Cross-Border Enforcement in the EU (“IC2BE”) – workshop Netherlands 14 November

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Save the Date – 14 November 2019

Workshop: Application of the “Second Generation” Regulations in The Netherlands

The Erasmus School of Law (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands) will host a second national workshop on Thursday, 14 November 2019 from 9.30-13.00 hrs, in the framework of the research project “Informed Choices in Cross-Border Enforcement” (IC2BE) (see our first workshop). This project (JUSTAG-2016-02) is funded by the Justice Programme (2014-2020) of the European Commission and aims to assess the functioning in practice of the “second generation” of EU regulations on procedural law for cross-border cases, i.e. the European Enforcement Order (“EEO”), European Order for Payment (“EPO”), European Small Claims (as amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/2421) (“ESCP”) and the European Account Preservation Order (“EAPO”) Regulations.

The project is carried out by a European consortium involving the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg and the universities of Antwerp, Complutense of Madrid, Milan, Rotterdam, and Wroclaw, and is coordinated by Prof. Jan von Hein from the University of Freiburg.

The workshop will present the findings of the research in the Netherlands and discuss these with experts from legal practice and academics, with the aim of assessing and improving the application of these instruments.

The language of the workshop is mostly Dutch. Practitioners and academics interested in cross-border litigation are invited to participate in this event. Detailed information on the program and (free of charge) registration will follow soon. Contact address for further information: ontanu@law.eur.nl.

The finail conference for this IC2BE project will take place in Antwerp on 21-22 November 2019. For more information and registration see our previous post and the project website.

 

Milan, 25-26 October: Blockchain, Law and Governance

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On 25 and 26 October 2019 Benedetta Cappiello and Gherhardo Carullo from the Università degli Studi di Milano will host a conference dealing with blockchain from a legal perspective. The focus is on the positive effects that this technology can generate. Special attention is paid to projects that aim to promote sustainability through blockchain solutions. One of the panels is devoted to jurisdiction and the law applicable to smart contracts.

The conference aims at:

  • offering a critical analysis of the potential benefits and legal risks of distributed ledger technologies;
  • scrutinizing opportunities offered by blockchain technology and possible regulatory frameworks;
  • discussing the legal implications of blockchain technologies;
  • presenting real-world blockchain projects applied to society;
  • bringing together different stakeholders to discuss the future role of governments and the contemporary challenges to public trust.

Conference programme:

DAY 1 – October 25th

9:00 – 9:30: Registration

9:30 – 10:15: Welcome from: E. Franzini, University Chancellor; V. Nardo, Presidente Ordine Avvocati; L. Violini, Head of Department Diritto pubblico italiano e sovranazionale

10:30 –11:00: The Italian perspective: “An Introduction”

  • P. Ciocca, Commissario Consob

11:00 – 11:30: Coffee Break

11:30 –12:15: Plenary Session: Understanding Blockchain: “An introduction”

  • C. Malcolm, Head, Blockchain Policy Center, OECD-OCDE, tbc

12:30 – 13:45: Lunch

13:45 –14:15: Workshop:“How to ‘mine’?”

  • C. Biondi Santi, BitMiner Factory, Firenze

14:30 –16:15: PlenarySession:“Blockchain in law”

Chair: NerinaBoschiero,FacultyDean

  • P. de Filippi, Permanent Researcher at the National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS) and Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University
  • O. Goodenough, Director of the Center for Legal Innovation, Vermont Law School – CodeX Affiliated
  • T. Schrepel, Utrecht University School of Law

16:15 – 16:45: Coffee Break

16:45 –18:00: “Blockchain in action: Crypto currencies”

Chair: Gabriele Sabbatini

  • G. Zucco, BlockchainLabit, founder
  • P. Dal Checco, Turin University
  • R. Ghio, WizKey

16:45 –18:15: “Smart legal contract: forum and applicable law issue”

Chair:Benedetta Cappiello, University of Milan

  • G. Rühl, Professor Friedrich Schiller University, Jena
  • P. Bertoli, Professor Università degli Studi dell’Insubria
  • M. T. Giordano, LT42

DAY 2 – October 26th

9:30 –10:30: Plenary session:“Blockchain as a tool to achieve the SDGs”

Chair: Cesare Pitea, University of Milan

  • R. della Croce, OCSE, Senior Economist, Blockchain and green finance
  • G. Baroncini Turrichia, HELPERBIT founder, Blockchain Project applied
  • G. Coppi, Fordham University, International Humanitarian Affairs

10:30 – 11:00: Coffee break

11:00 –12:30: “Who and how to decide?”

Chair: Alessandro Palumbo, Ph.D., CEOJUR

  • P. Ortoloni, Radboud University, Nijmegen
  • A. Santosuosso, Professor Università degli Studi di Pavia
  • J. Lassègue, Professor and Chargé de recherche CNRS

11:00 – 12:30: “Transparency Issue”

Chair: Gherardo Carullo

  • M. Nastri, Notaio
  • M. Finck, Max Planck Institute for innovation and competition
  • A. Zwitter, Dean, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

 

For further information contact Benedetta Cappiello (benedetta.cappiello@unimi.it)

Gender and PIL (GaP): A New Transdisciplinary Research Project

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written by Ivana Isailovic & Ralf Michaels 

We are excited to announce the launch of a new transdisciplinary research project,  Gender and Private International Law (GaP), based at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law (MPI). 

This project is born out of a sense of scholarly and political urgency in a rapidly shifting world, where both conversations about gender equality and a powerful backlash against gender and LGBTQI justice are on the rise. Unlike other legal fields, private international law (“PIL”) has for the most part been absent from this conversation, with some rare (here, here & here) exceptions (see also the panel on women & PIL). The field is almost never analyzed using the concept of ‘gender’, or using methodologies and ideas developed by gender studies scholars. Similarly, scholars working on gender and the law tend to overlook how PIL regulates gender and distributes power and privilege at the transnational level. Transnational studies focusing on gender, often prioritize human rights analyses, or cultural issues, ignoring how PIL techniques and practices interact with identity, and negotiate differences.

Our goal is to create a space for transdisciplinary research and cross-learning at the intersection of PIL and gender and feminist studies. Over the course of this academic year, we will put in place a series of discussion groups bringing together a diverse group of legal scholars working on gender, and PIL scholars interested in gender justice issues. Sessions, organized around short readings, will address methodological questions as well as some of the most pressing topics in PIL, such as the regulation of transnational surrogacy, the recognition of Islamic family law, or international abduction. Our goal with this project is also to give a platform to emergent scholars representing a diversity of voices and backgrounds.

This academic year, we plan to organize three types of events at the MPI in Hamburg. 

  • The first one will be the kick-off event, taking place on Friday, Oct. 25, from 2-5 pm. Ivana Isailovic (MPI and Northeastern University, US) and Roxana Banu (Western University, Ontario, and Queen Mary University, UK) will guide a discussion examining the connections between gender studies and PIL. The event will be followed by a brainstorming session on how to move the project further.

  • Over the course of the Fall 2019, and possibly into the Spring, we will also organize a series of intimate reading groups around canonical texts in gender studies and PIL respectively. PIL scholars and scholars working on gender and law will meet to discuss these texts in an informal setting. More information about these reading groups will be available soon.
  • The final event for this academic year, to take place in the Spring of 2020, will be a full-day workshop with discussion groups organized around several specific themes. Similarly to the kick-off event, each discussion will be guided by a PIL expert and gender and law scholars.

In order to ensure that cost is not a barrier for participants, travel reimbursements will be available for emerging scholars who could not otherwise attend. 

If you want to attend the kick-off event, please write, by October 18, to veranstaltungen@mpipriv.de. For any general questions concerning the project, including the stipend, please write to gender@mpipriv.de. 

We look forward to seeing you at the MPI in Hamburg!

Out now: Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters

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This book is published as part of Hart’s Studies in Private International Law- Asia series. It is edited by Anselmo Reyes who is a Guest Professor at the Law Faculty of Doshisha University  and an International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court.

The publisher’s blurb is as follows:

“This collection offers a study of the regimes for the recognition and enforcement of foreign commercial judgments in 15 Asian jurisdictions: mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. For practising lawyers, the book is intended as a practical guide to current law and procedures for enforcing judgments in the selected jurisdictions. However, it does not stop at describing current law and practice. Of interest to academics and students, it also analyses the common principles of the enforcement regimes across the jurisdictions, and identifies what should be regarded as the norm for enforcement in Asian countries for the purpose of attracting foreign direct investment and catalysing rapid economic development.

In light of the common principles identified, the book explores how laws in Asia may generally be improved to enable judgments to be more readily enforced, while ensuring that legitimate concerns over indirect jurisdiction, due process and domestic public policy are respected and addressed. With this in mind, the book discusses the potential impact that the adoption of the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements might have on Asian jurisdictions; it also considers the potential impact of the convention for the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters presently being drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

This timely book argues that it is imperative to adopt a uniform system for the recognition and enforcement of judgments throughout Asia if there is to be traction for the enhanced cross-border commerce that is expected to result from endeavours such as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), CPTPP (also known as TPP-11), and RCEP.

Anselmo Reyes is Guest Professor at the Law Faculty of Doshisha University in Kyoto and an International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court.”

Meeting on international transfer of maintenance funds: solutions and good practices

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Written by Mayela Celis

A meeting on the international transfer of maintenance funds was held in The Hague, the Netherlands from 16 to 18 September 2019. The Conclusions and Recommendations are available here.

Among the solutions contemplated were the establishment of a centralised point for international transfers for both incoming and outgoing transfer of funds, abolishing the use of cheques and exploring how to increase transparency and cost reduction of the transfer of funds. The meeting also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of bundled payments, as well as the use of blockchain and other payment transfer solutions.

While the Experts’ Group discussed solutions and good practices in the context of the 2007 HCCH Child Support Convention, these are equally relevant to the United Nations Convention of 1956 on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance Obligations, Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and cooperation in matters relating to maintenance obligations, and other regional or bilateral instruments.

It should be noted that pursuant to its Article 49, the 2007 HCCH Child Support Convention prevails over the 1956 United Nations Convention in so far as its scope of application as between the relevant States coincides with the scope of application of the 2007 HCCH Convention.

The European Union, as a Regional Economic Integration Organisation, approved the 2007 HCCH Child Support Convention, which entered into force for the EU on 1 August 2014 (with the exception of Denmark which has not yet acceded to it)

The HCCH news item is available here.

New article on The Hague judgments project: assessing its plausible benefits for the development of the Indian Private International Law

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Written by Saloni Khanderia

Associate Professor Saloni Khanderia (Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India) recently published a new paper in the Commonwealth Law Bulletin, titled The Hague judgments project: assessing its plausible benefits for the development of the Indian Private International Law.

The author talks about the two international instruments which come under the esteemed Hague judgments project: the Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements [the HCCA] and the recent Proposed Draft Text on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments [the Draft Convention], with specific reference to India. The question that the author raises is whether India should endorse the above two instruments. Even though India is a Member of the Hague Conference, it a non-signatory to any treaty or Convention regarding the international jurisdiction of courts and the consequent recognition and enforcement of foreign verdicts. Thus it becomes interesting to see the stance India should take. Initially, the author provides an overview of the judgments project, followed by the role of the HCCA and the Draft Convention and their applicability and contribution to transnational trade. The article presents a position of India in the sphere of private international law. It further analyses the role of the two instruments on the development of India’s private international law.

The author welcomes the freedom of choice of a forum that is granted to the parties in India in respect of civil and commercial transnational matters. However, there is a need for certainty in several matters. Looking at the jurisprudence it can be seen that the Indian courts have been dismissing cases where the parties have not chosen them as a governing forum. Conversely, the courts have taken cognizance and assumed jurisdiction where the same has been conferred upon them by the agreement. Ratification to the HCCA tends to solve this problem as would subject the Indian private international law to a fixed and consistent set of rules on (dis)regarding the choice of court agreements. HCCA also lays down exceptions in cases on an exclusive choice of court agreements, therefore, its incorporation in the Indian laws would guide the court as to when to disregard the choice of court agreement. The ratification would also help in the holistic development of the private international law by easing the need the file fresh suits for recognition and enforcement.

Indian’s archaic rules on private international law make it necessary for the country to endorse the Draft Convention as it would prevent the Indian courts from enforcing a foreign judgment that has been rendered in violation to such an agreement, on coming into effect. Like the HCCA it would ease the process of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments as one would not have look

through the domestic laws before moving the courts. It would provide certainty to the litigants as would provide answers to inconsistent judgments and parallel proceedings. Although

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the ground of public policy is seemingly recognized in India, the Draft Convention would enhance the predictability with respect to enforcement as it explicitly confers the requested court with the right to deny the enforcement, for this reason. The above arguments by the author clearly lay out the conclusion that India should endorse the HCCA and the Draft Convention under the Hague’s Judgment Project.

von Hein, Kieninger & Rühl: How European is European Private International Law?

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Over the course of the last few decades, the European legislature has adopted a total of 18 Regulations in the area of private international law, including civil procedure. The resulting substantial legislative unification has been described as the first true ‘Europeanisation’ of private international law, and even as a kind of ‘European Choice of Law Revolution’. However, it remains largely unclear whether the far-reaching unification of the ‘law on the books’ has turned private international law into a truly European ‘law in action’: To what extent is European private international law actually based on uniform European rules common to all Member States, rather than on state treaties or instruments of enhanced cooperation? Is the manner in which academics and practitioners analyse and interpret European private international law really different from previously existing domestic approaches to private international law? Or, rather, is the actual application and interpretation of European private international law still influenced, or even dominated, by national legal traditions, leading to a re-fragmentation of a supposedly uniform body of law?

In bringing together academics from all over Europe, How European is European Private International Law? sets out to answer – for the first time – these crucial and interrelated questions. It sheds light on the conspicuous lack of “Europeanness” currently symptomatic of European private international law and discusses how this body of law can become truly European in character in the future.

The book was edited by Jan von Hein, Eva-Maria Kieninger and Giesela Rühl and published by Intersentia. It is based on a conference that took place in Berlin in March 2018, see here and here.

Call for Application to the Doctoral Programme in Sustainability

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International and public law, ethics and economics for sustainable development – LEES is the name of the doctoral study programme jointly offered by the University of Milan, the University of Maastricht and the University of Rijeka. There are 6 scholarships available to excellent candidates who wish to conduct interdisciplinary research relevant to sustainability, including that related to private international law.

The call closes on 14 October 2019, and the studies commence as of the beginning of November 2019 in Milan. Further information and instruction is available here.

Cross-Border Debt Recovery in the EU – Workshop on the application of the “second generation” regulations in France and Luxembourg

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On Friday 27 September 2019, the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg will host a workshop on Cross-Border Debt Recovery in the EU – Application of the “second generation” regulations in France and Luxembourg. The workshop is organised in the framework of the IC2BE Project, conducted by a European consortium comprising the MPI Luxembourg and the Universities of Antwerp, Freiburg (coord.), Madrid, Milan, Rotterdam, and Wroclaw. Funded by the Justice Programme (2014-2020) of the European Commission, this Project (JUST-AG-2016-02) aims to assess the working in practice of the “second generation” of EU Regulations on procedural law for cross-border cases, i.e., the European Enforcement Order (Regulation (EC) No 805/2004, “EEO”), the European Order for Payment (Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006, “EPO”), the European Small Claims Procedure (Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 as amended by Regulation (EU) No 2015/2421, “ESCP”) and the European Account Preservation Order (Regulation (EU) No 655/2014, “EAPO”) Regulations.

The workshop will address the application in practice of such Regulations in Luxembourg and France. Mr. François Biltgen (CJEU), Prof. Burkhard Hess, and Prof. Cyril Nourissat will chair the workshop’s Sessions. As was the case with the previous workshop hosted by the MPI Luxembourg on 8 June 2018, this event will bring together academics from various institutions, judges, bailiffs, lawyers and representatives from consumer organisations.

This workshop is conceived as a closed event. However, people having a special interest in the topic may apply for admission provided they submit a short explanation to motivate their request. The working languages will be English and French.

Contact address: veerle.vandeneeckhout@mpi.lu

The case law database of the IC2BE project is available here (in progress).

For the National seminars that will be hosted in the participating countries, see here.

For information on the IC2BE final conference, that will be held in Antwerp on 21-22 November 2019, see here and here.

EU Family Property in the PSEFS Project Initial Results

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Within the ongoing EU Justice Project “Personalized Solution in European Family and Succession Law”, shortly known by the acronym PSEFS, the first stage of research has resulted in several publications. One of the most important is the e-book consisting of 28 reports by for the EU Member States concerning the forms of couples relations and patrimonial consequences thereof and succession regimes, which is accessible here. It also includes several questions regarding the private international law.

This massive publication has been summarised into the PSEFS Atlas provided for each EU Member State, containing information about the property regimes of married couples and registered partners and rules of succession. Designed as an informative tool for legal professionals and an effective support for citizens, it is accessible by clicking to the territory of the selected EU Member State on the map.

In the attempt to reach the public the team members also created two brochures, one with general information about the three regulations: the Succession Regulation, the Matrimonial Property Regulation and the Registered Partnership Property Regulation, and the other with case studies explaining the functioning of these regulations. The brochures are available in 5 languages by clicking on the pictures of their front pages under the respective results/information and support to the citizens section of the Project webpage.

The Project developments may also be followed on the PSEFS Facebook page. One of the forthcoming activities is the Ljubljana PSEFS Project Events. It is expected to gather close to hundred participants as it is open to both academics and practitioners interested in the topic regardless of their involvement in the PSEFS Project.