Views
The complexity of the post Brexit era for English LLPs and foreign legal professionals in EU Member States: a French perspective
Written by Sophie Hunter, University of London (SOAS)
In light of the turmoil in the UK Parliament since the start of 2019, the only certain thing about Brexit is that everything is uncertain. The Law Society of England and Wales has warned that “if the UK’s relationship with the rest of the EU were to change as the result of significant renegotiations, or the UK choosing to give up its membership, the effects would be felt throughout the legal profession.” As a result of Brexit, British firms and professionals will no longer be subject to European directives anymore. This foreshadows a great deal of complexity. Since British legal entities occupy a central place within the European legal market, stakes are high for both British and European lawyers. A quick overview of the challenges faced by English LLPs in France and the Paris Bar demonstrates a high level of complexity that, is not and, should be considered more carefully by politicians. Read more
The Aftermath of the CJEU’s Kuhn Judgment – Hellas triumphans in Vienna. Really.
Written by Stephan Walter, Research Fellow at the Institute for German and International Civil Procedure Law, University of Bonn, Germany
Claims brought by creditors of Greek state bonds against Greece in connection with the 2012 haircut do not fall under the substantive scope of the Brussels Ibis Regulation because they stem from the exercise of public authority. Hence, they cannot be regarded as civil and commercial matters in the sense of Article 1(1) Brussels Ibis Regulation. This is the essence of the CJEU’s Kuhn judgment (of 15 November 2018, Case C-308/17, ECLI:EU:C:2018:911), which was already discussed on this blog.
In said blog post, it was rightly pointed out that the judgment could be nothing but a Pyrrhic victory for Greece. Not least the – now possible – application of national (sometimes exorbitant) jurisdictional rules was considered to have the potential to backfire. This was, however, only the case, if Greece was not granted immunity in the first place. In short: the fallout of the CJEU’s judgment was hardly predictable. Read more
Is there a need for international conventions on legal parentage (incl. international surrogacy arrangements)?
The Experts’ Group on Parentage / Surrogacy of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) has answered in the affirmative.
At its fifth meeting earlier this year, the Experts’ Group agreed that it would be feasible to develop both:
- a general private international law instrument on the recognition of foreign judicial decisions on legal parentage; and
- a separate protocol on the recognition of foreign judicial decisions on legal parentage arising from international surrogacy arrangements (abbreviated as “ISA”).
As announced on the HCCH website, the Experts’ Group will recommend to the governance body of the HCCH (i.e. Council on General Affairs and Policy) during its meeting in March 2019 that “work continue with a view to preparing proposals for inclusion in future instruments relating to the recognition of judicial decisions.” The Council will have the last word.
In my opinion, there are many reasons for drafting two separate instruments, which may range from legal to political as these are very sensitive topics. One that particularly struck me relates to the indirect grounds of jurisdiction when considering the recognition of such decisions:
“Most Experts concluded that the indirect grounds previously identified in the context of general legal parentage would not work in ISA cases, and instead supported the State of birth of the child as the primary connecting factor in an ISA case as this would provide certainty and predictability. A qualifier to that connecting factor (such as the habitual residence of the person giving birth to the child) might be necessary to guarantee sufficient proximity, as well as to prevent and combat trafficking of persons and law evasion.” See also para 25 of the Report.
Please note that these instruments would deal with the recognition and not with the enforcement of foreign judicial decisions given the nature of decisions on legal parentage. See in contrast my previous post on the HCCH draft Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters.
The HCCH news item is available here.
The full report is available here.
News
Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts (IPRax) 5/2023: Abstracts
The latest issue of the „Praxis des Internationalen Privat- und Verfahrensrechts“ (IPRax) features the following articles:
(These abstracts can also be found at the IPRax-website under the following link: https://www.iprax.de/en/contents/)
European Yearbook of International Economic Law 2024: Call for abstracts (and papers)
The editors of the European Yearbook of International Economic Law (EYIEL) welcome abstracts from scholars and practitioners at all stages of their career for the EYIL 2024. This year’s Focus Section will concentrate on International and European Economic Law – Moving Towards Integration? In the General Section, the EYIEL will address Current Challenges, Developments and Events in European and International Economic Law.
Just released: International Child Abduction by Mayela Celis (Madrid: Dykinson, 2023 – in Spanish)
I am thrilled to announce that my book on international child abduction has been published this week (María Mayela Celis Aguilar (aka Mayela Celis), Madrid: Dykinson, 2023, 604 pp. – in Spanish). More information is available here.
I am most grateful to Prof. Marina Vargas Gómez-Urrutia and Hans van Loon for having written the Foreword of this book and for their support throughout this process. This book is dedicated to the memory of Adair Dyer, former Deputy Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), whom some of you may have known.
As stated in the publisher’s website (translation into English): “This monograph conducts a critical study of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction by analysing both case law and doctrine. In particular, it examines key concepts of the Convention, such as habitual residence and rights of custody, as well as other problems that arise more frequently in its application. But not before carrying out a detailed study of the phenomenon of international child abduction from a multidisciplinary and human rights approach.