Third Issue of 2012’s Revue Critique de Droit International Prive

The third issue of the Revue critique de droit international privé will soon be released. It contains three articles and several casenotes.

In the first article, Matthias Lehmann, who is a professor of law at Halle University, discusses the proposal of the German Council for Private International Law on financial torts (Proposition d’une règle spéciale dans le Règlement Rome II pour les délits financiers)

This article explores conflicts of laws relating to financial torts, such as insider dealing or the publication of a prospectus containing incorrect information. The problem is of particular relevance given that in interconnected financial markets, tortious behavior often has repercussions in different countries. The law that applies to the responsibility of the tortfeasor must be determined in conformity with the Rome II Regulation. Yet the latter does not contain any specific conflicts rule for financial torts. Its general provision, article 4(1), leads to the applicability of a multitude of different laws for the same behaviour, which in addition cannot be foreseen. The economic consequences are potentially disastrous. The German Council for Private International Law therefore suggests amending the Rome II Regulation. This contribution analyses the reasons for the proposal and its content.

In the second article, Javier Carrascosa González, who is a professor of law at the University of Murcia, offers an economic reading of the principle of proximity (Règle de conflit et théorie économique).

Finally, in the third article, Horatia Muir Watt, who is a professor at Sciences Po Law School, offers a critical appraisal of the International Court of Justice’s decision on sovereign immunity in Germany v. Italy, Greece intervening, of 3rd Feb. 2012 (Les droits fondamentaux devant les juges nationaux à l’épreuve des immunités juridictionnelles).