Spanish Forum on Private International Law

Leading Spanish private international law scholars have recently founded the Spanish Forum on Private International Law (Foro español de Derecho internacional privado – FEDIP). The Foro is meant to  promote the awareness on private international law issues in the Spanish society and to foster discussion on those issues among academics and other specialists in the field. One of the basic goals of the Foro is to enable its members to adopt a common position on current developments in private international law with a view to offer advice on the legislative processes both at national and EU level.

Two main areas have been selected as priority fields for the activities of the Foro in the coming months. First, the long-awaited proposal to adopt a New Spanish Act on International Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters (covering issues such as cross-border service of judicial and extrajudicial documents, cooperation in the taking of evidence and recognition and enforcement of judgments). The need for legislative reform at national level in this area remains high in Spain given the inadequacy of its current legislation and the lack of progress within the EU as far as relations with non EU Member States are concerned. Secondly, attention will be devoted to the follow-up of current developments in EU Private International Law with a special focus on the implications of the envisaged EU regulation on succession and the evolution in the field of contract law.

Also in the first general assembly meeting the members of the executive committee of the Foro were elected: Juan José Álvarez Rubio, (Univ. País Vasco), Rafael Arenas García (Univ. Autónoma de Barcelona), Pedro De Miguel Asensio (Univ. Complutense de Madrid), Cristina González Beilfuss (Univ. Barcelona), Andrés Rodríguez Benot (Univ. Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla), M. del Pilar Diago Diago (Univ. Zaragoza) and Aurelio López-Tarruella Martínez (Univ. Alicante).