On the way towards a representative action for the protection of the collective interests of consumers in the EU

Today, the EU Commission presented its long awaited proposal for a directive on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers (COM (2018) 184/3). The proposal and other related documents are available here. The directive shall appply to domestic and cross-border infringements (Article 2(1), 2nd sentence). With regard to the latter group of cases, the directive “is without prejudice to the Union rules on private international law, in particular rules related to court jurisdiction and applicable law” (Article 2(3)). However, Article 16 sets out some rules relevant for cross-border representative actions. It ensures the mutual recognition of the legal standing of qualified entities designated in advance in one Member State to seek representative action in another Member State. Moreover, it enables qualified entities from different Member States to act jointly within a single representative action in front of a single forum competent under relevant Union and national rules. The pertinent provision reads as follows:

Article 16
Cross-border representative actions

1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that any qualified entity designated in advance in one Member State in accordance with Article 4(1) may apply to the courts or administrative authorities of another Member State upon the presentation of the publicly available list referred to in that Article. The courts or administrative authorities shall accept this list as proof of the legal standing of the qualified entity without prejudice to their right to examine whether the purpose of the qualified entity justifies its taking action in a specific case.

2. Member States shall ensure that where the infringement affects or is likely to affect consumers from different Member States the representative action may be brought to the competent court or administrative authority of a Member State by several qualified entities from different Member States, acting jointly or represented by a single qualified entity, for the protection of the collective interest of consumers from different Member States.

3. For the purposes of cross-border representative actions, and without prejudice to the rights granted to other entities under national legislation, the Member States shall communicate to the Commission the list of qualified entities designated in advance. Member States shall inform the Commission of the name and purpose of these qualified entities. The Commission shall make this information publicly available and keep it up to date.

4. If a Member State or the Commission raises concerns regarding the compliance by a qualified entity with the criteria laid down in Article 4(1), the Member State that designated that entity shall investigate the concerns and, where appropriate, revoke the designation if one or more of the criteria are not complied with.”

Call for Papers: Second German Conference for Young Scholars in PIL

Building on the success of the first German Conference for Young Scholars in PIL, which took place almost exactly one year ago at the University of Bonn, a second conference for young scholars in private international law will be held on 4 and 5 April 2019 at the University of Würzburg. Young scholars are invited to submit proposals for presentations in German or English that engage with the conference theme ‘IPR zwischen Tradition und Innovation – Private International Law between Tradition and Innovation’.

Further information on possible approaches to the conference theme can be found in the official Call for Papers; contributions may discuss any aspect of private international law relating to the theme, including questions of international jurisdiction, choice of law, recognition and enforcement, international arbitration, and loi uniforme. Submissions describing the proposed 30-minute talk in no more than 800 words can be made until 1 July 2018. While the conference language will be German, individual submissions may be made (and presented) in German or English.

All accepted contributions will be published in a conference volume.

 

Constitutional and Treaty-based Review of Foreign Law – Studies in Private International Law

A new book co-edited by Gustavo Cerqueira and Nicolas Nord has been published:

Contrôle de constitutionnalité et de conventionnalité du droit étranger – Études de droit international privé (Amérique Latine – États-Unis – Europe), Société de législation comparée, Paris, 2017, 285 p.

The application of foreign law is increasingly frequent in the settlement of international disputes, both before the judge and the arbitrator. At the same time, the impact of constitutional and treaty standards on private law is a widespread phenomenon. The question of a dual constitutional and treaty-based review of foreing law by the forum seized inevitably arises. It could be carried out in the light of the hierarchy of the standards of the system of the lex causae, the hierarchy of the forum or even the hierarchy of the State in which the judgment given is intended to be enforced. The operation of the classic mechanisms of private international law and arbitration law is put to the test, both in terms of applicable law and the international effectiveness of decisions.

Because of its innovative nature, this book updates the essential issues of the subject. The national reports show the different approaches to the question of double-checking in Europe (Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland), North America (United States) and Latin America (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay). More generally, prolegomena contextualize the places and forms of application of foreign law subject to a constitutional and treaty-based review, and explore the figure of otherness in these contextes.

The debates raised during the round tables of the colloquium that gave rise to this book, which was held at the Grand Chamber of the Court of Cassation on 23 September 2016, revealed not only differences of assessment, but also certain convergences worthy of an overall vision of the problem. More than a juxtaposition of systems, the debates provided an opportunity to explore new avenues for resolution. Some of them seek to establish an international cooperation in this area. At a time when we are discussing the adoption of a supranational instrument aimed at strengthening the system for determining and applying foreign law and judicial cooperation in the field of information on the law applicable within the European Union, this book is intended to be the starting point for new reflections.

Informations: http://legiscompare.fr/ecommerce/fr/colloques/408-livre-controle-de-constitutionnalite-et-de-conventionnalite-du-droit-etranger.html

Table of Contents

Préface
Dominique HASCHER

Avant-propos
Gustavo CERQUEIRA et Nicolas NORD

PROLÉGOMÈNES
Lieux et formes d’application du droit étranger soumis à un contrôle de constitutionnalité et de conventionnalité
Jean-Sylvestre BERGÉ

Contrôle de constitutionnalité, contrôle de conventionnalité, et la figure de l’altérité
Julien BOUDON

I. PERSPECTIVES FRANÇAISES

Le conflit hiérarchique étranger de normes devant le juge judiciaire français. Application à la constitutionnalité et à la conventionnalité de la loi étrangère
Pascal de VAREILLES-SOMMIÈRES

Le droit étranger à l’épreuve de la Constitution française et des conventions internationales liant l’ordre juridique français
Hugues FULCHIRON

II. PERSPECTIVES COMPARÉES

Amérique latine : Argentine-Uruguay, Brésil
Les contrôles de constitutionnalité et de conventionnalité du droit étranger
au regard de l’ordre juridique de l’État d’origine – Perspectives argentines et
uruguayennes
Didier OPERTTI BADAN

Les contrôles de constitutionnalité et de conventionnalité du droit étranger en Argentine et en Uruguay
Fernanda MUNSCHY

La conformité du droit étranger à l’ordre constitutionnel et conventionnel de l’État d’origine – Fondements et défis du double contrôle au Brésil
Gustavo CERQUEIRA

La place de la Constitution brésilienne et des conventions liant le Brésil dans le système de contrôle du droit étranger
Gustavo FERRAZ DE CAMPOS MONACO

Amérique du nord : États-Unis d’Amérique

Constitutional and Treaty-based review of foreign law : comparative and U.S. perspectives
Alejandro M. GARRO

Europe : Allemagne-Suisse, Italie
Le droit étranger face à la hiérarchie des normes en droit international privé allemand et suisse
Patrick KINSCH

Le juge italien face au contrôle de constitutionnalité et de conventionnalité du droit étranger
Serena FORLATI

CONCLUSION
Le droit étranger à l’épreuve des contrôles de constitutionnalité et de conventionnalité – Rapport de synthèse
Paul LAGARDE

A Battle over the Chinese Culture Treasure Lost Overseas–to be decided by Private International Law?

Professor Zhengxin Huo, China University of Political Science and Law, has provided an interesting note entitled “A Battle over the Chinese Culture Treasure Lost Overseas–to be decided by Private International Law?”.  Read more

Greek Supreme Court Ruling on the maxim ne impediatur legatio

For anyone interested in state immunities against execution, I have prepared a short report about a recent ruling of the Greek Supreme Court, which can be retrieved here.

Forum Conveniens Annual Lecture -Edinburgh 2 May 2018

This year’s Forum Conveniens Annual Lecture at the University of Edinburgh will be held on Wednesday 2nd of May, 5.30 – 7 pm. The speaker is Dr. Alex Mills, Reader in Public and Private International Law at University College London, on the topic: “Party Autonomy in Private International Law: The Privatisation of Global Governance?” Read more

The forthcoming Volume of the Japanese Yearbook of International Law

Béligh Elbalti, Associate Professor at Osaka University, Graduate School of Law and Politics, has kindly informed us that the forthcoming volume of the Japanese Yearbook of International Law (Vol. 60, 2017) will feature the following articles and case notes relating to private international law. Read more

Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax) 2/2018: Abstracts

The latest issue of the „Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax)“ features the following articles: Read more

Symposium on 10 April: Parental Child Abduction and Mediation in a Globalized World at Stanford Law School

An International Symposium on Parental Child Abduction and Mediation in a Globalized World will take place at Stanford Law School on 10 April 2018 (one day only – California, USA). One of the aims of the symposium is to discuss what is happening between the United States and Mexico, one of the busiest borders with respect to  child abduction cases (see the latest statistical survey published by the Hague Conference on Private International Law -HCCH-). Click here for more information on the event and to register.

The event is free and open to the public. Speakers will include Professor Nuria González Martín (UNAM), the former Secretary General of the HCCH Hans van Loon, academics, judges, and Central Authority officials. Click here for the full program.

HCCH publication on international child protection is relaunched!

By Frédéric Breger, Legal Officer at the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH)

In March 2018, the Permanent Bureau of the HCCH relaunched the publication of the Judges’ Newsletter on International Child Protection after almost four years of absence. Volume XXI of the Judges’ Newsletter (Winter-Spring 2018) has now been released on the HCCH website.

This issue of the Judges’ Newsletter includes a Special Focus on the Seventh meeting of the Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention meant to provide an insight into the discussions held during the meeting on a selected range of topics. It reflects, amongst others, the discussions held on topics such as a Draft Guide to good practice on Article 13(1)(b) of the 1980 Convention, addressing delays under the 1980 Convention, the benefits and use of the 1996 Convention in relation to the 1980 Convention, the revision of forms for return and access under the 1980 Convention, recognition and enforcement of protection orders, etc.

Following the Conclusions and Recommendations adopted at this Special Commission meeting, the Judges’ Newsletter will henceforth be edited in-house and published in electronic format only. All previous volumes of the Judges’ Newsletter are available here.