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French Supreme Court ruling in the Lafarge case: the private international law side of transnational criminal litigations
In the Lafarge case (Cass. Crim., 16 janvier 2024, n°22-83.681, available here), the French Cour de cassation (chambre criminelle) recently rendered a ruling on some criminal charges against the French major cement manufacturer for its activities in Syria during the civil war. The decision addresses several key aspects of private international law in transnational criminal lawsuits and labour law.
Looking but not Seeing the Economic Unit in Cartel Damage Claims – Opinion of Advocate General in Case C-425/22, MOL Magyar Olaj- és Gázipari Nyrt. v Mercedes-Benz Group AG
By Professor András Osztovits*
I. Introduction
The heart of European economic integration is the Single Market, which can only function properly and provide economic growth and thus social welfare if effective competition rules ensure a level playing field for market players. The real breakthrough in the development of EU competition policy in this area came with Regulation 1/2003/EC, and then with Directive 2014/104/EU which complemented the public law rules with private law instruments and made the possibility to bring actions for damages for infringement of competition law easier.
„El clásico“ of Recognition and Enforcement – A Manifest Breach of Freedom of Expression as a Public Policy Violation: Thoughts on AG Szpunar 8.2.2024 – Opinion C-633/22, ECLI:EU:C:2024:127 – Real Madrid Club de Fútbol
By Madeleine Petersen Weiner, Research Fellow and Doctoral Candidate at Heidelberg University
Introduction
On 8 February 2024, Advocate General (AG) Szpunar delivered his Opinion on C-633/22 (AG Opinion), submitting that disproportionate damages for reputational harm may go against the freedom of expression as enshrined in Art. 11 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR). The enforcement of these damages therefore may (and at times will) constitute a violation of public policy in the enforcing state within the meaning of Art. 34 Nr. 1 Brussels I Regulation. The AG places particular emphasis on the severe deterring effect these sums of damages may have – not only on the defendant newspaper and journalist in the case at hand but other media outlets in general (AG Opinion, paras. 161-171). The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will be of particular topical interest not least in light of the EU’s efforts to combat so-called “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” (SLAPPs) within the EU in which typically financially potent plaintiffs initiate unfounded claims for excessive sums of damages against public watchdogs (see COM(2022) 177 final).
News
Nagy, Csongor István, Private International Law: A Hungarian Perspective (June 1, 2024)
Nagy, Csongor István, Private International Law: A Hungarian Perspective (June 1, 2024). Law in Eastern Europe, Volume: 71, ISBN: 978-90-04-69456-9 (e-book), ISBN: 978-90-04-69083-7, 2024, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4840867
Just published: Second Report on the application of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The Second Report on the application of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has just been published, click here. For the full report, click here: Second Report GDPR.
Formation of the Australasian Association of Private International Law
At a meeting on 11 July 2024, 22 lawyers and academics voted to form the Australasian Association of Private International Law (AAPrIL). Professor Mary Keyes (Griffith University) was elected the inaugural President and the Honourable Dr Andrew Bell, Chief Justice of New South Wales, has agreed to be AAPrIL’s patron.
The AAPrIL’s first elected officers are as follows:
- President: Professor Mary Keyes (Griffith University, Queensland)
- Secretary: Professor Reid Mortensen (University of Southern Queensland)
- Treasurer: Ms Cara North (Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Melbourne)
- Australian Vice-President: Dr Michael Douglas (Bennett, Perth)
- New Zealand Vice-President: Mr Jack Wass (Stout Street Chambers, Wellington)
AAPrIL has been established to promoted understanding, awareness and the reform of private international law in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, and to provide a regional organisation for cooperation with similar private international law associations across the world. It plans to hold an annual conference, support regular seminars and roundtables, engage with governments in Australasia on private international law issues and reform, publish a regular newsletter on events and legal developments in the region, and encourage cooperation with the Hague Conference on Private International Law and other private international law inter-governmental organisations.
More details about AAPrIL can be found on its website. Any enquiries can be made to AAPrIL’s Secretary, Professor Reid Mortensen: reid.mortensen@unisq.edu.au.