Agrégateur de flux

Memoria et Dall'Antonia
Liberté d'établissement
La réglementation italienne interdisant aux entreprises privées d’exercer une activité de garde d’urnes funéraires est contraire au droit de l’Union

Milivojević
Espace de liberté, sécurité et justice
L’avocat général Tanchev propose à la Cour de juger qu’une loi nationale qui permet d’annuler rétroactivement des contrats de crédit conclus avec des prêteurs étrangers qui n’étaient pas autorisés à fournir des services de crédit dans ce pays est contraire au droit de l’Union lorsque la même loi ne s’applique pas aux prêteurs croates

Commission / Grèce
Aide d'État
Pour ne pas avoir récupéré les aides d’État octroyées à Ellinika Nafpigeia, la Grèce est condamnée à payer une somme forfaitaire de 10 millions d’euros et une astreinte de plus de 7 millions d’euros par semestre de retard

I have reported twice before on the BIBC – once viz the initial version and a second time with my short report for the Parliamentary Hearing. I have now had a minute to review the Council of State’s comments on the amended version – among others with a view to preparing for next week’s conference on hybrid courts in Doha. Note that the Council of State here acts in its advisory function: essentially its opinions aim to improve draft statute so as to avoid future litigation.

What is clear from these recent comments is that the Council does not at all embrace the regulatory competition incentives which lie at the heart of the proposal, in particular in its view on how a matter may be made ‘international’ so as to justify engagement of the BIBC. Its view (let alone the Justice Council’s fear for forum shopping?!: encouraging such shopping being the very raison d’etre of the Act) contradicts the CJEU’s flexible stance on the issue as apparent eg in Vinyls Italia. As I noted in my comments before the Committee, it is a rather odd indeed parochial requirement to insist on parties having used English in their correspondence, before they can validly engage the BIBC. Even the suggested amendment that the use of languages other than Belgium’s three official ones (French, Dutch, German) should suffice, is not convincing to the Council. One hopes the drafters will ignore the Council’s hesitation at this point.

The Council does not of course engage in the political discussions surrounding the proposal: in particular, whether in a country in which the court system arguably does not operate to satisfaction, the creation of an international commercial court may compound, rather than remedy issues.

Geert.

 

The University of Milan will recruit a postdoctoral researcher in Private International Law or Civil Procedure or European Private law, starting in January 2019, for a duration of 21 months (renewable once).

The researcher will work on the project “Facilitating cross-border family life: towards a common European understanding – EUFam’s II”.

Eligible candidates must hold a doctorate in law (preferably private international law or international civil procedural law or European private law) or have comparable research experience. They must have an excellent command of English. Good command of Italian is required.

More details can be found here

Deadline for applications 4 December 2018

The third issue of the Belgian Journal on Private International Law has been published and is available for free here.

The Journal contains case law by Belgian Courts in Dutch and French as well as recent case law of the CJEU.

This issue includes Court of Cassation cases on contracts, torts and evidence.

The Journal also contains one article in English:

Isabelle  Bambust,  Jan  De  Meyer,  Valerie  De  Ruyck,  Sarah  Den  Haese,  Laura Deschuyteneer,  Erinda  Mehmeti and Jinske  Verhellen  (Ghent University): Cross-Border  Proceedings  in  Family  Law  Matters  before  National  Courts  and the CJEU: National Report Belgium

and two in Dutch:

1. Veerle Van Den Eeckhout (Max Planck Instituut Luxemburg): Regels van internationale bevoegdheid in de context van de “tweede generatie” verordeningen. Enkele beschouwingen vanuit het perspectief van bescherming van zwakke partijen (Rules of International Jurisdiction in the context of the “Second Generation” Regulations. Some Reflections from the Perspective of Protection of Weak Parties)
The English abstract reads:

In this paper, the author analyses in a non-exhaustive way the rules of international jurisdiction in the context of the second generation regulations, i.e. the European Enforcement Order Regulation, the European Order for Payment Regulation, the European Small Claims Regulation, and the European Account Preservation Order Regulation. The author explores the extent to which protection is given to weak parties in this context.”

Regarding recent developments, the following might be worth noting: in the paper, a short indication of recent case law of the CJEU regarding the Directive on unfair terms in consumer contracts (in national proceedings; see particularly the case Karel de Grote (C-147/16, 17 May 2018)) is used by the author as a stepping stone to the analysis of the protection of weak parties in the “second generation” regulations regarding issues of international jurisdiction. Special attention is given thereby to the European Order for Payment Regulation. As the paper has been updated up to the beginning of September 2018, even more recent case law on consumer protection regarding unfair terms in consumer contracts in national proceedings, such as the judgment of the CJEU in the case Profi Credit Polska (C-176/17, 13 September 2018) and Eos Ksi Slovensko (C-448/17, 20 September 2018)  is not included. Noteworthy is that most recently, two new preliminary questions on the European Order for Payment have been published in the Official Journal (OJ of 22 October 2018), including the issue of the Directive on unfair terms in consumer contracts in its interaction with the European Order for Payment Regulation itself: C-453/18 and C-494/18!

2. Jinske Verhellen (Universiteit Gent): De Belgische transgenderwet in een internationale context (The Belgian Act on Transgenders in international context)

Thank you Nicolas Contis and Leonardo Pinto for reporting  judgments by the French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) 16-19-731 Ergo Versicherung v Volker and 16-27.913, Haras des Coudrettes v X, both held on 14 March 2018.

The judgments concern the interpretation of Article 35 Brussels I Recast c.q. Article 31 of the Lugano Convention (the second case concerned a defendant domiciled in Switzerland) on provisional measures.

Please refer to Nicolas and Leonardo for a summary of the facts the judicial proceedings in the case. In neither cases do the French courts have subject-matter jurisdiction: in Ergo, the German courts do by virtue of choice of court; in Haras des Coudrettes, the Swiss courts do by virtue of Article 5(3) Lugano (locus delicti commissi being there; and direct damage also having occurred there hence leaving only indirect, financial damage with the French owner of the horse at issue, even if the exact nature and size of those direct injuries could only be later established in France).

In Ergo, the Supreme Court held that ‘la juridiction française (est) compétente pour ordonner, avant tout procès, une mesure d’expertise devant être exécutée en France et destinée à conserver ou établir la preuve de faits dont pourrait dépendre la solution du litige. Appointing an expert to assess any damages caused to a solar plant, and to explore liabilities for such damage, falls within Article 35 Brussels I Recast. I would agree with such a wide reading as I have discussed before in my review of the Belo Horizonte case. The Supreme Court does not consider relevant to the outcome claimants’ argument, that under Article 2 Brussels I Recast, provisional measures only enjoy free movement under the Regulation when ordered by a court with subject-matter jurisdiction. Indeed in view of the Supreme Court the Court of Appeal need not even consider whether it has such jurisdiction. Given that the form Annexed to the Regulation includes a box requiring exactly that, this may seem odd. One assumes the Court held so given that the forensic measures ordered, can be rolled out entirely in France: no need for any travel at all.

In Haras des Coudrettes, the Supreme Court annulled because the Court of Appeal had established subject-matter jurisdiction for the Swiss courts, and had subsequently not entertained the possibility of provisional measures, even though the object at issue (the mare: ‘la jument’) is in France: ‘Qu’en statuant ainsi, alors qu’elle relevait que la mesure sollicitée avait pour objet notamment d’examiner la jument située en France, la cour d’appel, qui n’a pas tiré les conséquences légales de ses propres constatations, a violé les textes susvisés.‘

and  ‘une mesure d’expertise destinée à conserver ou établir la preuve de faits dont pourrait dépendre la solution du litige, ordonnée en référé avant tout procès sur le fondement du second de ces textes, constitue une mesure provisoire au sens du premier, qui peut être demandée même si, en vertu de cette Convention, une juridiction d’un autre Etat lié par celle-ci est compétente pour connaître du fond’:

expert findings which aim at maintaining or establishing facts upon which the eventual solution of the litigation may depend, fall within the scope of provisional measures and may be ordered even before any entertainment of subject-matter jurisdiction. Again, the fact that for the effective roll-out of the provisional measures no other State need be engaged, must have relevance in this assessment.

Geert.

(Handbook of) EU Private international law, 2nd ed. 2016, Chapter 2, Heading 2.2.15.

 

 

 

Levola Hengelo
Liberté d'établissement
La saveur d’un produit alimentaire ne peut pas bénéficier d’une protection par le droit d’auteur

Čepelnik
Liberté d'établissement
Une réglementation d’un État membre permettant d’imposer, au destinataire d’un service, de suspendre les paiements et de constituer une caution afin de garantir une éventuelle amende qui pourrait être infligée au prestataire du service, établi dans un autre État membre, pour violation du droit du travail du premier État membre, est contraire au droit de l’Union

Current policy discussions on ADR/ODR in France: towards greater regulation for the Legaltech?

By Alexandre Biard, Erasmus University Rotterdam (postdoc researcher ERC project Building EU Civil Justice)

In April 2018, the French government published a new draft legislation aimed at reforming and modernizing the French Justice system (Projet de loi de programmation 2018-2022 et de réforme pour la Justice). Among other things, the proposal is likely to trigger some significant changes in the French ADR/ODR landscape, and may have important consequences for the future development of the legaltech. The proposal is currently discussed before the French Parliament and Senate. The following elements should be noted:

• A generalisation of compulsory mediation (tentative de médiation obligatoire) for small claims (Article 2 of the draft legislation). It should be noted that France has already launched several pilot projects with the intent to experiment compulsory mediation in several areas, including in family law and for certain administrative matters.
• A new certification scheme for ODR platforms (Article 3 of the draft legislation). As a result of the European Directive 2013/11/EU (the Consumer ADR Directive), France has already established a certification scheme applying to consumer ADR providers. Consumer ADR entities seeking certification must show compliance with several quality criteria listed in the Consumer ADR Directive, and transposed in France by Ordinance 2015-1033 of 20 August 2015 and two additional implementing decrees. A new ad hoc public entity – Commission d’Evaluation et de Contrôle de la Médiation de la Consommation (CECMC) closely linked to the General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF, a branch of the Ministry of Economy) is in charge of certifying consumer ADR providers. CECMC must also verify that Consumer ADR providers comply with the quality criteria listed in the Directive and the national legislation on an on-going basis. Under the new draft legislation, the proposed certification scheme will apply to all ODR systems. While noticing the development of ODR services, a previous draft legislation of 25 October 2017 suggested to introduce a certification scheme for private ODR platforms, and, in parallel, also aimed to create a free public ODR system (Service public gratuit en ligne d’aide à la résolution amiable des litiges, see Article 8 of the proposal). However, the development of this public ODR system was finally discarded for budgetary reasons. Interestingly, whereas the initial proposal from the Government made certification non-compulsory and voluntary, amendments adopted by the French Senate have made certification compulsory for all ODR providers. Senate has also designated the Ministry of Justice as competent authority in charge of certifying ODR providers. At the time of writing, it remains unclear whether certification will ultimately be compulsory or not (an amendment from the National Assembly dated 6 November 2018 reintroduced the voluntary/non-compulsory nature of certification). A decree from the State Council (Conseil d’Etat) will specify the details of the certification procedure. As a general rule, to be certified, ODR platforms will have to show that they comply with data protection rules and confidentiality, and prove that they are independent, impartial, and that their procedures are fair and efficient. Importantly, rules also provide that ODR system cannot be based solely on algorithms or automated systems. In other words, human intervention will remain necessary and compulsory. If the ODR platform uses algorithms, it will have to inform parties beforehand, and will have to collect their informed consent. The draft legislation also provides that consumer ADR entities already certified by the CECMC will automatically benefit from the new certification scheme.

The draft proposal has been criticized as a step towards ‘a privatisation of justice’. It remains to be seen how the new proposed certification scheme will be implemented.

More information on this topic? Don’t hesitate to contact us (biard@law.eur.nl)

 

 

 

Après trois semaines de débats, la cour d’assises de Bobigny a enfin entendu les accusés Brigitte Gruel et Georges Tron, accusés de viols et d’agressions sexuelles, par deux ex collaboratrice de la mairie de Draveil.

en lire plus

Sans débat, la commission des lois de l’Assemblée nationale a adopté vendredi 9 novembre un amendement sur le fichage génétique (FNAEG). Outre une modification des règles d’effacement, il élargit les possibilités de recherches en parentalité et supprime la notion d’ADN non codant, verrou d’un fichage génétique selon les caractéristiques des personnes.

en lire plus

The International Academy of Comparative Law is launching a new journal in 2019 to foster scientific discussion about the use of comparative law. The Ius Comparatum Journal (ICJ) is dedicated to the methodological aspects of comparative law. It covers all fields of law where the methods and techniques of comparative law are at stake.

The editorial board of the journal welcomes abstracts from scholars as well as practitioners, including staff of arbitral institutions. Papers will be published in French or English online before the publication in print of the first issue of the Journal at the end of summer 2019.

The deadline for submissions is 6 January 2019.

The full text of the call is available here.