XXV Annual Conference of the Italian Society of International and EU Law (SIDI) – Call for papers

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The XXV Annual Conference of the Italian Society of International and EU Law (ISIL) on Shared Values and Commons in the International and Supranational Dimension will be hosted at the University of Salento on 18-19 June 2020. The Conference will consist of three sessions on the following topics:

-The respect and promotion of the democratic values and of the rule of law in the international and European legal orders;

-The mandatory principle of environmental conservation, with special emphasis on sustainability;

-The threats to human rights due to the increasing role played by new technologies in contemporary societies.

Papers are accepted for presentation in Italian, English or French. Abstracts (250 words max) and a short bio may be submitted to SIDI2020@unisalento.it by 25 January 2020. The selection process will be completed by the end of February 2020.

More information on this call for papers is available here.

Saloni Khanderia & David Stewart on the Hague Judgments Convention

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Saloni Khanderia & David Stewart published recently on the Hague Judgments Convention in the following reviews:

  • Saloni Khanderia, The Hague Conference on Private International Law’s Proposed Draft Text on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Should South Africa Endorse it?, Journal of African Law (Vol. 63, Issue 3/2019)
  • David Stewart, The Hague Conference Adopts a New Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, American Journal of International Law (Vol. 113, Issue 4/2019)

PSEFS Project Event in Ljubljana 12 & 13 December 2019

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On 12 and 13 December 2019, the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) is the destination of many experts and academics of different national and professional backgrounds who will join in the discussion about various legal aspects of the family property in cross-border situations in EU. The event titled “Best Practices in European Family and Succession Law” is the second public event within the Justice co-funded project PSEFS which stands for “Personalised Solution in Family and Succession Law”. Here is the programme of the event.

The news from the project and more are available at the PSEFS web page.

European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL)

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We are happy to officially announce that the European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL) has recently been founded!

An independent and non-partisan organization registered as a non-profit association under the laws of Luxembourg, EAPIL aims to promote the study and development of private international law by fostering the cooperation of academics and practitioners  as well as the exchange of information on the sources of the discipline, its scholarship and practice.

To learn more about EAPIL – and to become a member – please check out the Association’s website.

To learn about the EAPIL founding conference, to be held at the University of Aarhus (Denmark) in May 2020, please visit the official conference website.

 

Brace yourself: the oral argument of the case Monasky v. Taglieri on the HCCH Child Abduction Convention is scheduled for this week before the US Supreme Court

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The case Monasky v. Taglieri will be argued on Wednesday 11 December 2019 at 10:00 a.m. before the US Supreme Court. As you may remember, this case deals with the determination of habitual residence under the HCCH Child Abduction Convention and may be pivotal in resolving the split in the US circuit courts. Our previous posts on this case are available here and here.

You will be able to read the transcript of the oral argument this Wednesday and listen to the audio recording of the oral argument soon thereafter.

As indicated on the US Supreme Court website, “The transcripts of oral arguments are posted on this website on the same day an argument is heard by the Court. Same-day transcripts are considered official but subject to final review. The audio recordings of all oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court of the United States are available to the public at the end of each argument week.”

Investment Arbitration in Central and Eastern Europe

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A collection of essays titled Investment Arbitration in Central and Eastern Europe, edited by Csongor istván Nagy (University of Szeged, Hungary), has recently been published by Edward Elgar. See here for more information on the book, its contents and contributors.

As noted in the publisher’s blurb, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) appears to be the testing ground for investment arbitration in Europe: the majority of the cases against EU Member States are proceedings launched against countries from the region. Despite their relevance, CEE experiences have not been analysed in a comprehensive manner. The book aims to fill this gap.

The introductory chapter, written by the editor, is titled Intra-EU BITs after Achmea: A Cross-Cutting Issue and can me downloaded via SSRN.

Reminder: EAPIL 2020 Conference on Private International Law in Aarhus (Denmark)

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As noted earlier on this blog, we will celebrate the forthcoming establishment of the European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL) at a conference to  be held at Aarhus University, Denmark, from 14 to 16 May 2020.

The conference will bring together academics and practitioners from all over Europe and provide a unique opportunity to talk and think about European Private International Law in a pan-European fashion. Topics to be discussed will include the effects and the challenges of digitalization, the problems of fragmentation as well as other challenges the discipline is currently facing.

Early bird registration is still possible via the conference website. For questions, please get in touch with the local organizer, Morten M. Fogt (mmf@law.au.dk).

Stay tuned for more Information about the European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL) including information about how to join!

 

New signatory States to the HCCH Child Support Convention and the HCCH Service Convention

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In November 2019, there were a couple of new signatory States to the HCCH Conventions. New Zealand signed the HCCH Child Support Convention and Austria did the same with respect to the HCCH Service Convention.

These HCCH Conventions are not yet in force for New Zealand and Austria as both States would need to ratify them pursuant to the relevant articles under each Convention. Nevertheless, by signing the Conventions both States have acquired the “obligation not to defeat the object and purpose of a treaty prior to its entry into force” in accordance with Article 18 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

With regard to Austria, and given the external competence of the European Union in these matters, it is important to note that the signature was made pursuant to the Council Decision (EU) 2016/414 of 10 March 2016 authorising the Republic of Austria to sign and ratify, and Malta to accede to, the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, in the interest of the European Union. Interestingly, this decision requires that the ratification of the Service Convention be made by 31 December 2017 at the latest. I am unaware of any updates with respect to this decision.

The HCCH news items are available here (New Zealand) and here (Austria).

ERA Seminar on ‘Recent ECtHR Case Law in Family Matters’ – Strasbourg 13-14 February 2020

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On 13-14 February 2020, ERA (Academy of European Law) will host a Seminar in Strasbourg to present the major judgments related to family matters issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 2019. The focus of the presentations will be mainly on:

  • Children in European migration law
  • Parental rights, pre-adoption foster care and adoption
  • Parental child abduction
  • Reproductive rights and surrogacy
  • LGBTQI rights and gender identity

The Seminar, organised by Dr Angelika Fuchs, will provide participants with a detailed understanding of this recent jurisprudence. The focus will be placed, in particular, on Article 8 ECHR (respect for private and family life) and the analysis of the case law of the ECtHR will tackle the legal implications but it will also extend to social, emotional and biological factors.

The opening speech will be given by Ksenija Turkovi?, Judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

More information on the event and on registration is available here.

This event is organised with the support of the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union

Conclusions & Recommendations of the International Seminar on the Protection of Children on the Move and Kafala are available

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The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) has posted the Conclusions & Recommendations of the “International Seminar on the Protection of Children Across Borders: The 1996 HCCH Convention on the Protection of Children” that took place in Rabat, Morocco, in mid-November 2019.

The seminar focused on discussing ways to improve the protection of children across borders in West Africa, in North Africa and in Europe. Two topics of particular interest were discussed: kafala and unaccompanied and separated children.

With regard to the institution of kafala, the participants “welcomed the opportunity to share information and experiences concerning crossborder kafala cases; in particular, the participants noted that, in States where it is unknown under domestic law, kafala may be recognised or, at the very least and depending on the circumstances, its effects would correspond to the delegation of parental responsibility, guardianship or curatorship, in order to ensure its legal effectiveness across borders. Participants also recognised that kafala and adoption are two very different concepts” (C&R No 9).

The HCCH Child Protection Convention makes explicit reference to the institution of Kafala in Articles 3(e) and 33. Paragraph 3.27 of the Practical Handbook on the Operation of the 1996 Child Protection Convention explains what is understood by Kafala: “The institution of kafala is widely used in some States as a form of care for children when they cannot be cared for by their parents. Under kafala, children are cared for by new families or relatives but the legal link with their birth parents is generally not severed. Kafala can take place across borders but since it is an arrangement which does not constitute an adoption it is not within the scope of the 1993 Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention. However, where used, the institution of kafala clearly constitutes a measure of protection in respect of a child and is therefore expressly within the scope of the 1996 Convention.”

With regard to the protection of unaccompanied and separated children, the participants “recognised the need to implement the “Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children” resulting from Resolution 64/142 adopted by the United Nations General Assembly” (C&R No 11).

The Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference is also working on this topic. In fact, in 2018 the governance body of the Hague Conference mandated to prioritise work on the finalisation of the revisions to a preliminary document relating to the application of the 1996 HCCH Child Protection Convention to unaccompanied and separated children (referred to as Preliminary Document No 7 of the Seventh Meeting of the Special Commission of 2017 on the 1980 and 1996 Conventions). To the best of my knowledge, this document has not yet been released.

Currently only two African States are States parties to the HCCH Child Protection Convention: Lesotho and Morocco. Only Morocco was present at the seminar probably due to its geographic scope.

The HCCH news items is available here.