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Belgian Court of Cassation and Ryanair’s forum clauses
On 8 February 2019 the Belgain Court of Cassation decided the case Happy Flights v Ryanair. The Dutch version of the decision is available here.
At issue was the validity of the clause in Ryanair’s general terms and conditions that the Irish courts have jurisdiction over disputes. The Court of Cassation quashed the decision of the Commercial Court of Brussels, which had considered only the formal validity of the choice-of-court clause.
The Court of Cassation confirmed that the consumer protection provisions of Brussels Ia do not apply (the contracts concern transport). It further found that according to Art. 25(1) of Brussels Ia the substantive validity of the clause (in a non-negotiated contract) was subject to Irish law (specifically the Irish implementation in Act 27/1995 of Directive 93/13/EEG on unfair terms in consumer contracts). The Court did not explicitly refer to Irish private international law (according to Consideration 20 of Brussels Ia), but directly to Act 27/1995.
It sent the case back to the Commercial Court of Leuven for a new assessment.
Anti-Semitism – Responses of Private International Law
Prof. Dr. Marc-Philippe Weller and Markus Lieberknecht, Heidelberg University, have kindly provided us with the following blog post which is a condensed abstract of the authors’ article in the Juristenzeitung (JZ) 2019, p. 317 et seqq. which explores the topic in greater detail and includes comprehensive references to the relevant case law and literature.
In one of the most controversial German judgments of 2018, the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt held that the air carrier Kuwait Airways could refuse transportation to an Israeli citizen living in Germany because fulfilling the contract would violate an anti-Israel boycott statute enacted by Kuwait in 1964. The Israeli citizen had validly booked a flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok with a layover in Kuwait City. However, Kuwait Airways hindered the Israeli passenger from boarding the aircraft in Frankfurt. According to the judgment of the Frankfurt Court, Kuwait Airways acted in line with the German legal framework: specific performance of the contract of carriage was deemed to be impossible because of the Kuwait boycott statute. (more…)
Regulating International Organisations: What Role for Private International Law?
Written by Dr Rishi Gulati, LSE Fellow in Law, London School of Economics; Barrister, Victorian Bar, Australia
The regulation of public international organisations (IOs) has been brought into sharp focus following the landmark US Supreme Court ruling in Jam v International Finance Corporation586 US (2019) (Jam). Jam is remarkable because the virtually absolute immunities enjoyed by some important IOs have now been limited in the US (where several IOs are based), giving some hope that access to justice for the victims of institutional action may finally become a reality. Jam has no doubt reinvigorated the debate about the regulation of IOs. This post calls for private international law to play its part in that broader debate. After briefly setting out the decision in Jam, a call for a greater role for private international law in the governance of IOs is made. (more…)
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ICCS plurilingual forms present and future of international cooperation in civil status matters: Conference on 21 September 2022
The International Commission on Civil Status (ICCS / CIEC in French) is organising a conference on 21 September 2022 entitled: ICCS plurilingual forms Present and future of international cooperation in civil status matters.
This event is being held on the occasion of the entry into force of the Convention (n°34) relative à la délivrance d’extraits et de certificats plurilingues et codés d’actes de l’état civil for the following States: Belgium, Germany and Switzerland (as of 1 July 2022).
Speeches and discussions will be in French or English with simultaneous interpretation.
The venue of the conference is Château de Pourtalès, 161, rue Mélanie, 67000 STRASBOURG – France.
Registration is free of charge but mandatory. Interested persons should send a message to:
Below is the agenda (see also here Conference program):
8.30 am : Welcome speech
Jeannine Dennewald, President of the ICCS
8.40 am : Opening speech
Hans van Loon, former Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law
Morning session : 9.00 – 12.15 am : Improving plurilingual forms
Chair : Paul Lagarde, Emeritus professor, University Paris I, former secretary general of the ICCS
9.00 – 10.30 am : workshop n°1 : Plurilingual forms and sex of persons: same-sex couples, neutral sex and third sex
Speaker : Patrick Wautelet, Professor, University of Liège
Discussion : Dr Bojana Zadravec, President of the Slovenian Association of Administrative Staff, EVS (European Association of Registars)
10.30 – 10.45 am : break
10.45 am – 12.15 pm : workshop n°2 : Plurilingual forms and filiation: the relevance of adapting to diversity
Speaker : Olivier Guillod, Professor, University of Neuchâtel
Discussion : Hague Conference representative
12.15 – 12.30 pm : The ICCS: dynamic transition to the future
Nicolas Nord, Secretary General of the ICCS
Afternoon session : 2.00 – 6.00 pm : Optimizing the circulation of plurilingual forms
Chair : Anatol Dutta, Professor, University of Munich
2.00 – 2.30 pm : workshop n°3 : Plurilingual forms and European rights: from the public documents regulation to the recognition of situations
Speaker : Camille Reitzer, Deputy Secretary General of the ICCS
Discussion : Marie Vautravers, European Commission
3.30 – 4.00 pm : break
4.00 – 5.30 pm : workshop n°4 : Plurilingual forms, digitization and data protection: the need for a specific regime
Speaker : Guillermo Palao Moreno, Professor, University of Valencia
Discussion : ANUSCA representative – Alexander Schuster, University of Graz
5.30 – 6.00 pm : General conclusion
Andreas Bucher, Emeritus Professor, University of Geneva
Long Live the Regulation? Brussels II ter Regulation becomes fully applicable
(by Krzysztof Pacula and Thalia Kruger)
Starting from 1 August 2022, the Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 of 29 June 2019 on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction (recast) became fully applicable, replacing the Brussels II Regulation. This Regulation is called Brussels IIter by some; Brussels IIb by others, Brussels IIbis (recast) by yet others, or simply Regulation 2019/1111 (thanks to its easy number). Brussels IIb will probably prevail, as this is the name that the Commission seems to be opting for.
“To trust or not to trust – this is the question of private international law”. M. Weller on Mutual Trust, Recueil des Cours, vol. 423 (2022)
A. Introduction
During the Summer of 2019, I attended one of the two flagship courses organised by the Hague Academy of International Law – the annual Summer Courses on Private International Law.
I quite vividly recall that, during the opening lectures, one of the Professors welcomed the participants at the premises of the Academy, a few steps from the Peace Palace itself, and made an observation that, at that time, seemed as captivating as remote.
As my precise recollection of his words may be far less accurate than the memory of the impression they made on me, I paraphrase: when it comes to education in general, in years to come – he noted – it will be a privilege to be able to benefit from a physical presence of a teacher or professor, being there, in front of you, within the reach of your hand and of your questions.
At that time, just a few months prior to the beginning of the worldwide spread pandemics, even the Professor himself most likely did not realize the extent to which his words would soon prove prophetic.
That was, however, not the sole lecture that I recall vividly.
Among others, Professor Matthias Weller (University of Bonn, one of two general editors of CoL.net) presented his course titled ‘Mutual Trust’: A Suitable Foundation for Private International Law in Regional Integration Communities and Beyond?
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