The Hague Conference releases new video: “HCCH: Connecting. Protecting. Co-operating.”
By the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law
During the solemn ceremony celebrating its 125th Anniversary, the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) launched a new video “HCCH: Connecting. Protecting. Co-operating.” In a visually appealing way, the video explains the work of the HCCH and the importance of the Organisation in a globalised world.
UK government publishes paper on future of judicial cooperation in civil matters
Yesterday, the UK government published new paper on the future of judicial cooperation in civil matters. It sets out the UK’s vision for the handling of civil legal cases if no Brexit deal can be reached.
The full paper is available here.
Conference on European Civil Procedure, Milan 4-5 October
The Final Conference of the Jean Monnet Module on European Civil Procedure will take place in Milan on the 4th and 5th October.
Details about the event and the conference agenda can be found here.
Conference and Call: Challenge Accepted! Exploring Pathways to Civil Justice in Europe
19-20 November 2018, Civil Justice Conference in Rotterdam – Registration is open.
As announced earlier, the conference Challenge Accepted! Exploring Pathways to Civil Justice in Europe will take place at Erasmus School of Law on 19-20 November. You are warmly invited to join us. Find the info and a call for posters below. See also our project website www.euciviljustice.eu.
Access to civil justice is of paramount importance for enforcing rights of citizens and ensuring the rule of law. Key issues in the current efforts to improve access to justice at the EU and national levels regard the digitisation of justice and the use of artificial intelligence in dispute resolution, the privatisation of justice and the multiplication of alternative dispute resolution schemes, the increased possibility of self-representation, and the ever-increasing specialisation of court systems. Each of these trends greatly influences the emerging EU civil justice system but also raises a number of questions and doubts. On 19 and 20 November 2018, policymakers, practitioners, academics from all over Europe will meet in Rotterdam to exchange and reflect on innovating pathways to civil Justice. Together, we will work on defining a sustainable framework for a 21st century EU civil justice system.
The flyer can be found here. More information about the programme and registration is available here.
Young researchers will also have the possibility to present and discuss their work during a Poster Presentation that will take place on Tuesday 20 November. Posters should focus on the topics of the conference, and show originality. We invite PhD researchers or young academics to present their research in a poster format. The three best posters will be awarded a prize during the closing cocktail.
More information on submitting a poster proposal can be found here.
This conference is organised by Erasmus School of Law at Rotterdam University under the ERC project ‘Building EU Civil Justice’ (www.euciviljustice.eu).
For more information, do not hesitate to contact us at hoevenaars@law.eur.nl (Jos) or biard@law.eur.nl (Alexandre).
Party Autonomy in Private International Law
Alex Mills, University College London, has written a book on party autonomy in private international law which has just been published by Cambridge University Press. The author has kindly provided us with the following summary:
This book provides an unprecedented analysis and appraisal of party autonomy in private international law – the power of private parties to enter into agreements as to the forum in which their disputes will be resolved or the law which governs their legal relationships. Such agreements have become an increasingly important part of cross-border legal relations, but many aspects of party autonomy remain controversial and contested. This book includes a detailed exploration of the historical origins of party autonomy as well as its various theoretical justifications. It also provides an in-depth comparative study of the rules governing party autonomy in the European Union, the United States, common law systems, and in international codifications, with particular consideration of some other important jurisdictions including China and Brazil. It examines party autonomy in both choice of forum and choice of law, including arbitration agreements and choice of non-state law. It also examines the effectiveness of party choice of forum and law not only for contractual disputes, but also for a variety of non-contractual legal relations.
The book focuses its analysis around five questions of consistency in party autonomy – consistency between party autonomy in choice of forum and choice of law, consistency in the treatment of party autonomy in contractual and non-contractual relations, consistency between the choice of state and non-state forums or law, consistency between party autonomy in theory and practice, and consistency between different legal systems in relation to the effects of (and limits on) exercises of party autonomy. This analysis demonstrates that while an apparent consensus around the core principle of party autonomy has emerged, its coherence as a doctrine is open to question as there remains significant variation in practice across its various facets and between legal systems.
More information is available here.
Wanted: Research Assistant / Doctoral Student
I am currently looking for a research assistant / doctoral student to work at my Chair at the University of Jena as of 1 November 2018. The position is part-time (50%) and paid according to the salary scale E 13 TV-L.
In addition to writing an excellent doctoral dissertation in your field of interest (and my field of expertise) tasks associated with the position include, among others, independent teaching in German private law (contracts, torts, property: 2 hours per week in German).
The successful candidate holds an excellent first law degree and has a particular interest in private international law and international civil procedure. A very good command of German and English is required, additional languages will be an advantage.
If you are interested, please send your application (cover letter, CV, copies of relevant certificates in one pdf) to my secretary, Regina Franzl: r.franzl@recht.uni-jena.de. Deadline for applications is 14 September 2018.
The full job advert is available here (in German).
Montenegro Ratifies Hague Choice of Court Convention
(Only) last week, the government of the Netherlands – the depositary of the Convention – has informed the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law that Montenegro ratified the 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention on 18 April 2018, with the Convention entering into force for Montenegro on 1 August 2018. This brings the number of Contracting Parties to 32 (the EU, all member states (since 30 May 2018 including Denmark), Mexico, Singapore, and Montenegro), with three others (China, Ukraine, and the United States) having signed but not ratified the Convention.
Pursuant to its Articles 1(1), 3(a), and 16(1), exclusive choice-of-court agreements designating Montenegro concluded after 1 August 2018 must be given effect under the Convention by all Contracting States (except Denmark, for which it only enters into force on 1 September 2018). Montenegro must give the same effect to all such agreements designating other Contracting States as long as they have been concluded after the Convention entered into force for the designated state (EU and Mexico: 1 October 2015; Singapore: 1 October 2016; Denmark: 1 September 2018).
The Convention has repeatedly been mentioned as an option for the UK to maintain a minimum of cooperation in the area of civil justice with the EU, should a more comprehensive agreement not be reached (see Dickinson ZEuP 2017, 539, 560–62; Rühl (2018) 67 ICLQ 127–28; Sonnentag, Die Konsequenzen des Brexits (Mohr 2017), 89–91). It should be noted, though, that even if the UK ratified the Convention the very day of its withdrawal from the EU on 29 March 2019, it would only enter into force three months later, on 1 July 2019 (see Art 31(1)).
2018/19 SVIR/SSDI Hague Conference Grant
By the Swiss Association SVIR/SSDI (“Schweizerische Vereinigung für Internationales Recht – Société suisse de droit international“)
The Swiss Association SVIR/SSDI offers since this year a 3,000 CHF grant to support researchers who wish to complete an internship with an international organisation. For the year 2018/19, the award will support a post-graduate student or graduate of a Swiss Law School to undertake a (4- to) 6-month internship at the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) by providing a financial contribution to cover the costs of travel to the Netherlands and a contribution towards living expenses.
Applications should be submitted via the SVIR Grant website no later than Friday 31 August 2018. The internship at the Permanent Bureau will commence as of mid-January 2019.
For further details, please refer to the SVIR Grant website at http://www.svir-ssdi.ch/de/svir-preise/svir-grant/ (click “Ausschreibung”, description in English).
New Book on Cross-Border Business Crisis
The proceedings of the conference Crisi transfrontaliera di impresa: orizzonti internazionali ed europei, held in Rome on 3 and 4 November 2017 at the LUISS University (advertised here on this blog) have recently been published, edited by Antonio Leandro, Giorgio Meo and Antonio Nuzzo.
Authors include experts on insolvency, cross-border insolvency and private international law. The contributions – some in Italian, others in English – address international and European policies on business crisis and failure, the innovations brought about by Regulation (EU) 2015/848 and the interplay of that instrument with other European texts relating to judicial cooperation in civil matters.
The book also discusses the challenges faced by the on-going reform of insolvency law in Italy, in light of regional and international developments.
The table of contents is available here.