Conflictoflaws

The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) (in consortium with Civic Consulting) has been selected by the European Commission to conduct a study supporting the preparation of a report on the application of the Rome II Regulation (EC) No. 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (JUST/2019/JCOO/FW/CIVI/0167).

The study assesses the 10-year application of the Rome II Regulation in the Member States and will support the Commission in the future review of the Regulation. It analyses all areas covered and looks into specific, cutting-edge questions, such as cross-border corporate violations of businesses against human rights and the potential impact of the development of artificial intelligence.

To gather views of practitioners and academics from all Member States, BIICL conducts a survey which is available here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JLWQ8XQ

Please contribute your experience to the study, if you have a particular expertise in the Rome II Regulation, or in one of the above-mentioned areas – namely cross-border torts related to artificial intelligence, corporate abuses against human rights, or defamation.
BIICL invites interested colleagues from all Member States to participate in the survey, but seeks in particular more contributions from: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Luxembourg, Romania and Slovenia.

Deadline: December 31st, 2020

More information about the Study is available on BIICL’s website (https://www.biicl.org/projects/com-study-on-the-rome-ii-regulation).

 

First Part https://fb.watch/2a8DGPRMtc/ (HCCH); https://fb.watch/2a8XU-EuX6/  (ASADIP)

Second Part https://fb.watch/2a8Bmy347e/ (HCCH); https://fb.watch/2a8VDZCcPL/ (ASADIP)

 

By Dr Sarah McKibbin

In the recent decision of RCD Holdings Ltd v LT Game International (Australia) Ltd,[1] Davis J of the Supreme Court of Queensland dismissed proceedings brought in breach of an exclusive jurisdiction clause that had been expressed in ‘an arm’s length agreement reached between commercial entities’.[2] In deciding whether to exercise his discretion not to stay or dismiss proceedings, Davis J examined whether procedural disadvantages and ‘inconvenience’ in the jurisdiction nominated in the clause were relevant considerations.

In 2013, the parties entered a contract setting up a scheme to promote a computer betting game at casinos in Melbourne, Nevada and Melbourne.[3] The contract, which was signed and to be partially performed in Australia, included a clause entitled ‘Governing Law’ by which the parties agreed that:[4]

any dispute or issue arising hereunder, including an alleged breach by any party, shall be heard, determined and resolved by an action commenced in Macau. The English language will be used in all documents.

A dispute arose and, notwithstanding the clause, the plaintiffs commenced proceedings in Queensland alleging breaches of the contract in connection with the scheme’s implementation at Crown Casino in Melbourne. The defendant, LT, entered a conditional appearance seeking to strike out the claim or, alternatively, have it stayed based on the exclusive jurisdiction clause. The plaintiffs’ submissions focused on the inconvenience of having to litigate in Macau and the perceived procedural advantages secured by LT in doing so.[5] The plaintiffs further submitted that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented them from commencing proceedings in Macau.[6]

The decision reinforces that ‘strong reasons’[7] are required to enliven the court’s discretion not to grant a stay of proceedings brought in breach of an exclusive jurisdiction clause. This reflects a fundamental policy consideration that ‘“parties who have made a contract should be kept to it”’.[8] Here, the parties differed on the circumstances relevant to the exercise of this discretion.[9] The plaintiffs relied upon the list of circumstances identified by Brandon J in The Eleftheria, which included ‘the relative convenience and expense of the trial’ and ‘[w]hether the plaintiffs would be prejudiced by having to sue in the foreign court’.[10]  As Davis J marked, subsequent English and Australian decisions have questioned the role of procedural disadvantages and inconvenience in the nominated jurisdiction, ‘at least when they are factors which should have been known at the time the exclusive jurisdiction clause was agreed.’[11]

In that respect, Davis J followed the judgment of Bell P in the recent New South Wales Court of Appeal decision of Australian Health & Nutrition Association Ltd v Hive Marketing Group,[12] which endorsed the critical observations of Allsop J in Incitec Ltd v Alkimos Shipping Corp[13] and Waller J in British Aerospace plc v Dee Howard Co.[14] In Incitec, Allsop J perceived ‘financial and forensic inconvenience’ to the party bound by the clause to be the direct consequence of the bargain entered.[15] In a similar vein, Waller J in British Aerospace considered that these factors ‘would have been eminently foreseeable at the time that [the parties] entered into the contract’.[16]

Setting issues of ‘inconvenience’ to one side, however, Davis J attached greater significance to the fact that the parties upon contracting presumably ‘considered the commercial wisdom of agreeing’ to the inclusion of the clause.[17] The factors relied upon by the plaintiffs were in existence and could have been taken into account by the parties at the time of contracting.[18] Indeed, evidence demonstrated that the courts of Macau: (1) could deal with the claim; (2) could provide the remedy sought by the plaintiffs; and (3) would accept court documents in the English language.[19] Issues of inconvenience ‘can hardly be weighty in the exercise of discretion where one party seeks to deny the other the benefit of the covenant.’[20] Finally, Davis J observed that ‘there is little, if any, evidence at all as to the impact of the pandemic upon any litigation in Macau’.[21] Yet, ‘if the pandemic developed so as to effectively prevent, or unduly frustrate’ litigation in Macau, this discretionary consideration would be taken into account together with ‘any other relevant considerations’ in a subsequent application.[22]

[1] [2020] QSC 318.

[2] Ibid, [56].

[3] Davis J observes that ‘[t]he scheme is clearly to be targeted at casinos throughout the world’: at para [7].

[4] RCD Holdings (n 1) [8].

[5] Ibid, [54].

[6] Ibid, [33].

[7] Oceanic Sun Line Special Shipping Co Inc v Fay (1988) 165 CLR 197, 259 (Gaudron J). Akai Pty Ltd v People’s Insurance Co Ltd (1996) 188 CLR 418, 429 (Dawson and McHugh JJ), 445 (Toohey, Gaudron and Gummow JJ).

[8] Ibid, quoted in RCD Holdings (n 1) [57].

[9] Ibid, [58].

[10] Ibid.

[11] See, eg, British Aerospace plc v Dee Howard Co [1993] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 368; Incitec Ltd v Alkimos Shipping Corp (2004) 138 FCR 496, 506; Australian Health & Nutrition Association Ltd v Hive Marketing Group Pty Ltd (2019) 99 NSWLR 419.

[12] Australian Health & Nutrition (n 7).

[13] (2004) 138 FCR 496, 506 [49].

[14] [1993] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 368, 376.

[15] Incitec Ltd v Alkimos Shipping Corp (n 11) 506 [49].

[16] British Aerospace plc v Dee Howard Co (n 12) 376.

[17] RCD Holdings (n 1), [65].

[18] Ibid.

[19] Ibid, [32].

[20] Ibid, [65].

[21] Ibid, [70].

[22] Ibid.

Guest post by Ulla Liukkunen, Professor of Labour Law and Private International Law at the University of Helsinki and Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture

The International Academy of Comparative Law launched a new open access publication in November 2020. Volume no 1 on the use of comparative law methodology in international arbitration contains articles by Emmanuel Gaillard, Sebastián Partida, Charles-Maurice Mazuy, S.I. Strong, Johannes Landbrecht, Morad El Kadmiri, Marco Torsello, Ulla Liukkunen, Alyssa King, Alexander Ferguson, Dorothée Goertz and Luis Bergolla as well as introductory remarks on the topic by the Secretary-General of the Academy, Diego P. Fernández Arroyo.

The volume no 1 is available on aidc-iacl.org/journal.

 

The article “Chinese context and complexities — comparative law and private international law facing new normativities in international commercial arbitration” was written by Ulla Liukkunen, Professor of Labour Law and Private International Law at the University of Helsinki and Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture.

 

Professor Liukkunen examines international commercial arbitration from the perspective of Chinese developments, noting that, in global terms, the organization of cross-border dispute resolution is changing as a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) development. With the BRI, Chinese interest in international commercial arbitration has gained a new dimension as BRI promotes the expansion of Chinese dispute resolution institutions and their international competitiveness.

 

According to Liukkunen, these developments challenge the current narrative of international arbitration. She explores private international law as a framework for unfolding noteworthy characteristics of the Chinese legal system and legal culture that are present in international commercial arbitration and can be linked to an assessment of the role of the BRI in shaping the arbitration regime. A rethink of comparative methodology is proposed in order to promote an understanding of Chinese law in the arbitration process.

 

Moreover, Liukkunen argues that considerations of the Chinese private international law and arbitration regime speak for a broader comparative research perspective towards international commercial arbitration. In the international commercial arbitration frame under scrutiny, we can see the conception of party autonomy placed in a Chinese context where the state is shaping the still relatively young private international law frame for exercise of that freedom and certain institutional structures are advocated where party autonomy is placed. Chinese development underlines the connection between the legal regime of arbitration and endeavours by the state, thereby requiring assessment of party autonomy from the perspective of the regulatory framework of private international law that expresses the complex dichotomy between private and public interests.

 

 

 

 

After the successful first four online seminars on Brussels IIter last week (see previous post on Brussels IIter seminars), we have decided to add a seventh seminar to our series: Child Participation: past research results and the new rules of Brussels IIter, 17 December 2020, 14.00 – 15.15 (after the seminar on provisional measures, transfer and lis pendens, which will end at 13.45). Chair person: Laura Carpaneto, University of Genoa Francesca Maoli, University of Genoa, in collaboration with Tine Van Hof, University of Antwerp Robert Fucik, Austrian Central Authority. Please enrol if you are interested and then we will send the link for the zoom meeting. Persons who have already enrolled for any of the other six sessions can join without having to enrol again.

The facts of the 2021 Pax Moot is available (see https://paxmoot.com/the-case/)! Teams can start registering.

The 2021 Round is named after Arthur von Mehren, a giant of international procedure across the Atlantic.  2021 will mark the 15th year after his passing away. After the adoption of the 2019 Hague Convention (which might prove relevant for the case ;-)) the organisers thought it appropriate to celebrate him in this way.

The pleadings will take pace in April 2021 (the timeline and further information are available on the Pax webpage).

Conventions & Instruments

On 2 November 2020, Jamaica deposited its instrument of accession to the HCCH 1961 Apostille Convention. It now has 119 Contracting Parties and will enter into force for Jamaica on 3 July 2021. More information is available here.

On 4 November, the Permanent Bureau was informed that on 26 October 2020, Saint Kitts & Nevis deposited its instrument of accession to the HCCH 1993 Adoption Convention. It now has 103 Contracting Parties and will enter into force for Saint Kitts & Nevis on 1 February 2021. More information is available here.

Meetings & Events

From 12 to 13 November 2020, the HCCH, together with the UNIDROIT and UNCITRAL, co-hosted the 2020 International Conference of the Judicial Policy Research Institute (Rep. of Korea) on International Commercial Litigation. A full recording of the event is available here.

From 16 to 19 November 2020, the Experts’ Group on Jurisdiction met for the fourth time, via videoconference. The meeting focused on the elements to be included on a possible future instrument on direct jurisdiction and parallel proceedings. More information is available here.

Following last month’s Roundtable on the 2019 Judgments Convention co-hosted by the HCCH and the University of Bonn (a pre-cursor to the September 2021 Conference), a full recording of the event is available here.

Publications & Documentation

On 24 November 2020, the Permanent Bureau launched the post-event publication of the inaugural edition of HCCH a|Bridged, of which the focus was the Service Convention in the Era of Electronic and Information Technology. The publication is now available for download in English only. More information is available here.

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

On 29 October 2o20, the University of Bonn and the HCCH co-hosted a video roundtable on the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention.This video roundtable explored the prospects of the Convention from a particular perspective, and this was the perspective of the relations between the EU and third states: neighbouring states, trade partners in particular, but also other states. The organisors were very happy to have received a large number of registrations from all over the world and from all areas of interest. The event was also meant to prepare the “main conference” of the organisors on the Convention, which is planned to be taking place at the University of Bonn on site on 13 and 14 September 2021. The recording of the pre-conference video roundtable is now available on the HCCH’s youtube channel as well as here.

For those of us who read German: Jayme and Hausmann have just published the 20th edition of their collection of PIL norms on German national, EU and international level. The book has grown considerably in volume over the decades and has particularly done so for its latest edition – from 1441 to now 1537 pages. An indispensable working tool – even in times of the internet.

This book is devoted to the applicable law to contractual and non-contractual obligations in the European Union as applied before the Courts. It should be a valuable resource for practitioners, the judiciary, and academics who are interested in understanding how EU law is applied on national level. The Rome I and II Regulations are meant to provide for uniform conflict-of-laws rules. In theory, all national courts of EU Member States (excluding Denmark) apply the same rules determining the applicable law. Rome I and Rome II in Practice examines whether the theory has been put into practice and assesses the difficulties that may have arisen in the interpretation and application of these Regulations. The book contains a general report by the editor and a number of national reports.

 

This book is an article-by-article ‘German-style’ commentary on the Rome I, II and III Regulations on European Union (EU) conflict of laws. It describes and systematically explains black letter law as applied by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) and the Member State courts.

Access to justice is not a new topic. Since Mauro Cappelletti and Bryant Garth’s survey of different methods to promote access to justice was published (Access to Justice. A World Survey (Giueffre SIJTHOFF 1978), making access to justice cheaper and effective has become a legal policy (see for instance The Right Honourable the Lord Woolf report on Access to Justice, 1996). One of Cappelletti and Garth’s ideas was that there were three waves of access to justice. The third wave, called ‘The Access to Justice Approach’, stated that arbitration would play a significant role in fomenting access to justice. The idea was that people would seek alternatives to the regular court system.  Arbitration has grown exponentially since the publication of Cappelletti and Garth’s work, reaching disputes that were traditionally only decided by courts. The guarantee of adequate access to justice is now generating questions about the impact of this expansion. For purely commercial arbitration, such as one between two multinational companies represented by multinational law firms, waiving some rights of access to justice might not create a problem to the fairness in the arbitral procedure. However, in a dispute in which the inequality of bargaining power is evident, for arbitration to be fair and a trustworthy sustainable dispute resolution method, waiving rights to access to justice might not be the best way forward.

With the above ideas in mind, this book aims at presenting a collection of studies about access to justice in arbitration to present, for the first time, in one single title, an analysis of the role access to justice plays in arbitration. The book makes a unique contribution to the current international research and practice of arbitration as it looks at the conceptual contribution to the notion of access to justice in arbitration; and it provides a picture of how access to justice works in various types of arbitration. In five parts, the book will show the concerns about access to justice in arbitration, how they are materialised in a practical scenario and finally, how it is applied in arbitral institutions.

The book’s first part brings a conceptual contribution to the notion of access to justice in arbitration and deals with theoretical and conceptual gaps in this area. Leonardo V.P. de Oliveira starts with a conceptual analysis of access to justice and how it should be applied in arbitration. Clotilde Fortier looks at consent as the central part of arbitration and how it relates to access to justice. Joao Ilhão Moreira examines if arbitration can provide a fair, independent and accessible dispute resolution mechanism outside large contractual disputes and Ramona Elisabeta Cirlig assesses the interaction between courts and arbitral tribunals as a guarantor of access to justice.

The second part of the book discusses two specific points in investment disputes. Berk Dermikol looks at the possibility of bringing an autonomous claim based on the NYC in investment treaty arbitration as a form of access to justice. Crina Baltag evaluates the issue of access to justice and non-disputing parties – amici curiae– in investment law and arbitration.

In the third part, access to justice in specific types of disputes submitted to arbitration is scrutinised. Carolina Morandi presents a case study of access to justice in labour and employment arbitration in light of the Brazilian and the US experiences. Ian Blackshaw looks at how sports disputes submitted to CAS have been dealing with the question of access to justice. Johanna Hoekstra and Aysem Diker Vanberg examine access to justice with regards to competition law in the EU with a view to determine whether arbitration can lower barriers. Lastly, Youseph Farah addresses the use of unilaterally binding arbitration as a mechanism to improve access to justice in business-related human rights violations.

Part four reports on two aspects of technology and access to justice. Mirèze Philippe looks at ODR as a method to guarantee access to justice whilst Sara Hourani investigates how Blockchain-based arbitration can be used to improve access to justice.

Lastly, the book presents the view of how two arbitral institutions deal with the question of costs and access to justice, and how the rules of one arbitral institution provide access to justice guarantees. Aislinn O’Connell assesses access to justice under WIPO’s Arbitration Rules whilst Christine Sim examines costs at SIAC and Duarte Henriques and Avani Agarwal do the same in relation to ICSID.

On 8 December 2020 (11am – 2 pm EST), the ABA will host an online seminar on the principles of treaty interpretation, a core skill of every international lawyer.

Leading experts will discuss the goals, principles and challenges of treaty interpretation in a plenary session. Participants will then have the opportunity in a smaller working group to tackle interpretation in one of several pressing areas:

• human rights and the challenges of diplomatic immunity;
• private international law; and
• national security exceptions in trade and investment agreements.

For more information, including registration, click here.

Report prepared by Onyoja Momoh, Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Aberdeen.

 

On Thursday 5th of November 2020, the Nigerian Group on Private International Law (“NGPIL”) held its first committee meeting by virtual platform. In attendance at the meeting and forming the Committee of NGPIL were: Dr Onyoja Momoh (English Barrister at 5 Pump Court; Research Fellow at University of Aberdeen), Dr Pontian Okoli (Lecturer at University of Stirling), Dr Abubakri Yekini (Lecturer at Lagos State University) Dr Chukwuma Okoli (Post-Doctoral Researcher at T.M.C Asser Instituut), and Dr Chukwudi Ojiegbe (Contracts Manager at ACE Winches). This new initiative will bring together a unique group of experts with an important ethos: the promotion of private international law in Nigeria.

The NGPIL unanimously agreed that its aims are (1) to improve the law in Nigeria in matters relating to private international law (“PIL”) (2) to persuade the Nigerian government to accede to the Hague Conventions on PIL (3) to liaise with other experts, groups, and research centres on PIL on a global level (4) to nurture, guide and develop the legal mechanism and framework for PIL in Nigeria (5) to be the collective voice of PIL experts for the Nigerian government, the judiciary, lawyers and other relevant stakeholders and, (6) to improve the links and communication between PIL experts in Africa.

NGPIL’s activities will be far-reaching, from research projects to academic writings, dissemination events (conferences, seminars, workshops) and creating a platform for consultation and advisory work to the Nigerian government and other relevant stakeholders. A key aim is to build PIL recognition within the legal and judicial community, one that may lead to identifying a Hague Network Judge or Judges for Nigeria.

The Committee discussed plans for an inaugural event open to the public. There was a general consensus that the event will be hosted on a virtual platform given the uncertain climate, to take place in the Spring/Summer of 2021. Holding a virtual event would have huge benefits, especially the ease of engagement and participation for our main target audience across Nigeria and beyond. The proposal is to work in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association and academics at the Nigerian Institute of Advance Legal Studies, drawing together academics and practitioners alike, and extending invitations to the Nigerian government and other relevant organisations.

The next meeting of the NGPIL will take place in January 2021.

In today’s Opinion delivered in the case Obala i lucice, C-307/19, Advocate General Bobek revisits the line of case law built upon the judgment in Pula Parking, C-551/15, pertaining to the enforcement of unpaid public parking tickets by means of a writ of execution issued by a Croatian notary. This time both the Brussels I bis Regulation and the Service Regulation are at stake.

Factual context

A car is leased from NLB Leasing d.o.o., a company that provides financing for the use of vehicles, equipment and real estate in Slovenia and is – as it may be inferred from point 1 of the Opinion – based in that Member State.

On 30 June 2012, the car is parked on a public street in Zadar (Croatia). The street is defined parking zone with designated parking spaces. Obala i lucice d.o.o., entity based in Croatia, is charged with the management and maintenance of public areas for parking of motor vehicles. As the car does not have a parking ticket on display, that entity issues a daily parking ticket.

On 1 July 2013, Croatia joins the EU. Four years later, in 2017, the parking management entity commences enforcement proceedings for recovery of the parking ticket debt with a notary, by making an application for enforcement on the basis of an ‘authentic document’. That document is an extract from the accounts of Obala i lucice d.o.o., which recorded the debt relating to the unpaid ticket.

The notary issues a writ of execution on the basis of the ‘authentic document’, which is subsequently served to NLB Leasing d.o.o. in Slovenia. The latter challenges the writ before Croatian courts.

A commercial court in Pazin rules that it lacks jurisdiction and refers the case to the commercial court in Zadar. The latter also considers that it lacks jurisdiction and refers the case to the high commercial court, which decides to seize the Court of Justice with a series of preliminary questions.

Opinion of AG

It has to be mentioned at the outset that the Opinion is not addressing all the questions referred to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling. As the Opinion clarifies at its point 25, the Court asked its AG to elaborate only on some of the questions. The Opinion constitutes therefore the so-called ‘conclusions ciblées’.

At point 34, AG establishes the need to rearrange these questions and lists the legal inquiries analyzed in the Opinion, namely, firstly, whether the enforcement of a debt relating to the unpaid public parking ticket is a dispute relating to ‘civil and commercial matters’ within the meaning of the Brussels I bis and Service Regulations; secondly, whether the notaries in Croatia may themselves effect service (under the Service Regulation) of writs of execution drawn up on the basis of an ‘authentic document’ and thirdly, whether any of the special grounds of jurisdiction of the Brussels I bis Regulation confer jurisdiction on the courts of a Member State other than the domicile of the defendant.

As a consequence, the Opinion is not addressing the questions concerning, in particular, the law applicable under the Rome I and Rome II Regulations (Questions 8 and 9). It is yet to be seen how they will be answered in the judgment of the Court. It is worth noticing, however, that the facts underlying the case pending before the national courts predate the accession of Croatia to the EU.

 

Notion of ‘civil and commercial matters’

At points 39 to 54, a reminder of the case law leads AG Bobek to distinguishing two approaches adopted by the Court in order to establish whether the Regulations on ‘civil and commercial matters’ are applicable. He defines them as ‘subject matter’ and ‘legal relationship’ approaches (‘perspectives’).

Pronouncing himself in favour of ‘legal relationship’ approach at point 59, AG Bobek concludes that:

‘The concept of “civil and commercial matters”, as laid down in Article 1(1) of [the Brussels I bis Regulation] and Article 1(1) of [the Service Regulation], must be interpreted as requiring the legal relationship which characterises the underlying dispute, assessed against the framework generally applicable to private parties in such situations, not to be characterised by a unilateral exercise of public powers by one of the parties to the dispute.

While it falls to the national court to determine whether those conditions are satisfied, the circumstances of the present case do not appear subject to such an exercise of public powers.’

 

Service of writs of execution

At points 88 et seq., the Opinion addresses the question whether, under the Service Regulation, the notaries in Croatia may themselves effect service of writs of execution drawn up on the basis of an ‘authentic document’. At point 105, AG concludes:

‘[The Service Regulation] must be interpreted as meaning that, in order for a writ of execution based on an “authentic document” to qualify as a “judicial document” within the meaning of Article 1(1) of that regulation, the issuing entity must be a judicial body of a Member State forming part of its judicial system.

Articles 2 and 16 of [the Service Regulation] must be interpreted as meaning that, where a Member State has failed to designate notaries as “transmitting agencies” within the meaning of Article 2(1) of that regulation, those notaries cannot transmit “extrajudicial documents” for service to another Member State under the provisions of that regulation.’

 

Special grounds of jurisdiction

At points 106 et seq., the Opinion goes on to establish whether special grounds of jurisdiction of the Brussels I bis Regulation confer jurisdiction on the courts of a Member State other than the domicile of the defendant. Three possibilities are addressed within this part of the Opinion.

Firstly, at point 109, AG Bobek excludes the applicability of Article 7(2) of the Brussels I bis Regulation. He seems to argue, in essence, that the dispute pertaining to the unpaid public parking ticket is contractual in nature.

Next, at point 111, the applicability of the ground of exclusive jurisdiction provided for in Article 24(1) of the Regulation is excluded. Here, it is argued that ‘[o]n the basis of the facts present in the court file, there is no indication that either possession or other rights ‘in rem’ in the parking space were transferred to the defendant upon parking there (or that they are, in fact, at issue). Moreover, the article’s raison d’être militates against such an interpretation.’.

Finally, at point 112, the Opinion comes to the conclusion that Article 7(1) of the Brussels I bis Regulation is applicable and contends:

‘Article 7(1) of Regulation No 1215/2012 must be interpreted as meaning that parking a car in a designated parking space on a public road can, under the legal system of a Member State in which the issuing of parking tickets and the collection of parking fees is entrusted to a private entity, constitute a “matter relating to a contract”, as referred to in that provision.’

The Opinion can be consulted here. The request for a preliminary ruling is accessible here.

Jonathan Fitchen who is recognised as a leading scholar on the conflict of laws aspect of authentic instruments has just published a book titled “The Private International Law of Authentic Instruments” under the Hart Studies in Private International Law.

The abstract reads as follows:

This helpful book will equip the lawyer – whether notary, barrister or solicitor – with the legal information necessary to understand what an authentic instrument is (and what it is not), what it can (and what it cannot) be used to do in the course of contentious or noncontentions legal proceedings.
The book takes a two part approach. Part one focuses on an explanation of the nature of the foreign legal concept of an authentic instrument, setting out the modes of creation, typical domestic evidentiary effects and the typical domestic options to challenge such authentic instruments. Part two then examines and analyses authentic instruments under specific European Union private international law regulations, focusing on the different cross-border legal effects allowed and procedures that apply to each such.
Rigorous, authoritative and comprehensive, this will be an invaluable tool to all practitioners in the field.

More information on the book can be found here

Join us on 15 December 2020 at 12 noon (The Hague) for the launch of the Elgar Companion to the Hague Conference on Private International Law, edited by Thomas John, Rishi Gulati and Ben Köhler.

 

 

The book will be launched by Christophe Bernasconi, Secretary General of the HCCH, and is followed by a conversation and Q&A on a key theme that emerged in the Companion: the importance of private international law to providing access to justice. The speakers are:

• Professor Xandra Kramer, Erasmus University, and Deputy Judge, District Court, Rotterdam, NL
• Justin Gleeson SC, Barrister and Arbitrator, Banco Chambers, Sydney, AUS

Register here: https://lnkd.in/d7cyVF4. 

The Companion is a unique guide to the HCCH. 35 leading international experts contributed to this work. Their contributions offer a unique critical assessment of, and reflection on, past and possible future contributions of the HCCH to the further development and unification of private international law.

For more information on the book, including endorsements by Lord Collins, Professor Basedow, Professor Silberman, Justice de Nardi, Professor Neels and Professor Reyes, click here.

HCCH a|Bridged – Edition 2020: Golden Anniversary of the HCCH 1970 Evidence Convention

Tuesday 2 December 2020, 14:15 CET

Registration | Programme | Event Website | HCCH Evidence Section
(Registration closes 17:00 CET Friday 27 November)

Building upon the success of HCCH a|Bridged – Edition 2019, this year’s edition will focus on the Evidence Convention. Edition 2020 will ensure the event remains true to its name, being short and sharp. Following a keynote speech from Professor Dr Michael Stürner entitled “50 years of the HCCH Evidence Convention – Facilitating cross-border proceedings”, the first panel will discuss the topic “Effective Taking of Evidence under Chapter I of the Convention: A Requesting State’s Perspective”, after which the second panel will consider challenges and opportunities relating to the “Taking of Evidence under Chapter II of the Convention”. The HCCH will be represented by Secretary General Dr Christophe Bernasconi, First Secretary Dr João Ribeiro-Bidaoui, and Legal Officer Ms Elizabeth Zorrilla. 

Conferencia internacional: Convención HCCH 2019 sobre Reconocimiento y Ejecución de Sentencias Extranjeras

Thursday 3 December 2020, 15:00 CET (11:00 local)

Registration | Programme | Event Website | HCCH Judgments Section

This Spanish-language international conference, co-hosted by ASADIP and the HCCH will, as its name suggests, be devoted to the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention. The programme will cover an introduction to the Convention and the reasons why States should join, a presentation of the particular benefits of the Convention for Latin America, as well as a discussion of the implementation challenges for States in the region. The HCCH will be represented by First Secretary Dr João Ribeiro-Bidaoui and Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean Mr Ignacio Goicoechea. They will be joined by many other experts, a number of whom were involved in the negotiation of the Convention, including Explanatory Report Co-Rapporteur Professor Francisco Garcimartín.

Book Launch: Elgar Companion on the Hague Conference on Private International Law

Tuesday 15 December 2020, 12:00 CET

Registration & Programme | Elgar Companion

This comprehensive Companion, edited by Thomas John, Rishi Gulati, and Ben Koehler, is a unique guide to the HCCH, comprising contributions from international experts who have all directly or indirectly been involved with the work of the HCCH. The Companion is an assessment of, and reflection on, past and possible future contributions of the HCCH to the further development and unification of private international law. The Companion will be launched by HCCH Secretary General Dr Christophe Bernasconi, followed by a Conversation and Q&A with Professor Xandra Kramer (Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands) and Mr Justin Gleeson SC (Banco Chambers, Sydney, Australia) around the theme of “the importance of private international law to providing access to justice”. The launch is being organised by Grotius Chambers.

This post is published by the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference of Private International Law (HCCH).

RIDOC 2020: Rijeka Doctoral Conference is particularly international this year both, with regard to the attending doctoral candidates and in relation to the composition of the panels. Thirty-four selected doctoral candidates will be testing their research hypothesis and methodologies in six sessions each presided by a three-member panel.

No less than two sessions might be of particular interest to this Blog’s readers:

The keynote lecture will be delivered by Professor Carlo Rimini, affiliated with University of Milano and University of Pavia, a recognised family law researcher and attorney. He will be speaking about validity of the prenuptial agreements from the methodology perspective.

Full programme is available here, and additional information may be obtained at ridoc@pravri.hr.

The entire conference will be online at the Cisco Webex platform. Attendance is free on the first-to-apply bases, but registration is necessary via this link.

more information and sign-up is here.