New Article on Public Policy Exception

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In every private international law system, the forum state reserves the right to reject the application of a foreign rule that deeply offends the forum’s fundamental sense of justice and fairness. In all systems, this “public policy reservation” (ordre public) operates as an exception to the forum’s choice-of-law rules, not its rules on jurisdiction or access to courts. Surprisingly, the First and Second Conflicts Restatements in the United States deviate from this international consensus by narrowly phrasing the exception as a ground for denying a forum to foreign causes of action rather than as a ground for refusing to apply other foreign rules, including those raised as defenses.

A forthcoming article by Symeon Symeonides titled The Public Policy Exception in Choice of Law: The American Version discusses the origins of this unique formulation in Judge Cardozo’s classic but misinterpreted decision in Loucks v. Standard Oil Co. of New York, the problems it creates, its tacit rejection by most American courts, and the new flexible formulation of the exception in the proposed Third Conflicts Restatement.

The article will be published in Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax), as well as in a special issue of the Emory Journal of International Law dedicated to the renowned conflicts scholar Peter Hay.

Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax) 3/2025: Abstracts

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

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Virtual Workshop (in English) on May 6: Konrad Duden on “Squaring the Circle – Recognising Rare Family Forms and Gender Identities Within the EU”

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On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, the Hamburg Max Planck Institute will host its monthly virtual workshop Current Research in Private International Law at 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (CEST). Professor Konrad Duden (University of Hamburg) will speak, in English, about the topic

“Squaring the Circle – Recognising Rare Family Forms and Gender Identities Within the EU”

 

The principle of recognition has long been a feature of European private international law – increasingly also in matters of family law and the law of personal status. Recent case law has focused on so-called rainbow families – same-sex marriages and parenthood – and changes in legal gender markers. These are issues that are treated very differently across the EU, with extensive protection and equal treatment in some Member States, and clear and in some cases constitutional rejection in others. The CJEU is therefore trying to reconcile two contradictory principles: The exclusive competence of Member States in substantive family and civil status law on the one hand and the Union-wide recognition of families and gender identities registered in one Member State on the other. This presentation will examine how the CJEU attempts to resolve this conflict and what conclusions can be drawn from the case law on the nature and scope of the principle of recognition.

 

The presentation will be followed by open discussion. All are welcome. More information and sign-up here.

If you want to be invited to these events in the future, please write to veranstaltungen@mpipriv.de.

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.