5th German Conference for Young Researchers in Private International Law in Heidelberg – Conference Report

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Written by Victoria Hélène Dintelmann (Heidelberg University)

On February 14th and 15th, 2025, more than one hundred young academics gathered at Heidelberg University for the 5th German Conference for Young Researchers in Private International Law to discuss the topic “Digital Transformation and Private International Law – Local Connections in Boundless Spaces”. The conference was organized by Andreas Engel, Sophia Schwemmer, Felix Berner, Aron Johanson, Markus Lieberknecht, Ann-Kathrin Voß, Charlotte Wendland and Anton Zimmermann.

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PIL conference in Ljubljana, 18 September 2025

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University of Ljubljana is organising Private International Law Conference with sessions in Slovenian and English. The conference, which will take place in Ljubljana (Slovenia) on 18 September 2025, will gather reknown academics and practitioners who will address current topics in European and international PIL.

The programme is available by clicking here: PIL-Ljubljana2025 and for more infromation you are welcome to contact the organisers at: ipp.pf@pf.uni-lj.si.

Registration Open Soon: The Hague Academy of International Law’s Winter Courses 2026

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Recently, the Hague Academy of International Law published the 2026 programme of its renowned Winter Courses in International Law (12-30 January 2026). Unlike the Summer Courses, this program presents lectures on both Public and Private International Law and therefore provides for a particularly holistic academic experience. Once again, the Academy has spared no effort in inviting legal scholars from around the world to The Hague, including speakers from countries as diverse as Argentina, Belgium, China, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, offering its audience a truly global perspective on the topic. Read more

1st Issue of Journal of Private International Law for 2025

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The first issue of the Journal of Private International Law for 2025 was published today. It contains the following articles:

Pietro Franzina, Cristina González Beilfuss, Jan von Hein, Katja Karjalainen & Thalia Kruger, “Cross-border protection of adults: what could the EU do better?†”

On 31 May 2023 the European Commission published two proposals on the protection of adults. The first proposal is for a Council Decision to authorise Member States to become or remain parties to the Hague Adults Convention “in the interest of the European Union.” The second is a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council which would supplement (and depart from, in some respects) the Convention’s rules. The aim of the proposals is to ensure that the protection of adults is maintained in cross-border cases, and that their right to individual autonomy, including the freedom to make their own choices as regards their person and property is respected when they move from one State to another or, more generally, when their interests are at stake in two or more jurisdictions. This paper analyses these EU proposals, in particular as regards the Regulation, and suggests potential improvements.

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Call for Papers: The Role of Judicial Actors in Shaping Private International Law. A Comparative Perspective

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On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Swiss Federal Tribunal, the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (SICD) is pleased to announce its 35th Conference on Private International Law, to be held on 19–20 November 2025 in Lausanne.

The conference addresses how courts, lawyers, and litigants have shaped—and how they continue to shape—private international law. Special emphasis will be placed on how legal practice drives the development of private international law at both the national and supranational levels. Judges, through landmark rulings, have clarified conflicts of laws rules, set precedents on the recognition of foreign judgments, and adapted legal frameworks to globalization and digital commerce. Lawyers, by crafting novel arguments, have influenced judicial reasoning and contributed to evolving legal doctrines. Finally, strategic litigation, led by litigants and advocacy groups, has driven major jurisprudential shifts, particularly in fundamental rights, corporate liability, and cross-border regulation. The conference will analyse these actors’ distinct but interconnected roles in shaping contemporary private international law.

We invite scholars (both established and early-career researchers), legal practitioners, and policymakers to submit papers addressing these issues.

Possible topics include:

  • The role of national and supranational courts in shaping private international law
  • The impact of key judicial decisions on cross-border legal relationships
  • The influence of legal practitioners in driving jurisprudential change
  • Strategic litigation as a tool for legal evolution in private international law
  • Comparative approaches to judicial reasoning in international private law cases
  • Judicial responses to global challenges such as migration, digital commerce, corporate responsibility, and human rights protection

Paper Submission
Please submit an abstract (up to 500 words) of your proposed paper by 11 May 2025 to Ms. Marie-Laure Lauria (marie-laure.lauria@isdc-dfjp.unil.ch), with the subject line “ISDC 35th PIL Conference Submission“. Abstracts may be submitted in English, German, or French.

All submissions will undergo a double-blind peer review and decisions will be communicated by 3 June 2025. Accepted papers will be considered for publication in an edited volume or a special journal issue.

Organization
The conference will be hosted by the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law.

Funding
The Swiss Institute of Comparative Law will provide funding for the travel costs and accommodation of all presenters.

Crossroads in Private International Law Seminar Series, University of Aberdeen

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In April, the Aberdeen Centre for Private International Law and Transnational Governance will be relaunching its Crossroads in Private International Law research seminar series. It will feature both online and hybrid events.

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Out Now: Dominelli, Regolamento Bruxelles I bis e US jurisdiction in personam

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Stefano Dominelli (Università di Genova) has just published a book titled Regolamento Bruxelles I bis e US jurisdiction in personam: riflessioni e proposte su condivisioni valoriali, influenze e osmosi di metodi with Editoriale Scientifica. The book is written in Italian but also features conclusions in English.

The author has kindly shared the following summary with us:

The book analyses the basic principles of the EU’ and US international civil procedure in contract and tort law. The investigation shows how both systems are partly inconsistent with their respective premises – of legal certainty, on the one hand, and fairness and justice, on the other. The juxtaposition of the dogmatic approaches and their contextualisation in the light of the law in action makes it possible to reconstruct a common and shared principle which shapes solutions in both systems – that of the necessary existence of a minimum connection between the jurisdiction and the case. This conclusion opens up, to a limited extent, to a conceptual rapprochement between legal systems and to reflections on possible legal transplants that respect the characteristics of the local legal culture.

The whole book is available open access under this link.

Call for Papers: XXII Conference of Young Scholars of International Legal Studies, University of Ferrara

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On 4–5 December 2025, the Department of Law at the University of Ferrara will host the XXII edition of the Conference of Young Scholars of International Legal Studies, dedicated to “The Principle of Good Faith in International and European Union Law”.

The organizers have issued a call for papers open to scholars of public and private international law and EU law, who are currently enrolled in a PhD program or who have obtained their PhD no more than five years ago.

To apply, authors must submit an abstract (no more than 600 words), in either Italian or English, along with a curriculum vitae, by 22 June 2025, to the following email address: giovaniinternazionalisti2025@gmail.com.

Further information is available here.

The Pax Moot teams solved the “impossible” case of SSF versus Telerel and the Watermelon companies

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The Ulrich Huber round of the Pax Moot competition ended on Friday in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, at the University of Maastricht to be precise.

During three fierce days 34 Moot teams from all over Europe and as far as Georgia, Kazakhstan, India, Singapore and Uzbekistan pleaded against each other. They argued about whether self-employed content moderators for social media companies could be considered employees; about how to locate the damage that consists of the stress and mental health harm suffered by these digital nomads; about whether a UK subsidiary of an Irish company could be considered to be domiciled in the EU; about whether the proceedings instituted by a foundation under the Dutch WAMCA should be characterised as contract or tort; about whether a settlement in front of a UK court could be recognised under the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention and much more. They relied on old and new case law, reports and legal scholarship.

At the end, the University of Ljubljana won the competition, with Jindal Law School as the runner-up. The other two teams that made it to the semi-finals were the Universities of Sofia and Paris-Saclay.

The prize for the best memorials went to ESADE Law School, with the University of Ghent in second place, and Paris Dauphine and Sofia Universities in shared third places.

Jana Ušen won the best pleader’s award, followed by Brin Smole, both of Ljubljana University. In the third position was Joshua Tan and in fourth Ong Xin Yan, both of Singapore Management University.

Under the inexhaustible leadership of Marta Pertegás, expect the Pax team to be back with a new case in October/November, to be pleaded in Sofia in roughly one year’s time. Pax Moot is co-funded b y the European Commission.

Reciprocity in the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Two Recent Contributions

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Reciprocity in the field of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments has long been a subject of passionate debate. While some scholars question its desirability, others firmly defend it as a legitimate legal requirement. What remains undeniable is that the topic continues to spark intense discussion and scholarly interest.

A clear illustration of this ongoing debate is provided by two recent publications addressing the issue from different perspectives and jurisdictions.

The first is an enlightening open-access article by Eszter PAPP and Nobumichi TERAMURA, titled “Enforcing Singapore Judgments in Cambodia: Reciprocity Under the Loupe“. The paper explores the practical and legal challenges related to the enforcement of Singaporean money judgments in Cambodia, with a specific focus on the requirement of reciprocity. Read more