Views
Children’s rights, private law and criminal law perspectives of parental child abduction
Written by Fanni Murányi, who will defend her PhD on Children’s rights, private law and criminological perspectives of parental child abduction at the Eötvös Loránd University (expected in 2024).
In this short summary of her research, Fanni highlights her conclusions on the role of the child’s views in abduction cases and the link between international child abduction and criminal law. She considered the legislative frameworks of the Hague Child Abduction Convention of 1980, the Brussels IIb Regulation (2019/1111) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). She also investigated as well as the role of (domestic) criminal law. Read more
The Bahraini Supreme Court on Choice of Court Agreements, Bases of Jurisdiction and… Forum non Conveniens!
I. Introduction:
In a previous post on this blog, I reported a decision rendered by the Bahrain High Court in which the court refused to enforce a choice of court agreement in favour of English courts. The refusal was based on the grounds that the case was brought against a Bahraini defendant and that rules of international jurisdiction are mandatory. The Bahraini Supreme Court’s decision reported here is a subsequent development on the same case. The ruling is significant for many reasons. In a methodical manner, the Supreme Court identified the foundational justifications for the jurisdictional rules applied in Bahrain. Moreover, it clarified the role and effect of choice of court agreements, particularly their derogative effect. Finally, and somehow surprisingly, the Court supported its position by invoking to “the doctrine of forum non conveniens”, explicitly mentioned in its decision. Read more
“Other Appropriate Connections”: China’s Newly Adopted Jurisdiction Ground
Written by Jidong Lin, Wuhan University Institute of International Law
- Background
China’s newly amended Civil Procedure Law (“CPL 2024”), which came into effect on 1 January 2024, introduces several distinct and innovative changes. Among the most notable is the incorporation of “other appropriate connections” as a jurisdiction ground. Article 276 of the CPL 2024 addresses the jurisdiction of Chinese courts over foreign-related disputes where the defendant lacks domicile in China. Paragraph 1 of Article 276 lists six jurisdiction grounds, including the place of contract formation, place of contract performance, place of the subject matter, place of distrainable property, place of tort, and place of representative offices. As a supplement, Paragraph 2 provides that “notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, foreign-related civil disputes that have other appropriate connections with the People’s Republic of China may fall under the jurisdiction of the People’s Courts.” The term “other appropriate connections” represents a legal innovation not only within Chinese legislation but also on a global scale. Currently, there is no official interpretation or guidance on its precise meaning, making it essential to analyze and evaluate this jurisdiction ground and its potential implications for jurisdictional practices. Read more
News
Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax) 2/2025: Abstracts
The latest issue of the „Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts“ (IPRax) features the following articles:
Out now: Festschrift für Thomas Rauscher
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Thomas Rauscher, formerly a professor of private international law at the University of Leipzig (Germany) and still one of the most prolific commentators on German and European PIL, has been honoured by a Festschrift on the occasion of his 70th birthday. The volume, titled “Europeanization of private law”, has 623 pages and is published by CH Beck (Munich). It contains numerous contributions on private international law, comparative law and international civil procedure. The authors come from various countries, including Germany, Austria, Hungary, the United States and Vietnam. Most contributions are in German. For further information and a table of contents, please click here.
New issue alert: RabelsZ 89(2005)
Issue 1/2025 of RabelsZ has just just been released. It contains the contributions to a family law symposium held at the Max Planck Institute in Hamburg in June 2024. All content is Open Access: CC BY 4.0 and more articles are available Online First.
Anne Röthel, Preface to this family law special, pp. 1–2, https://doi.org/10.1628/rabelsz-2025-0003