Agrégateur de flux

Le droit européen ne permet pas d’opposer un refus d’entrée sur le territoire au ressortissant d’un État arrêté en franchissant une frontière intérieure ou à proximité de celle-ci ni de priver automatiquement un demandeur d’asile de conditions matérielles d’accueil.

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Bail (règles générales)

Bail (règles générales)

On 2 December 2020, following a lengthy procedure, the Recast Service Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/1784 of 25 November 2020 on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters) was finally published in the Official Journal of the European Union (the Position of the Council at first reading in view of the adoption of the Recast had appeared a few days earlier: see it here).

The contents of the Regulation were known, in substance, since an agreement was reached, in June 2020, between the Council and the European Parliament as a result of the trilogue consultations.

Previous posts in this blog illustrated the envisaged innovations and the challenges posed by the recast, and discussed some of the issues raised by the current rules.

The Recast will apply from 1 July 2022.

L’ancien président de la République Nicolas Sarkozy, son avocat Thierry Herzog et l’ex-avocat général près la Cour de cassation Gilbert Azibert comparaissent depuis le 23 novembre devant le tribunal correctionnel de Paris pour corruption, trafic d’influence et violation du secret professionnel.

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Austrian Airlines
Transport
Selon l’avocat général Pikamäe, le simple déroutement d’un vol vers un aéroport de repli situé à proximité de l’aéroport initialement prévu n’a pas pour conséquence de donner droit à une indemnisation forfaitaire

Commission / Belgique et Magnetrol International
Aide d'État
Tax rulings : selon l’avocate générale Kokott, la Commission a considéré à juste titre que la pratique des autorités belges d’ajustement négatif des bénéfices des entreprises faisant partie d’un groupe multinational constitue un régime d’aides

Commission / Espagne (Détérioration de l’espace naturel de Doñana)

Selon l’avocate générale Kokott, le captage excessif des eaux souterraines dans l’espace naturel de Doñana situé en Andalousie constitue un manquement au droit de l’Union

Hongrie / Parlement
Droit institutionnel
Selon l’avocat général Bobek, la Cour devrait rejeter le recours de la Hongrie contre la résolution du Parlement déclenchant la procédure de constatation de l’existence d’un risque clair de violation grave, par cet État membre, des valeurs sur lesquelles l’Union est fondée

Star Taxi App
Rapprochement des législations
Un service qui met en relation directe, au moyen d’une application électronique, des clients avec des chauffeurs de taxi constitue un service de la société de l’information dès lors qu’il ne constitue pas une partie intégrante d’un service global dont l’élément principal serait une prestation de transport

Région de Bruxelles-Capitale / Commission
Agriculture
La Région Bruxelles-Capitale n’est pas recevable à demander l’annulation du règlement d’exécution de la Commission renouvelant l’approbation de la substance active glyphosate

A book titled International Commercial Arbitration in the European Union, by Chukwudi Ojiegbe, has recently been published by Edward Elgar.

The blurb reads as follows:

This illuminating book contributes to knowledge on the impact of Brexit on international commercial arbitration in the EU. Entering the fray at a critical watershed in the EU’s history, Chukwudi Ojiegbe turns to the interaction of court litigation and international commercial arbitration, offering crucial insights into the future of EU law in these fields. Ojiegbe reviews a plethora of key aspects of the law that will encounter the aftermath Brexit, focusing on the implications of the mutual trust principle and the consequences for the EU exclusive competence in aspects of international commercial arbitration. He explores the principles of anti-suit injunction and other mechanisms that may be deployed by national courts and arbitral tribunals to prevent parallel court and arbitration proceedings. Advancing academic debate on the EU arbitration/litigation interface, this book suggests innovative solutions to alleviate this longstanding and seemingly intractable issue. Arriving at a time of legal uncertainty, this book offers crucial guidance for policymakers and lawyers dealing with the interaction of court litigation and international commercial arbitration in the EU, as well as academics and researchers studying contemporary EU and commercial law.

More information available here.

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.