Views
After the Romans: Private International Law Post Brexit
Written by Michael McParland, QC, 39 Essex Chambers, London
On 10 December 2018 the Ministry of Justice published a draft statutory instrument with the pithy title of “The Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations and Non-Contractual Obligations (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018”. This indicates the current intended changes to retained EU private international law of obligations post Brexit. Read more
The renaissance of the Blocking Statute
Written by Markus Lieberknecht, Institute for Comparative Law, Conflict of Laws and International Business Law (Heidelberg)
Quite a literal “conflict of laws” has recently arisen when the EU reactivated its Blocking Statute in an attempt to deflect the effects of U.S. embargo provisions against Iran. As a result, European parties doing business with Iran are now confronted with a dilemma where compliance with either regime necessitates a breach of the other. This post explores some implications of the Blocking Statute from a private international law perspective. Read more
Service of documents in the European Judicial Space: on the Commission’s proposal for amending Regulation 1393/2007
Guest post by Dr. Stefano Dominelli of the University of Milan
In recent times, the European Commission has investigated the possibility of amending Regulation 1393/2007 on the service of judicial and extra-judicial documents between Member States. Such instrument has already settled some issues practitioners encountered under the application of the previous legal framework, in particular related to the administrative cooperation regime, the linguistic exception to service, and direct service by registered mail – or equivalent measure.
The need for a proper functioning of the cross-border service of documents mechanisms is properly highlighted in the Commission’s proposal, and new rules are suggested to further implement the system.
A recent volume, Current and future perspectives on cross-border service of documents, by Stefano Dominelli (Univ. of Milan, Dep. of International, Legal, Historical and Political Studies), explores and addresses the Commission’s proposals.
The functioning of Regulation 1393/2007 is in the first place reconstructed by the author in particular by taking into consideration the case law of a number of Member States. It is against this background that the proposed amendments are commented.
Amongst the numerous points, the book dwells upon proposed new art. 3a, and its possible impact. Acknowledging technical evolutions, communication and exchange of documents between transmitting and receiving agencies in the diverse Member States should in the future strongly rely on e-transmission. According to proposed new art. 3a, only if electronic transmission is not possible due to an unforeseen and exceptional disruption of the decentralised IT system, transmission shall be carried out by the swiftest possible alternative means. The author advises caution in the matter, as the Commission itself argues in the explanatory memorandum of the proposal that modern channels of communication are in practice not used due to old habits, legal obstacles, and lack of interoperability of the national IT systems. In this sense, the work proposes that, at least for time being, a transition to e-transmission between agencies should be encouraged as an alternative method of transmission, rather as being the only available option.
A number of proposals are made as regards the right of the addressee to refuse service on linguistic grounds. In the first place, with a solution supported in the volume, a new Annex to the Regulation should clearly set out the means and methods of the addressee to refuse service, a matter that is currently not expressly dealt with by the regulation.
The time frame for the addressee to refuse service based on linguistic grounds should become two weeks, rather than one, a solution that is strongly endorsed by the author of the volume as it is deemed to be a more satisfying point of balance between the opposing interests of the prospective plaintiff and the defendant.
Nonetheless, the work highlights that some issues that have emerged in the case law still are not addressed in the Commission’s proposal. In the first place, conflict of laws and international civil procedure issues are not referenced in the text, even though questions as the competent court before which violations of the rules on service can be invoked or which court has to investigate on the legitimate refusal to service based on linguistic grounds, have consistently been addressed by judges.
Additionally, the Commission’s proposal gives to this day no clear indication on the refusal to service based on linguistic grounds when the addressee is a corporation, a matter that, according to the author, should deserve at least some guidance in the recitals of the instrument.
The volume can be freely downloaded at https://ssrn.com/abstract=3259980
News
Proposal for a EU-Directive on European Cross Border Associations (ECBA)
Tim Wöffen (University of Osnabrück) kindly made us aware of the Proposal for a Directive on European cross-border associations, adopted on 5 September by the Commission. The proposal aims to facilitate cross-border activities of non-profit associations in the EU and to improve the functioning of the Internal Market by removing legal and administrative barriers for non-profit associations that operate or wish to operate in more than one Member State. With regard to private international law, Articles 4 and 22 et seq seem particularly relevant. The public is invited to give their comments until November 1st.
Tim offers some initial thoughts (in German) here.
Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Rechtswissenschaft (ZVglRWiss) 122 (2023) Issue 3: Abstracts
ZVglRWiss 122 (2023) no. 3
A Symposium in Liechtenstein on Comparative and Private International Law
Aspects of Crypto Currencies and Assets
The most recent issue of the German Journal of Comparative Law (Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Rechtswissenschaft, ZVglRWiss) features various contributions to a comparative law symposium that was held at the Private University in the Principality of Liechtenstein (UFL) in autumn 2022. The topic consisted of legal aspects of crypto currencies and assets, with a particular focus on comparative law and private international law. Here are the articles’ German titles and their English abstracts:
Book Launch: Governance of Artificial Intelligence in the European Union What Place for Consumer Protection?
Marion Ho-Dac (Artois University) and Cécile Pellegrini (Lyon Catholic University) are hosting a conference at Lyon Catholic University on Friday 29 September 2023 on the occasion of the launch of their book “Governance of Artificial Intelligence in the European Union What Place for Consumer Protection?”.
The book tackles the interplay between Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance and consumer protection on the European Union (EU) market. An in-depth analysis of the existing and future EU legal framework is conducted in order to assess its capacity to meet the challenges posed by AI. The effectiveness of consumer rights, and more widely of fundamental rights, in the digital single market calls for a regulatory ecosystem that fosters trust and therefore, upstream, transparency and explainability of AI systems. Hence, the book explores different normative paths – from hard law to standardization – as well as monitoring and supervision tools – from ethics to media literacy – that could progressively lead to an inclusive and comprehensive EU governance structure for AI. Several book’s chapters highlight the complexity of balancing conflicting interests such as the protection of consumers against the adverse impacts of AI, supporting AI development and technological innovation and putting AI at the service of empowered consumers. Ultimately, the book offers important insights into thinking about tomorrow’s digital consumer in EU law, inviting a rethinking of European policy boundaries and related legal regimes.
The full programme for the event can be found here.