto European Civil Procedure for Lawyers: Promoting Training to Improve the Effectiveness of Transnational Justice, cofinanziato dalla Commissione europea (si veda questo post).

Si tratta, come i precedenti (organizzati a Lucca e a Torino, per cui vedi qui, qui e qui), di un un tirocinio formativo a partecipazione attiva con presentazione, discussione e risoluzione di casi concreti rientranti nell’ambito di applicazione del regolamento Bruxelles I bis. La prima giornata sarà dedicata ai criteri di giurisdizione e agli accordi di attribuzione della competenza giurisdizionale, mentre nel secondo giorno si parlerà di riconoscimento ed esecuzione delle decisioni. I lavori saranno presieduti da Elena D’Alessandro (Univ. Torino), Silvana Dalla Bontà (Univ. Trento), Paolo Lombardi (Bar of Turin), Ester di Napoli (Bar of Florence), Violetta Zancan and Carlo Negro (both Bar of Turin).

La partecipazione al seminario è gratuita, prevede la distribuzione di materiali didattici e l’attribuzione di 4 crediti formativi per gli avvocati. L’evento è aperto fino ad un massimo di 30 partecipanti.

Per maggiori informazioni scrivere a: info@europeancivilprocedureforlawyers.eu. La locandina dell’evento è disponibile qui.

The Special Commission set up by the Council on General Affairs and Policy of the Hague Conference on Private International Law to prepare a preliminary draft convention on the recognition of judgments in civil and commercial matters (the Judgments Project) met for the second time between 16 and 24 February 2017.

Building on the draft text elaborated in 2016, the Special Commission completed a new draft (the February 2017 draft Convention), which should form the basis for a new round of discussions in November 2017.

Monique Hazelhorst, Free Movement of Civil Judgments in the European Union and the Right to a Fair Trial, Springer, 2017, ISBN 9789462651616, pp. 448, EUR 155,99

This book examines the attainment of complete free movement of civil judgments across EU member states from the perspective of its conformity with the fundamental right to a fair trial. In the integrated legal order of the European Union, it is essential that litigants can rely on a judgment no matter where in the EU it was delivered. Effective mechanisms for cross-border recognition and the enforcement of judgments provide both debtors and creditors with the security that their rights, including their right to a fair trial, will be protected. In recent years the attainment of complete free movement of civil judgments, through simplification or abolition of these mechanisms, has become a priority for the European legislator.

By an order of 23 February 2017, the Court of Appeal of Trento recognised the parent-child relationship of two twins born from foreign surrogacy with a same-sex couple.

One of the two men who formed the couple was the biological father of the twins, but a foreign judgment (the country of origin of which does not appear on the available copy of the order) had subsequently changed the birth certificates, indicating both men as the fathers of the children.

The couple had first tried to register the the birth certificates in Italy, but their request had been denied by the civil registrar on the ground that it was at odds with the Italian public policy.

Seised of the recognition of the foreign judgment, the Court of Trento relied on a recent judgment of the Italian Supreme Court (judgment No 19599/2016, on the recognition of a parent-child relationship between a child born through medically assisted procreation and the two women indicated as the child’s mothers in a birth certificate issued in Spain), to assert that a child’s right to the continuity of the status lawfully acquired abroad is grounded, inter alia, on Article 33 of the Italian Statute on Private International Law (No 218 of 1995), regarding filiation.

This right, the Court added, is also implicitly enshrined in Article 8(1) of the UN Convention on the rights of the child, pursuant to which States Parties have undertaken ‘to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference’.

The Court further stated that despite surrogacy is prohibited in Italy under Law No 40 of 2004 on medical assisted procreation, that prohibition is not enough to deny the recognition of such foreign measures, issued in accordance with the law applicable in the country of origin, as recognise a parent-child relationship between the non-biological parent and the children born from surrogacy in the framework of a parental project.

Actually, according to the Court, ‘the consequences of the violation of the rules set forth in Law No 40 of 2014 committed by adults should not fall back on the new born’.

Con ordinanza depositata il 23 febbraio 2017, la Corte d’appello di Trento ha riconosciuto lo status di figlio a due gemelli nati da un contratto di maternità surrogata all’estero stipulato da una coppia di persone dello stesso sesso.

Si evince dalla decisione che uno dei due uomini era il genitore biologico dei gemelli e che un provvedimento straniero (gli omissis che compaiono nel testo attualmente disponibile dell’ordinanza impediscono di identificare lo Stato d’origine) aveva successivamente modificato gli atti di nascita dei minori in modo che entrambi gli uomini risultassero padri dei gemelli.

La coppia aveva dapprima richiesto la trascrizione dei certificati di nascita nei registri dello stato civile, ma l’istanza era stata respinta in ragione della sua contrarietà all’ordine pubblico italiano. Chiamata a pronunciarsi sull’efficacia del provvedimento straniero, la Corte trentina ha fatto leva sui rilievi svolti dalla Cassazione nella sentenza n. 19599/2016 relativa al riconoscimento del rapporto di filiazione tra un minore e le due donne indicate come madri nel relativo atto di nascita, formato in Spagna. Essa ha così rilevato che “il diritto alla continuità [dello status di figlio legittimamente acquisito all’estero] è conseguenza diretta del favor filiationis scolpito [nell’art.] 33 commi 1 e 2 della legge n. 218 [del 1995, di riforma del sistema italiano di diritto internazionale privato] ed [è] implicitamente riconosciuto nell’art. 8 par. 1 della convenzione di New York [sui diritti del fanciullo]”, in virtù del quale gli Stati contraenti si sono impegnati, fra l’altro, a rispettare l’identità, dei minori, compresa la loro nazionalità, il nome e le relazioni familiari, così come riconosciute dalla legge, senza ingerenze illegittime.

La Corte ha poi affermato che il divieto di ricorrere alla maternità surrogata, sancito dalla legge n. 40 del 2004, sulla procreazione medicalmente assistita, non basta a “negare effetti nel nostro ordinamento al provvedimento [straniero] che, in applicazione della legge [del paese d’origine] ha riconosciuto un rapporto di filiazione tra il [genitore non biologico] ed i minori nati facendo ricorso alla maternità surrogata e nell’ambito di un progetto genitoriale”.

Secondo la Corte, infatti, “le conseguenze della violazione delle prescrizioni e dei divieti posti dalla legge n. 40 del 2014 imputabili agli adulti … non possono ricadere su chi è nato”.

Ilaria Riva, Il certificato successorio europeo. Tutele e vicende acquisitive, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 2017, ISBN 9788849532630, pp. 228, EUR 28

Il lavoro propone in primis un’analisi dei contenuti più rilevanti per lo studioso del diritto privato del recente Regolamento UE n. 650/2012 sulle successioni internazionali, particolarmente significativo per le scelte in materia di legittima e di patti successori. In un’ottica più generale, emerge come il Regolamento segni un momento di svolta per il diritto delle successioni, ponendosi quale primo passo verso una possibile armonizzazione di una branca del diritto notoriamente refrattaria all’uniformazione e quale chiaro segnale dell’urgenza di una nuova attenzione a questa materia: una nuova attenzione rivestita da una rinnovata sensibilità alla prospettiva europea e internazionale. Lo studio si concentra poi sul tema del certificato successorio europeo, introdotto in Italia e negli altri Stati aderenti al Regolamento con l’intento di fornire ai soggetti coinvolti a vario titolo in successioni per causa di morte aventi collegamenti con diversi Stati membri una sorta di «documento di legittimazione» proveniente da una pubblica autorità, utile a far valere ovunque la propria qualità e i propri poteri. I rilevanti effetti di diritto sostanziale riconosciuti al certificato, in un’ottica di tutela dell’affidamento dei terzi e di sicurezza della circolazione dei beni di provenienza ereditaria, conducono l’indagine verso il tema delle vicende circolatorie dei diritti, e precisamente all’interno della multiforme categoria degli acquisti a non domino.

Private International Law – South Asian States’ Practice, edited by / a cura di S. R. Garimella, J. Stellina, Springer, 2017, ISBN 9789811034572, 442 pp., EUR 207,99.

This book shows how, with the increasing interaction between jurisdictions spearheaded by globalization, it is gradually becoming impossible to confine transactions to a single jurisdiction. Presented in the form of a compendium of essays by eminent academics and practitioners in the field, it provides a detailed overview of private, international law practice in South Asian nations, addressing contemporary discourse within this knowledge domain. Conflict of laws/private international law arises from the universal acknowledgment that it is difficult to govern human transactions solely by the local law. The research presented addresses the three major threads of private international law – jurisdiction, choice of law and enforcement – within each of the South Asian countries in the areas of family law and commercial law. The research in family law domain includes traditional areas such as marriage, divorce and maintenance, as well as some of the contemporary concerns in this region – inter-country child retrieval, surrogacy, and the country statement on accession to the Hague Conventions related to this domain. In commercial law the research explores the concerns raised with regard to choice of law issues in transnational contracts, and also enforcement of foreign judgment/arbitral awards in the nations of this region.

Le contrôle étatique des sentences arbitrales internationales, Jérémy Jourdan-Marques, L.G.D.J., 2017, ISBN 978-2-275-05552-7, 576 pp. Eur 56.

Par un étonnant paradoxe, le contrôle étatique des sentences arbitrales internationales conduit à réintroduire la justice étatique là où les parties avaient voulu l’exclure. Mais ce paradoxe pourrait n’être qu’apparent. Une approche fondée sur la distinction entre les intérêts publics et les intérêts privés ouvre de nouvelles perspectives. L’examen réalisé par le juge étatique l’invite à s’assurer, d’une part, du respect par les arbitres des intérêts privés des parties et, d’autre part, à contrôler la compatibilité de la sentence avec ses intérêts publics. Aussi paraît-il concevable que l’intérêt en cause puisse modifier directement la nature du contrôle exercé. Parallèlement, le juge compétent est tantôt indirectement désigné par les parties, tantôt déterminé par le lieu d’exécution de la sentence. Par conséquent, il est légitime d’assigner aux juges de l’annulation et de l’exequatur une mission distincte, mais complémentaire. Le juge de l’annulation examinerait les intérêts privés et le juge de l’exequatur garantirait la conformité de la sentence aux intérêts publics. En définitive, la distinction des intérêts privés et des intérêts publics pourrait devenir un instrument de redéfinition du contrôle étatique des sentences arbitrales internationales. À la fois plus respectueux de la volonté des parties, plus protecteur des intérêts étatiques et offrant une solution au désordre actuel du contrôle des sentences arbitrales, ce nouveau paradigme concourrait à l’efficacité de l’arbitrage.

The Court of Justice rendered on 16 February 2017 its judgment in Agro Foreign Trade & Agency Ltd v Petersime NV (Case C‑507/15), a case involving a commercial agency contract concluded between a Belgian principal and a Turkish agent. The contract had been submitted by the parties to Belgian law and featured a choice-of-forum clause conferring jurisdiction to the courts of Ghent, in Belgium.

The issue submitted to the Court concerned the interpretation of Directive 86/653 on the coordination of the laws of the Member States relating to self-employed commercial agents and of the 1963 Agreement establishing an association between the EU and Turkey, together with the Additional Protocol thereto.

Specifically, the Court was asked to determine whether the above texts preclude national legislation transposing the directive into the law of a Member State (Belgium, in the case at issue), which excludes from its scope of application a commercial agency contract in the context of which the agent is established in Turkey, where it carries out activities under that contract, and the principal is established in that Member State. The exclusion was such that, in the circumstances, the agent could not rely on rights which the directive guarantees to commercial agents after the termination of the contract.

The Court held that the Directive and the Association Agreement do not preclude such national legislation.

In its reasoning, the Court began by focusing on the scope of application of the Directive. Having noted that the situation of a contract between a EU principal and a non-EU agent is not expressly referred to in the Directive, the Court observed, relying on the second and third recitals of the Directive, that the harmonising measures provided thereunder seek to protect commercial agents in their relations with their principals, to eliminate restrictions on the carrying-on of the activities of commercial agents, to make the conditions of competition within the Community uniform, to promote the security of commercial transactions, and to facilitate trade in goods between Member States by harmonising their legal systems within the area of commercial representation.

It added that the purpose of the regime established in Articles 17 to 19 of the Directive is to protect freedom of establishment and the operation of undistorted competition in the internal market.

Accordingly, where the commercial agent carries out its activities outside the EU, the fact that the principal is established in a Member State does not present a sufficiently close link with the EU for the purposes of the application of the Directive.

The Court then moved on to determine whether the application of the Directive to commercial agents established in Turkey can follow from the Association Agreement.

The Court acknowledged that, pursuant to the Agreement, the provisions of the Treaties on the free movement of workers and the freedom to provide services must be extended, so far as possible, to Turkish nationals to eliminate restrictions on the freedom to provide services between the contracting parties.

It noted, however, that the interpretation given to the provisions of EU law concerning the internal market cannot be automatically applied by analogy to the interpretation of an agreement concluded by the EU with a non-Member State, and that the Association Agreement, which is intended essentially to promote the economic development of Turkey, does not establish any general principle of freedom of movement of persons between Turkey and the European Union. Its purpose is rather to guarantee the enjoyment of certain rights only within the territory of the host Member State.

By contrast, the Court stressed that, in the context of EU law, the protection of the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services, by means of the regime provided for by Directive 86/653 with respect to commercial agents, reflects the objective of establishing an internal market, conceived as an area without internal borders, by removing all obstacles to the establishment of such a market.

The Court concluded that the differences between the Treaties and the Association Agreement preclude the system of protection laid down by the Directive from being held to extend to commercial agents established in Turkey, in the context of that agreement.

Jean-Sylvestre Bergé (University of Lyon) has published an interesting analysis of the judgment in his blog Droit & Pluriel.   

On 24 January 2017, the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR rendered its judgment in the case of Paradiso and Campanelli v. Italy. The case involves a child born in Russia following a gestational surrogacy contract entered into by an Italian couple with a Russian woman. The couple complained that the measures taken by the Italian authorities in respect of the child, which resulted in the latter’s permanent removal, had infringed their right to respect for private and family life, guaranteed by Article 8 of the Convention.

The Grand Chamber held that Italy did not violate Article 8 of the ECHR. Having regard to the absence of any biological tie between the child and the intended parents, the short duration of the relationship with the child and the uncertainty of the ties between them from a legal perspective, and in spite of the existence of a parental project and the quality of the emotional bonds, the Court considered that the conditions for the existence of family life had not been met. The Court accepted, however, that the facts of the case fell within the scope of the applicants’ private life.

In the Court’s opinion, the Italian authorities, having concluded that the child would not suffer grave or irreparable harm as a result of the separation from the Italian couple, struck a fair balance between the different interests at stake, while remaining within the State’s margin of appreciation. 

Il 24 gennaio 2017, la Grande Camera della Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo si è pronunciata nel caso Paradiso e Campanelli c. Italia. Il caso riguarda un minore nato in Russia a seguito di un contratto di maternità surrogata concluso da una coppia di italiani con una donna russa. La coppia si lamentava del fatto che le misure assunte dalle autorità italiane, che avevano comportato l’allontanamento del minore, integravano una violazione del diritto alla vita privata e familiare garantito dall’art. 8 della Convenzione europea dei diritti dell’uomo.

La Grande Camera ha concluso che non vi è stata alcuna violazione dell’art. 8 da parte delle autorità italiane. Considerata la mancanza di un legame biologico tra il bambino ed i genitori committenti, la breve durata del rapporto con il minore e l’incertezza dei legami giuridici, e nonostante l’esistenza di un progetto genitoriale nonché la qualità dei legami affettivi, la Corte ha ritenuto che le condizioni per l’esistenza della vita familiare non fossero soddisfatte. La Corte ha riconosciuto, tuttavia, che la fattispecie interessasse la vita privata dei ricorrenti.

Per la Corte, le autorità italiane, nel considerare che il minore non avrebbe sofferto un pregiudizio grave o irreparabile dalla separazione dalla coppia, hanno effettuato un giusto bilanciamento tra tutti gli interessi in gioco, nel rispetto del margine di apprezzamento lasciato allo Stato.