Out now: Relationship between the Legislature and the Judiciary – Contributions to the 6th Seoul-Freiburg Law Faculties Symposium

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This volume (2017, 295 pp., € 79.00, ISBN 978-3-8487-3736-9) is a collection of edited papers (all in English) presented on the occasion of the 6th Seoul-Freiburg Law Faculties Symposium held in Freiburg (Germany) in June 2016. Since its inception in 1996, the cooperation and academic exchange between the Law Faculties of the Seoul National University (SNU) and the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg has flourished and contributed substantially to the mutual understanding of legal thought and research in the two legal cultures and jurisdictions, keeping alive the old and precious tradition of maintaining a close relationship between Korean and German law.

Like previous symposia, the 2016 Symposium on the „Relationship between Legislature and Judiciary“ was devoted to a rather broad and abstract subject which is of fundamental relevance for both countries, covering constitutional law, legal theory, private law (including private international law), criminal law, commercial law, and administrative law. The symposium was supported by the Thyssen Foundation (Cologne).

The volume is edited by Jan von Hein, Hanno Merkt, Sonja Meier, Alexander Bruns, Yuanshi Bu, Silja Vöneky, Michael Pawlik, and Eiji Takahashi. It contains contributions by Un Jong Pak, Matthias Jestaedt, Ralf Poscher, Hong Sik Cho, Kye Joung Lee, Frank Schäfer, Jinsu Yune, Jan von Hein, Sank Won Lee, Ok-Rial Song, Boris Paal, Maximilian Haedicke, Seongwook Heo, and Dongjin Lee.
Further information is available on the publisher’s website here.

Trade Relations after Brexit: Impetus for the Negotiation Process – Joint Conference of EURO-CEFG, MaCCI and the University of Mannheim – Thursday, 25 January 2018 and Friday, 26 January 2018 at the Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim

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The upcoming negotiations regarding the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union are of great interest to politicians, economists, the public and academics. The withdrawal agreement will set the course for the economic relations between the EU and the UK, while taking into account that it might have a considerable impact on the binding strengths of the European integration.

In this context, the Mannheim Centre for Competition and Innovation (MaCCI), a joint research initiative of the Faculty of Law of Mannheim University and the ZEW (Centre for European Economic Research) together with the European Research Centre for Economic and Financial Governance (EURO-CEFG) of the Universities of Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam will host an interdisciplinary conference on 25/26 January 2018 in Mannheim to raise crucial questions and challenges with respect to the Brexit negotiations and discuss them from both the legal and economic perspective.

The conference will consist of three parts, the first one dealing with the bargaining positions of the EU and the UK. The second part will look into the future relations: which type of trade agreement could serve as a model and what are the respective requirements and economic consequences? Lastly, the third part will focus on specific sectoral issues regarding for instance the future embodiment of cross-border trade and financial services or ensuring the unity of law.

Registration for this conference is possible here.

Find the detailed programme here.

HCCH 125 — Ways Forward: Challenges and Opportunities in an Increasingly Connected World

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By the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH)

Register your interest now at www.HCCH125.org, and receive all the latest information about the global conference “HCCH 125 — Ways Forward: Challenges and Opportunities in an Increasingly Connected World”. This global conference gathers world-leading experts who will discuss the opportunities for, and challenges to, private international law. Through interactive “Davos Style” sessions, participants will not only hear from these experts, but can also participate actively in each session. Read more

Surveys on Functioning Brussels I-bis Regulation

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As part of a research on the amendments of the Brussels I-bis Regulation and the functioning in legal practice (financed by an Action Grant of the European Commission), surveys are available.

The research is conducted by the Asser Institute (the Hague), Erasmus School of Law (Rotterdam) and the Leibniz Institute (Amsterdam). The researchers are extremely grateful if you could fill these out or forward these to others that might be interested.

The survey is available in Dutch, English, French and German.

Co-funded by the
Justice Programme (2014-2020)
of the European Union

 

New publications on the Hague Conference (HCCH) and the Global Horizon of Private International Law

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Former Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), Hans van Loon, has just published an article on the HCCH and a Chinese translation of his inaugural lecture on the global horizon of private international law delivered at the 2015 Session of the Hague Academy:

– Hans van Loon, “At the Cross-roads of Public and Private International Law – The Hague Conference on Private International Law and Its Work”, in Collected Courses of the Xiamen Academy of International Law, Vol. 11, pp. 1-65, (Chia-Jui Cheng, ed.), Brill/Nijhoff, 2017 (available via Brill).

Contents:

  1. Role and Mission of the Hague Conference on Private International Law
  2. Origin and Development of the Hague Conference
  3. The impact of Contemporary Globalisation
  4. Hague Conventions Promoting Global Trade, Investment and Finance
  5. Hague Conventions Promoting Administrative and Judicial Cooperation
  6. Hague Conventions Promoting Personal Security and Protecting Families in Cross Border Situations
  7. Outlook – (Potential) Significance of the Hague Conference and Its work for the Asia-Pacific Region.

– Chinese translation (by Prof. Zhang Meirong and Prof. Wu Yong) of Hans van Loon’s Inaugural Lecture, “The Global Horizon of Private International Law” given at the 2015 Session of the Hague Academy of International Law, Recueil des Cours, Vol. 380, in Chinese Review of International Law 2017, vol. 6, pp. 2-52, vol. 6), for more information see http://www.guojifayanjiu.org/.

Excerpt of table of contents:

Chapter I. The development of private international law against the backdrop of the evolving nation-State

  • A. Origins and early development of private international law
  • B. Birth of the Hague Conference on private international law
  • C. Establishment of the Hague Conference as an international organization – early innovations
  • D. Globalization – its effects on the nation-State

Chapter II. The impact of globalization on the development of private international law

  • A. Rising profile, proliferation of sources, new approaches
  • B. Commerce and trade: party autonomy within limits
  • C. Families and children: direct transnational institutional co-operation and interaction with human rights

Chapter III. Global challenges for private international law on the horizon

  • A. People on the move
  • B. Environment and climate change

Some general conclusions

Japan adopts effects doctrine in antitrust law

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For a long time, Japan refused to extend application of its antitrust laws to foreign cartels, even those with an impact on the Japanese market. Following a 1990 Study Group Report recommending adoption of the effects doctrine, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission has increasingly applied Japanese antitrust law extraterritorially, as Marek Martyniszyn reports in a helpful recent article. Now the Japanese Supreme Court has upheld a series of judgments from the Tokyo High Court, thereby effectively adopting the effects doctrine. The doctrine appears to go very far: according to the report, the cartel had reached its price-fixing agreement in Southeast Asia, and affected products had been purchased by Southeast Asian units and subcontractors rather than the Japanese companies themselves.

An earlier article, including more detailed comment on the decision by the Tokyo High Court is Tadashi Shiraishi, Customer Location and the International Reach of National Competition Laws, (2016) 59 Japanese Yearbook of International Law, 202-215 (published 2017) (SSRN). The author of the article was involved in the litigation.

Save the Date: Second German Conference for Young PIL Scholars “Private International Law between Tradition and Innovation” on 4/5 April 2019

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By Stephan Walter, Research Fellow at the Research Center for Transnational Commercial Dispute Resolution (TCDR), EBS Law School, Wiesbaden, Germany.

In light of the success of the first German conference for young PIL scholars, held in April 2017 in Bonn (see the recent announcement of the conference volume as well as the conference report), we would like to continue the academic and personal exchange with a second conference. It will take place on 4 and 5 April 2019 at the University of Würzburg (Germany). The key note will be given by Professor Jürgen Basedow (emeritus director at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law). Read more

Politik und Internationales Privatrecht [English: Politics and Private International Law]

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edited by Susanne Lilian Gössl, in Gemeinschaft m. Rafael Harnos, Leonhard Hübner, Malte Kramme, Tobias Lutzi, Michael Florian Müller, Caroline Sophie Rupp, Johannes Ungerer

More information at: https://www.mohr.de/en/book/politik-und-internationales-privatrecht-9783161556920

The first German conference for Young Scholars of Private International Law, which was held at the University of Bonn in spring 2017, provides the topical content for this volume. The articles are dedicated to the various possibilities and aspects of this interaction between private international law and politics as well as to the advantages and disadvantages of this interplay. “Traditional” policy instruments of private international and international procedural law are discussed, such as the public policy exception and international mandatory rules (loi de police). The focus is on topics such as human rights violations, immission and data protection, and international economic sanctions. Furthermore, more “modern” tendencies, such as the use of private international law by the EU and the European Court of Justice, are also discussed. Read more

Recent conflicts developments in New Zealand

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With the end of the year fast approaching, here is a quick round-up of news from New Zealand:

  • The New Zealand Parliament recently passed the Private International Law (Choice of Law in Tort) Act 2017. The Act introduces new torts choice of law rules and abolishes the common law rule of double actionability. The Act is closely modelled on the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995 (UK), with some notable exceptions. A copy of the Act is available here (and see here for its legislative history).
  • In Brown v New Zealand Basing Ltd [2017] NZSC 139, the Supreme Court determined whether age discrimination provisions in New Zealand employment legislation applied to Cathay Pacific pilots based in Auckland. The employment contract, expressed to be governed by the law of Hong Kong, provided for a mandatory retirement age of 55. Pursuant to the Employment Relations Ac 2000 (NZ), however, the pilots could not be required to retire until they had reached the age of 65. The pilots brought a personal grievance claim against their employer, a Hong Kong based subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, in reliance on the Act. As many readers will be aware, this is not the first time that the cross-border effect of the airline’s retirement age provisions has been the subject of litigation. In Lawson v Serco Ltd (Crofts) [2006] UKHL 3, [2006] 1 All ER 823, the House of Lords held that the right not to be unfairly dismissed under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (UK) applied to UK-based pilots of Cathay Pacific. But unlike the UK Act, the New Zealand Act does not contain an equivalent to s 204(1), which provides that it is immaterial for the purposes of the Act “whether the law which (apart from this Act) governs any person’s employment is the law of the United Kingdom … or not”. The Court held unanimously that the Act applied to the plaintiffs’ claim. A copy of the judgment is available here.
  • The New Zealand Law Commission has called for submissions on its Issues Paper Dividing Relationship Property – Time for Change? (IP41, 16 October 2017). Part L of the paper deals with cross-border matters affecting relationship property. The paper forms part of the Commission’s review of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976.

The 11th “Luxemburger Expertenforum” on the development of EU law

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On 3 and 4 December 2017, the 11th “Luxemburger Expertenforum” on the development of EU law took place at the Court of Justice of the European Union. This forum is a workshop that is organised regularly by the German members of the Court of Justice (including the members of the European Court [formerly of First Instance] and the Advocates General); it is presided by the President of the CJEU, Koen Lenaerts, and attended by non-German members of the Court as well (although the discussions at the meeting are held in German).

This year’s forum was divided into four parts. It started on Sunday evening with a dinner speech by the protestant Bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg, Markus Dröge, who looked back at the 500 year anniversary of the reformation and reflected upon the relationship between the church(es) and the state(s) under domestic and European laws. The latter topic was also the general subject of Monday’s first morning session, which was titled “Constitutional challenges at the workplace”. In this session, which was chaired by Advocate General Juliane Kokott, the tensions between an employee’s right to exercise his or her religious freedom and the employer’s desire for a neutral and harmonious working environment were discussed. Moreover, the speakers looked at the implications of a case pending before the CJEU for the impact of the Anti-Discimination Directives on employees working in hospitals or schools run by churches (C-68/17). The topics were approached from a constitutional perspective by Monika Hermanns, judge at the German Constitutional Court, and Rüdiger Stotz, General Director at the CJEU and a member of the working group on EU law set up by the Conference of European Churches. Inken Gallner, judge at the Federal Labour Court, and Felix Hartmann, professor of labour law at the Free University of Berlin, added both practical and academic views from the perspective of labour law. Matthias Bartke, a social-democratic member of the German parliament, commented both on matters of politics and policy.

The second session was chaired by chamber president Thomas von Danwitz and devoted to a subject dear to readers of our blog: “Mutual trust and mutual recognition – are the structural principles of EU law still valid?”. This question was approached from various angles: Dirk Behrendt, senator of justice of Berlin and a member of the German Green party, gave an overview over Berlin court practice concerning the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. Tim Eicke, a British judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, looked at the implications of the European Convention on Human Rights for mutual recognition between the EU member states. Harald Dörig. judge at the Federal Administrative Law Court, analysed the principle of mutual trust (or rather the lack thereof) in the field of migration and asylum law. Yvonne Ott, judge at the German Constitutional Court, and Alexandra Jour-Schröder, director for criminal justice at the European Commission, discussed tensions between European law on arrest warrants and domestic constitutional guarantees. After the short speeches, Jan von Hein, professor at the University of Freiburg, opened the discussion with a survey on the current state of play with regard to European civil procedure.

During lunch, Luxembourg’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean Asselborn, gave a speech on current challenges facing the EU and its member states, in particular with regard to migration politics (you may read the text of his speech here).

The third and final session was chaired by Alfred Dittrich, judge at the European Court, and dealt with the issue of whether and under which conditions national tax exemptions may qualify as prohibited subsidies under the TFEU. The speakers of this panel were Rudolf Mellinghoff, the president of the Federal Tax Court, Johannes Laitenberger, the General Director of the DG Competition, Kirsten Scholl from the German Ministry of Economics, Johanna Hey, professor at the University of Cologne, and Ulrich Soltész, lawyer at Gleiss Lutz in Brussels. Different views on the relationship between EU law on subsidies and domestic laws on taxation gave rise to an open and fruitful discussion.