Third Issue of Journal of Private International Law for 2023
The third issue of the Journal of Private International Law for 2023 has just been published. It contains the following articles:
Open Online Conference on International Recovery of Maintenance by Public Bodies on May 15th, 2024
The following announcement has been shared with us by the Child Support Forum.
The Child Support Forum is pleased to invite every interested stakeholder to an open conference deepening the topic of cross-border maintenance recovery by public bodies.
Due to the increase in international mobility of families, the need for immediate child support in case of default of maintenance payment is growing. This support often consists of advance maintenance payments granted by public authorities, which then must be reimbursed by the debtor. The enormous sums of money that states spend on these benefits make the cross-border enforcement of maintenance by public bodies an important political issue.
Out now: New International Commercial Courts
Over the past two decades, various jurisdictions around the world have created new specialised domestic courts to resolve international commercial disputes. Located in the Gulf region (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar), in Asia (Singapore, China, Kazakhstan) and in Europe (Germany, France, the Netherlands), these courts enrich the current landscape of the resolution of international commercial disputes. In particular, they present themselves as alternatives to litigation before ordinary courts, on the one hand, and to international commercial arbitration on the other.
Conference on Cross-Border Dispute Resolution in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on 8-10 May 2024
From 8 to 10 May, the University of Zagreb, Croatia, is hosting a conference on Cross-Border Dispute Resolution, organized by Dora Zgrabljic Rotar in cooperation with the Universities of Verona, Italy, and Pittsburgh, USA. The conference will take place in Dubrovnik and is primarily aimed at practising lawyers.
More information can be found on the conference flyer.
Promulgation of the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of International Treaties and International Practices in the Trial of Foreign-related Civil and Commercial Cases
By Professor Du Tao* and Yang Zhenni**
On December 28, 2023, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) held a press conference on Judicial Interpretations and Typical Cases on the Application of International Treaties and International Practices in Foreign-related Civil and Commercial Cases, deliberating the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of International Treaties and International Practices in the Trial of Foreign-related Civil and Commercial Cases (Interpretation) and some related typical cases. The Interpretations was adopted by the Trial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court at its 1908th meeting on December 5, 2023, which will come into force on January 1, 2024. We translated the press announcement as follows:
Out now: The Cambridge Handbook of Comparative Law (by Siems and Jen Yap)
There is no doubt that private international law works in close cooperation with comparative law. Horatia Muir Watt, for example, characterises the relationship between the two disciplines as “complementary” (H M Watt, “Private International Law”, in J M. Smits (ed.), Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law (2nd ed., Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012) p. 701). Similarly, Mathias Reimann describes it as “intimate” (M Reimann, “Comparative Law and Private International Law”, in M Reimann and R Zimmermann (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law (2nd ed., OUP, 2019) p. 1340). Meanwhile, Ralf Michaels, another distinguished scholar of comparative and private international law, considers that “in private international law scholarship, comparison has always been prominent” (Ralf Michaels, “Comparative Law and Private International Law”, in J Basedow et al. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Private International law –Volume I (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) p. 416).
Understanding foreign legal systems and the diversity of the solutions dealing with common problems and issues has always been crucial for private international law scholars and researchers. This enables them to refine the techniques and theories of private international law, and ultimately serves one of the most important goals of private international law: the coordination of different legal systems.
Out Now: Private International Law in East Asia: From Imitation to Innovation and Exportation (Gaillard/Nadakavukaren Schefer)
Hart Studies in Private International Law – Asia has officially released its 9th Volume in the Series as an open-access book. This edition, edited by Olivier Gaillard and Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer, is titled Private International Law in East Asia: From Imitation to Innovation and Exportation (Hart Publishing, 2024).
Van Calster on European Private International Law (4th Edition)
The fourth edition of Geert van Calster’s (KU Leuven) European Private International Law has just been published by Hart/Bloomsbury. It focuses on those instruments and developments that are most significant in commercial litigation. I had the privilege to review the first edition of the book in the Law Quarterly Review and I am certain that the latest edition will live up to the expectations.
The blurb reads as follows:
This classic textbook provides a thorough overview of European private international law. It is essential reading for both practitioners and students of private international law and transnational litigation, wherever they may be located: the European rules extend beyond European shores.
Opening with foundational questions, the book clearly explains the subject’s central tenets: the Brussels I, Rome I and Rome II Regulations (jurisdiction, applicable law for contracts and tort). Additional chapters explore private international law and insolvency, freedom of establishment, and the impact of private international law on corporate social responsibility. The relevant Hague instruments, and the impact of Brexit, are fully integrated in the various chapters.
Drawing on the author’s rich experience, the new edition retains the book’s hallmarks of insight and clarity of expression ensuring it maintains its position as the leading textbook in the field.
HCCH Monthly Update: December 2023 – January 2024
Conventions & Instruments
On 1 December 2023, the 1965 Service Convention entered into force for Singapore. The Convention currently has 82 Contracting Parties. More information is available here.
On 1 January 2024, the 1965 Service Convention entered into force for Paraguay. The Convention currently has 82 Contracting Parties. More information is available here.
On 9 January 2024, Cabo Verde deposited its instrument of accession to the 2007 Child Support Convention. With the accession of Cabo Verde, 49 States and the European Union are bound by the Convention. More information is available here.
On 11 January 2024, the 1961 Apostille Convention entered into force for Canada. The Convention currently has 126 Contracting Parties. More information is available here.
On 12 January 2024, the United Kingdom signed the 2019 Judgments Convention. The Convention will enter into force for the United Kingdom only after the deposit of an instrument of ratification (pursuant to Art. 28(2) of the Convention). Currently, 29 HCCH Members are either bound by the 2019 Judgments Convention or a Contracting Party for which the Convention has not yet entered into force (Uruguay). More information is available here.
New Private International Law Article published in the Journal of the History of International Law
Yesterday, a new private international law open access article was published online in the Journal of the History of International Law. It is titled: León Castellanos-Jankiewicz, “A New History for Human Rights: Conflict of Laws as Adjacent Possibility.” The abstract reads as follows:
The pivotal contributions of private international law to the conceptual emergence of international human rights law have been largely ignored. Using the idea of adjacent possibility as a theoretical metaphor, this article shows that conflict of laws analysis and technique enabled the articulation of human rights universalism. The nineteenth-century epistemic practice of private international law was a key arena where the claims of individuals were incrementally cast as being spatially independent from their state of nationality before rights universalism became mainstream. Conflict of laws was thus a vital combinatorial ingredient contributing to the dislocation of rights from territory that underwrites international human rights today.
It is worth noting that the author states that in the acknowledgement that: “An earlier version of this article was awarded the inaugural David D. Caron Prize by the American Society of International Law during its 2019 Annual Meeting held in Washington D.C.”