Agrégateur de flux

On 12 September 2019, the University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland) will host a  conference on Regulation 650/2012 – the Succession Regulation and on the various issues relating to the succession matters within the European area of freedom, security and justice.

The conference is organized at the occasion of the annual session of the European Group for Private International Law (EGPIL/GEDIP) that will be held at the premises of the University of Silesia in Katowice at the invitation of a member of the Group and a Professor at Silesia – First CJEU Advocate General Maciej Szpunar. Readers of the blog will know that Szpunar AG regularly opines on matters of PIL.

The opening session of the conference will be devoted to the review of Member States’ first experiences with the application of the Succession Regulation. Practitioners undoubtedly are aware that experience with and questions re the application of the Regulation are now coming thick and fast.

This session will be followed by two panel discussions.

Scholars and practitioners speaking include Professor Stefania Bariatti (University of Milan), Professor Andrea Bonomi (University of Lausanne; with prof Patrick Wauthelet author of the standard work on the Regulation), Professor Jürgen Basedow (Max-Planck-Institut), Professor Christian Kohler (University of Saarbrücken), Professor Cristina González Beilfuss (University of Barcelona) Michael Wilderspin (European Commission; a regular agent for the EC in PIL cases at the CJEU); and Professor Paul Lagarde (University of Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne, Professor emeritus.

Upon the conclusion of the conference, on 13 September, the University of Silesia will award prof Lagarde a Doctorate Honoris Causa and he will deliver a commemorative lecture at this occasion: a good reason to stick around an extra day, I think.

Of note may be the most, most affordable fee of just under Euro 60 for such a stellar conference.

Draft programme of the conference is here. More details are available at the website of the University hosting the conference (scroll down for the English version).

Geert.

(Handbook of) EU Private International Law, 2nd ed. 2016, Chapter 6.

The last issue of the Revue Critique de Droit International Privé will shortly be released. This is a special edition composed of four articles on Brexit. It also contains several case notes, inter alia, a commentary by Horatia Muir Watt on Vedanta v Lungowe, major decision on the parent company’s duty of care and private international law, rendered by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 10 April 2019 (see also here).

The first article is authored by Paul James Cardwell (“Naviguer en eaux inconnues. Les défis rencontrés par la recherche juridique au Royaume-Uni à l’heure du Brexit”). The abstract reads as follows: “The consequences of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union (Brexit) remain uncertain still. For legal scholars, Brexit has posed a series of complex legal questions, some of which have not been considered for over 40 years, if at all. This article aims to consider some of the main questions that have arisen during the Brexit process, and some of the potential responses. The article also evaluates the challenges that Brexit represents for researchers and teachers in the various sub-disciplines within legal scholarship, including the fast-paced, ever changing legal landscape. Although only a small number of the questions and challenges can be considered here, it goes without say that Brexit will undoubtedly have significant consequences for the UK, the EU and its Member States as well as for the systems of global governance, in which private international lawyers are inherently linked”.

The second article (“Le Brexit et les conventions de La Haye”) is written by Hans van Loon. The abstract reads as follows: “There are two possible scenarios at present for the immediate future of private international law in the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union of Twenty-seven in the event of Brexit. Under the first, the “Withdrawal Agreement” approved by the European Council on 25th November 2018 enters into force; under the second (the “no-deal” scenario) the status quo will end abruptly on 31st October 2019. Both of these hypotheses have important and complex implications. Under the Withdrawal agreement, a transition period is organised and when this period ends, specific transitory provisions take over. In such a regime, the law issuing from the conventions has a significant role to play. But in the event of a no-deal Brexit, all the treaties establishing, and concluded by, the European Union, and, as a result, European Union secondary law, including the regulations on private international law cease immediately to apply to the United Kingdom. The Hague conventions, including the new convention of 2 July 2019 on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil or commercial matters will fill this gap to a large extent. However, the consequences may nevertheless be brutal for citizens, and in order to mitigate these, the transitory provisions of the Withdrawal agreement should be applied here by analogy”.

The third article, written by Uglješa Grušic (“L’effet du Brexit sur le droit international privé du travail”), describes the likely effect of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on the private international law of employment. “More specifically, it deals with the likely effect of Brexit on employment law, the law of international jurisdiction in employment matters and the law on choice of law for employment matters in the United Kingdom and the European Union, with particular emphasis on private international law in England”.

The fourth article is authored by Louise Merrett (“La reconnaissance et l’exécution en Angleterre des jugements venant des États de l’Union européenne, post-Brexit”). It describes the likely effect of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on the recognition and enforcement of judgments from EU Members States: “If the UK leaves the European Union without any new agreement in place allowing for mutual recognition and enforcement, the recognition and enforcement of judgments from EU Members States will prima facie only be possible under the existing common law rules. This article will describe the common law rules and draw attention to the key differences between them and the rules which currently apply to the enforcement of judgments under the Brussels I Regulation recast”.

A full table of contents is available here.

On 24 July 2019 Nicaragua joined the HCCH Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (Service Convention). For more information, click here.

In accordance with Article 28 of the Service Convention, there is a six-month objecting period which will end for Nicaragua on 25 January 2020. If a Contracting State objects, then the Convention will not enter into force at all for Nicaragua. However, an objection has never been made under this Article in practice.

In the absence of any objection, the Service Convention will enter into force for Nicaragua on 1 February 2020.

The latest State to join was Brazil (EIF: 1 June 2019), which signals a growing interest in this Convention in the Latin American region.

Au terme d’un jugement fleuve, le tribunal correctionnel de Paris a décidé le 9 juillet 2019 de relaxer l’intégralité des prévenus dans ce qu’il est convenu d’appeler l’affaire de « l’arbitrage Tapie ». Selon la juridiction de première instance, aucune escroquerie ni aucun détournement ne peuvent être retenus à la charge des différents protagonistes.

en lire plus

As we have reported earlier, the final conference for the EU-funded IC2BE project will take place in Antwerp on 21 and 22 November 2019.

We are happy to anounce that registration is now open. See here for the programme and free registration (only the dinner is to be paid by attendees). Antwerp is close to Brussels and Amsterdam and can easily be reached by train from either of those cities. There are many hotels providing affordable accommodation.

The conference will discuss the application of the European Enforcement Order (805/2004), European Payment Order (1896/2006), the European Small Claims Procedure (861/2007) and Account Preservation Order (655/2014) in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain, as well as by the Court of Justice of the EU.

The case law database of the IC2BE project is available here (not yet complete).

National seminars will also take place in the participating countries. See here for the dates.

En cas d’impossibilité pour une juridiction de se procurer l’adresse du défendeur, le règlement (CE) n° 805/2004 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 21 avril 2004 ne permet pas de certifier en tant que titre exécutoire européen une décision judiciaire relative à une créance, rendue à la suite d’une audience à laquelle n’ont comparu ni le défendeur ni le tuteur désigné pour les besoins de la procédure.

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The American Association of Private International Law (ASADIP) and the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC) of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) are seeking an intern to assist them in the academic work of the region’s network and to conduct legal research. An important focus of the internship will be the Hague Service and Evidence Conventions. Further information is available here (in Spanish only).

The candidate must either be an advanced student (having already taken Private International Law credits) or have graduated from a Bacherlor of Laws in a University of Latin American or the Caribbean region. For graduated candidates to be able to apply, no more than 3 years should have elapsed from their graduation.

Very good written and communications skills in both Spanish and English are required. This is a non-remunerated internship. The selected candidate is expected to work part-time (3 or 4 hours per day) from a distance. However, it is possible to do the internship at the ROLAC office in Buenos Aires, Argentina, or combined the internship with the possibility to work at a distance and on site.

The duration of the internship is 4 months to a year.

The deadline for applications is 20 August 2019.

The HCCH and the Department of Justice of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China jointly organise the Inaugural Global Conference on the 2019 HCCH Judgments Convention:

The 2019 HCCH Judgments Convention:
Global Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments

• Date: 9 September 2019
• Where: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

This Conference will provide an international forum for experts and interested parties to exchange their views concerning various aspects of 2019 HCCH Judgments Convention. Issues may include the instrument’s salient features; its benefits to parties; and its implications for cross-border trade and dispute resolution. It is envisaged that the event will promote the international community’s deeper understanding of, and ultimately greater participation in, the Convention.

The Conference will be conducted in English. Participation is free but the number of participants will be limited. Advance registration is required. For the advance registration, and all further information, go to: www.hcchjudgmentshk.org.

The event is supported by the Asian Academy of International Law.

I reported earlier on the decision at first instance in Arica Victims v Boliden Mineral. The Court of Appeal has now reversed the finding of Chilean law as lex causae, opting instead for Swedish law. Lindahl has good review here and I rely on it quite heavily for I do no speak Swedish.

Boliden Mineral exported toxic waste to Chile in the ’80s, prior to either Basel or EU or OECD restraints (or indeed bans) kicking in. A first issue for consideration was determination of lex causae. Rome II does not apply ratione temporis (it only applies to tortious events occurring after its date of entry into force) – residual Swedish private international law applies. My understanding at first instance was that the applicable law rule referred to lex loci damni, Chile. The Court of Appeal has gone for lex loci delicti commissi: whether this was by use of an exception or whether the court at first instance had simply misunderstood Swedish PIL, I do not know.

Having opted for lex loci delicti commissi, the Court of Appeal then considered where this was. Readers of the blog will know that this is relevant for CSR /business and human /environmental rights discussions. Lindahl’s Linda Hallberg and Tor Pöpke summarise the court’s approach:

In order to determine which country’s law applied to the case, the court examined a sequence of events that had influenced, to varying degrees, what had led to the alleged damage. According to the court, the decisive factor in the choice of law were acts and omissions that could be attributed to the Swedish mining company, as the case concerned this company’s liability for damages.

Instead of determining the principal location of the causative events using quantitative criteria, the court considered it to be where the qualitatively important elements had their centre of gravity. Further, in contrast with the district court’s conclusion, it held that the Swedish mining company’s alleged negligence had its centre in Sweden and therefore Swedish tort law should be applied in this case (the law of the place in which a delict is committed).

Unlike more ‘modern’ CSR cases the fact do not concern mother /daughter company relations yet the considerations of locus delicti commissi are nonetheless interesting.

The Court of first instance had employed Chilean’s longer statute of limitation. The Court of Appeal tried to stretch Sweden’s shorter one of 10 years (the case concerns a potentially tortious act which occurred more than 30 years ago): any subsequent damage that had been caused by the mining company’s failure to act during the period after the toxic waste had been shipped to Chile would advance the starting point for the limitation period. However this was at the latest 1999 and the 2013 action therefore had been taken too late.

On 25 June last the Supreme Court rejected further consideration, the Court of Appeal’s finding therefore stands.

Geert.

(Handbook of) EU Private International Law, 2nd ed. 2016, Chapter 4, Heading 4.6.3, Chapter 8.

Profesor Dr. Francisco Javier Zamora Cabot and Dr. Maria Chiara Marullo (Chair of Private International Law at the Universitat Jaume I de Castellón) have recently published an article on International Sanctions and Human Rights.

Professor Zamora Cabot has kindly provided us with a short introduction to this topic:

The fight for the international protection of human rights is currently being developed on multiple fronts and through a diverse set of instruments and mechanisms. Thus, at the state level we can highlight, for instance, on the one hand, the use of powerful norms of an imperative nature, such as, in the United States, those that deal with serious problems such as torture or human trafficking, along with the emergence of an increasingly important regulation at a comparative level regarding the control of supply chains or the repression of the so-called modern slavery. Also at the state level, it should be noted, on the other hand, the trend that is becoming generalized in favor of facilitating access to justice for victims of human rights violations, being the ambit of the relations of companies with the latter a clear field of choice for it.

For its part, the international community, although it is not living a particularly brilliant time as regards the protection of the aforementioned rights, persists in the application of the body of laws generated in it, especially through the various institutionalized systems, and in the search for new instruments, such as those already adopted or in the process of being adopted in the area of the relations between companies and human rights, key in our days, with the inescapable reference of the role of the United Nations.

In addition, international sanctions have long been playing a relevant role in relation to the two levels we have been managing. The examples are countless, and so is the discussion that often arises, even when they have been conveyed through the international instances. For example, although they are defined and specified with technical accuracy, they often have a negative impact on those sectors of the population they should actually protect.

Trying to minimize these impacts, and opening up new ways in the international protection of human rights, a number of texts have appeared in recent times, with the pioneering impulse of the United States, along with other countries, which, through well-defined sanctions, combine the fight against the corruption with the fight against the serious violations of the rights above mentioned. This is a very timely approach, insofar as corruption and violations are often intimately related, as, for example, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the United Nations Economic and Social Council emphasized through its General Comment No. 24,E/C.12/GC/24, in the context of business activities, urging States to take action against such corruption, providing them with the appropriate mechanisms and ensuring their independence and sufficient level of resources.

In short, the paradigm of the aforementioned approach would be the Global Magnitski Act of the United States, Public Law 114-328., 130 Stat. 2533, which covers also legal persons and is already resulting in a practice of prominence, and even reflections in other countries at the regulatory level. A norm that deserves an in-depth analysis and follow-up in its application, herald as it is of a new horizon in the struggle for human rights to which we alluded initially, without losing sight of the rigor and caution with which we must act. And this is due to the intrinsic character of international sanctions as instruments of restricted and exceptional application, complementary, but never substitutable in this order, of those already existing and of which there is evidence in these brief reflections.

The article (in Spanish) is available here.