Secure your seat at the global Conference “HCCH 125 – Ways Forward: Challenges and Opportunities in an Increasingly Connected World” at Early Bird Rates by Friday 9 March!

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By the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law 

Get your registration now to have the chance to hear from leading Experts and to discuss with them the opportunities for, and challenges to, private international law and the evolution of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH).

Our Experts, including Professor Jürgen Basedow, who will deliver the keynote, Lord Collins of Mapesbury, The Hon Diana Bryant AO QC, Professor Richard Fentiman, Professor Horatia Muir-Watts, Professor José Moreno Rodríguez, Justice Fausto Pocar and Professor Burkhard Hess, to name only a few, will discuss a wide range of issues, including:

  • global trends in private international law and its importance to globalisation and an “open society”;
  • the general role of private international law in an increasingly connected world;
  • the importance of private international law into facilitating the protection of human rights (with a particular focus on family issues and child protection) and to promoting trade, commerce and investment; and
  • the relationship between public and private international law and what, if any, consequences may be the result of a possible convergence.

In addition, the Experts will explore how the HCCH can continue to be the pre-eminent global international organisation that develops innovative private international law solutions.

The draft programme for this global Conference, including all speakers, can be accessed on the Conference website located at: http://www.hcch125.org/programme.php.

The Conference is held in conjunction with the HCCH’s 125th Anniversary. It will take place from 18 to 20 April 2018 in Hong Kong, and is organised by the HCCH with the generous support of the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong SAR.

See you in Hong Kong!

 

The Brussels jurisdictional regime at 50. A conference at Leuven on 23 March.

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Sharing from GAVC LAW

In 2018 we celebrate the 50th year since the adoption of the 1968 Brussels Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. The 1968 attempt to facilitate the free movement of judgments in the EU, helped lay the foundations for the exciting developments in European private international law which have occurred since. Many of the outstanding issues in what is now the Brussels I Recast (also known as EEX-bis; or Brussels Ibis) continue to have an impact on other parts of European civil procedure.

Co-organised by Leuven Law’s Institute of Private International Law and Jura Falconis, KU Leuven’s student law review, this event will consider, capita selecta wise, the application and implications of the Convention and its successors. It will also discuss the future direction of EU private international law both for civil and commercial matters, and for issues outside of commercial litigation. At a time when in most Member States the majority of commercial transactions have some kind of international element, this is a timely refresher for practitioners, judges, students and scholars alike.

Registration and program are here.

PROGRAM

Morning program. Chaired by professor Jinske Verhellen (U Gent)

10:00 – 10:30 
Registration and welcome

10:30 – 10:35 
Opening by Jura Falconis

10:35 – 11:00
Les grands courants of 50 years of European private international law
Professor Geert Van Calster (KU Leuven)

11:00 – 11:30
Regulatory competition in civil procedure between the Member States
Professor Stéphanie Francq (UC Louvain)

11:30 – 12:00 
The application of Brussels I (Recast) in the Member States
Professor Burkhard Hess (Max Planck Institute Luxembourg)

12:00 – 12:15
Discussion

12:15 – 13:00
Lunch

Afternoon program. Chaired by professor Karen Vandekerckhove (European Commission’s Directorate General for Justice and Consumers, UC Louvain)

13:00 – 13:30
Brussels calling. The extra-EU application of European private international law
Professor Thalia Kruger (U Antwerpen)

13:30 – 14:00
The (not so symbiotic?) relation between the Insolvency and the Brussels I regimes
Arie Van Hoe (NautaDutilh, U Antwerpen)

14:00 – 14:30
Alternative Dispute Resolution and the Brussels Regime
Professor Stefaan Voet (KU Leuven)

14:30 – 15:00
Brussels I Recast and the Hague Judgments Project
Professor Marta Pertegas (U Antwerpen)

15:00 – 15:15
Discussion

15:15 – 15:45
Coffee break

15:45 – 16:10
Provisional measures under the Brussels regime
Professor Arnaud Nuyts (ULB)

16:10 – 16:30
Brussels falling. The relationship between the UK and the EU post Brexit
Dr Helena Raulus (UK Law Societies’ Brussels office)

16:30 – 16:50
The current European Commission agenda for the development of European private international law
Dr Andreas Stein (European Commission’s Directorate General for Justice and Consumers)

16:50 – 17:15
The CJEU and European Private International Law
Ilse Couwenberg (Judge in the Belgian Supreme Court/Hof van Cassatie)

17:15 – 17:30
Close of conference
Professor Geert Van Calster (KU Leuven)

17:30 – 18:30
Drinks

EU Public Consultation on the Service and Evidence Regulations

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The European Commission has published a public consultation on the modernisation of judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters in the EU (Revision of Regulation (EC) 1393/2007 on service of documents and Regulation (EC) 1206/2001 on taking of evidence).

As indicated in the survey, the aim of this public consultation is to collect stakeholders’ views in relation to the practical operation of the current legal framework of cross-border judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters, with particular focus on the service of documents and taking of evidence. The consultation should help identify possible problems in connection with the operation of the co-operation mechanisms set by the two Regulations and of their relevance in terms of the establishment of a European area of justice. The consultation will also collect views on possible solutions to the problems identified. For further information, click here.

The public consultation will be open until Friday 2 March 2018. In my view, this is a very interesting and user-friendly survey and thus, I would encourage all of you who have any practical experience with these Regulations or just general interest in them to complete it.

Save the date: Yale-Humboldt Consumer Law Lectures on 15 June 2018

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On 15 June 2018 Prof. Dr. Susanne Augenhofer, LL.M. (Yale) will host the 4th round of the Yale-Humboldt Consumer Law Lectures. The Lectures take place in the Senatssaal of Humboldt-University and start at 2pm.

This year’s speakers are:

  • Prof. Robert C. Post, Sterling Professor of Law, Yale Law School
  • Prof. Judith Resnik, Arthur Liman Professor of Law, Yale Law School
  • Prof. Reva Siegel, Nicholas de B. Katzenbach Professor of Law, Yale Law Schoo

Participation in the event is free of charge, but requires registration at https://yhcll2018.eventbrite.de by June 1, 2018.

Call for Abstracts on the Challenges for EU Cross-border Litigation

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The Max Planck Institute Luxembourg invites young researchers to actively participate in a colloquium on the “Current Challenges for EU Cross-Border Litigation in a Changing Procedural Environment”. The colloquium will precede a larger conference hosted together with the Court of Justice of the European Union on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Brussels Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. All candidates are requested to submit their abstract by 15 April 2018.

The 1968 Brussels Convention and its progeny have mainly been designed in reference to a classic cross-border case, with two opposing parties connected to different Member States. The 2012 recast of the Brussels Regulation remains largely indebted to this original setup. Time is already catching up with the Brussels Ibis Regulation, however. Today, the Brussels Regime is challenged by societal and technological changes, pushing the rules to their limits. Recent cases adjudicated by the Court of Justice in the field of data protection and competition law show that the current Regime does not entirely provide a satisfactory framework. Notable issues entail the plurality of parties, both as claimants and defendants, and considerations of public interest. Similar concerns can be raised in relation to consumer law and shareholder protection litigation. Against this backdrop, one can notice the emergence of online platforms that collect claims in order to facilitate cross-border litigation in these areas. At its 50th anniversary, can the Brussels Regime still provide an adequate response to today’s challenges?

On 26 September, the MPI Luxembourg will host a colloquium to look ahead to the current and future challenges for cross-border litigation in a changing European procedural environment. Young professors, post-docs and advanced PhD students who are interested in contributing to the discussions, are invited to submit an abstract of max. 1,000 words, together with their CV, to BrusselsConvention50@mpi.lu by 15 April 2018. The selected candidates will be expected to write a paper and give a presentation during the colloquium; and to prepare and present a poster during the conference that follows. Organised in collaboration with the CJEU on 27-28 September, the conference will bring together members of the CJEU and renown procedural law scholars to look back on 50 years of European civil procedure and discuss the impact and importance of the Brussels Regime for European integration.

The candidates’ papers will then be included in the conference proceedings, along with the contributions of members of the CJEU and procedural law scholars. All travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by the MPI Luxembourg.

Submit an abstract

Save the Date: 36th Biennial Conference of the German Society for International Law

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The next Biennial Conference of the German Society for International Law (DGfIR) will take place from 20 to 22 March 2019 at the University of Vienna. The conference will deal with the topic Corporate Accountability and International Law. Speakers are Professors Tanja Domej (Zürich), Oliver Dörr (Osnabrück), Anatol Dutta (Munich), Peter Hilpold (Innsbruck), Stefan Huber (Tübingen), Nico Krisch (Geneva), Giesela Rühl (Jena) and Silja Vöneky (Freiburg i. Br.). Further information will soon be available here.

4-6 April 2018, Seville: 60 Years of The New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards

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On 4-6 April 2018 the Loyola University Andalusia in Seville (Spain) will host a conference to celebrate the 60th birthday of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.

Jointly organized by The United Nations Commission for International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the Loyola University Andalusia, the University of Zaragoza and the Spanish Club of Arbitration (CEA) the conference analyses key issues and future challenges of the Convention and provides a unique opportunity to meet with professionals and academics from around the world.

Registration is now open via the conference website.

The program is available here and here.

 

Elgar Encyclopedia of Private International Law Accessible for Free

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For a limited time (one week), the Elgar Encyclopedia of Private International Law is accessible for free online. Check it out. And then ask your library to buy it.

Conference on the ‘réserve héréditaire’ in Private International Law

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As reported on this blog, the French Cour de Cassation decided last year that the réserve héréditaire, the portion of the decedent’s estate that is reserved for the legal heirs, is not part of the French ordre public with regard to the Succession Regulation. Now, the Société de Législation Comparée is organizing a conference in Paris on March 15,  to discuss the consequences from the decision. Under the Presidency of Dominique Hascher, there will be presentations by Andrea Bonomi, Professor in Lausanne, and Delphine Vincent, notary in Paris. Hugues Fulchiron, Professor in Lyon, will comment. Registration required. Another website here.

Call for Papers for Conflict of Laws Subject Section at the Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference 2018

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SLS Conflict of Laws Section: Call for Papers and Panels for 2018 SLS Annual Conference at Queen Mary University of London   

This is a call for papers and panels for the Conflict of Laws section of the 2018 SLS Annual Conference to be held at Queen Mary University of London from Tuesday 4th September – Friday 7th September.  This year’s theme is ‘Law in Troubled Times’.

This section is new to the SLS Annual Conference, having been introduced as a trial section last year.

The Conflict of Laws section will meet in the second half of the conference on Thursday 6th and Friday 7th September.

We intend that the section will comprise four sessions of 90 minutes, with 3 or more papers being presented in each session, followed by discussion. At least three of the sessions will be organised by theme. We hope, if submissions allow, to be able to set aside the fourth session for papers by early career researchers (within 5-years of PhD or equivalent).

We welcome proposals from scholars in the field for papers or panels on any issue relating to any topical aspect of the Conflict of Laws (private international law), including but not limited to those addressing this year’s conference theme.

If you are interested in delivering a paper, please submit a proposed title and abstract of around 300 words. If you wish to propose a panel, please submit a document outlining the theme and rationale for the panel and the names of the proposed speakers (who must have agreed to participate), together with their proposed titles and abstracts.   

If you are also interested in delivering a paper or organising a panel, please submit your paper abstract or panel details by 11:59pm UK time on Monday 26th March.  All abstracts and panel details must be submitted through the Oxford Abstracts conference system which can be accessed using the following link –  https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/488/submission – and following the instructions (select ‘Track’ for the relevant subject section). If you experience any issues in using Oxford Abstracts, please contact slsconference@mosaicevents.co.uk.

As the SLS is keen to ensure that as many members with good quality papers as possible are able to present, we discourage speakers from presenting more than one paper at the conference.  With this in mind, when you submit an abstract via Oxford Abstracts, you will be asked to note if you are also responding to calls for papers or panels from other sections.

We should also note that the SLS offers a Best Paper Prize which can be awarded to academics at any stage of their career and which is open to those presenting papers individually or within a panel.  The Prize carries a £250 monetary award and the winning paper will, subject to the usual process of review and publisher’s conditions, be published in Legal Studies.  To be eligible:

  • speakers must be fully paid-up members of the SLS;
  • papers must not exceed 12,000 words including footnotes (as counted in Word);
  • papers must be uploaded to the paperbank by 11.59pm UK time on Monday 27th August; and
  • papers must not have been published previously or have been accepted or be under consideration for publication.

We have also been asked to remind you that all speakers will need to book and pay to attend the conference and that they will need to register for the conference by the end of June in order to secure their place within the programme, though please do let me/us know if this is likely to pose any problems for you.  Booking information will be circulated in due course.

We note also that prospective speakers do not need to be members of the SLS or already signed up as members of a section to propose a paper.

We look forward to seeing you, as a speaker or delegate, at the Conflict of Laws session in London.

With best wishes,

Professor Andrew Dickinson, St Catherine’s College, University of Oxford

Dr Lorna Gillies, University of Strathclyde

Dr Máire Ní Shúilleabháin, University College Dublin (Co-Conveners)