Views
CJEU confirms that an actio pauliana is a matter relating to a contract: Case C-722/17 Reitbauer et al v Casamassima
Written by Michiel Poesen
Less than a year after its decision in Case C-337/17 Feniks (discussed here), the Court of Justice had another opportunity to consider the extent to which the Brussels Ia Regulation provides a head of special jurisdiction for an actio pauliana. In Case C-722/17 Reitbauer (decided last Wednesday but still not available in English), the Court confirmed its decision in Feniks, according to which such an action falls under Art 7(1) Brussels Ia if it is based on a contractual right. Michiel Poesen, PhD candidate at KU Leuven, has been so kind as to share his thoughts on the decision with us in the following post.
Earlier this week, the Court of Justice of the European Union found that an actio pauliana is subject to jurisdiction in matters relating to a contract, contained in Article 7(1) Brussels Ia (Case C-722/17 Reitbauer). Read more
A Resurrection of Shevill? – AG Szpunar’s Opinion in Glawischnig-Piesczek v Facebook Ireland (C-18/18)
Written by Anna Bizer
Anna Bizer, doctoral candidate at the University of Freiburg, has kindly provided us with her thoughts on AG Szpunar’s opinion in the case of Glawischnig-Piesczek v Facebook Ireland (C-18/18).
Since the EP-proposal from 2012, the European Union has not shown any efforts to fill the gap still existing in the Rome II Regulation regarding violations of personality rights (Article 1(2)(g)). However, Advocate General Szpunar has just offered some thoughts on the issue in his opinion on the case of Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek v Facebook Ireland Limited (C-18/18) from 18 June 2019. Read more
Conclusion of the HCCH Judgments Convention: The objectives and architecture of the Judgments Convention, a brief overview of some key provisions, and what’s next?
Prepared by Cara North, external consultant to the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). This post reflects only personal views.
Today marks a momentous occasion (in the private international law world at least): the conclusion of the Diplomatic Session on the HCCH Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (“Judgments Convention”). A Convention that, as noted by the Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (“HCCH”) during his opening remarks for the Session, will be a “gamechanger for cross-border dispute settlement and an apex stone for global efforts to improve real and effective access to justice.” Read more
News
Hybrid conference in Vienna on 12 April 2024: Reforming Brussels Ibis
We are happy to share the following announcement from the organisers.
On 12 April 2024, a hybrid conference will take place at the Skylounge of the University of Vienna to discuss the reform of the Brussels Ibis Regulation; the fundamental reference-instrument of cross-border judicial cooperation in civil matters within the European Union. The reform is expected to begin this year under the new European Commission. The conference is organised by the Institute for Civil Procedure and continues the work already done within the European Association for Private International Law (EAPIL) and the former Max Planck Institute (MPI) Luxembourg.
In 2021, Burkhard Hess wrote a Working Paper on a possible reform of the Brussels Ibis Regulation, identifying problems and suggesting solutions. In the same year, a Working Group was set up within the network of the EAPIL. The members of the Working Group provided information on the application and possible shortcomings of the Brussels Ibis Regulation in their jurisdictions by means of a questionnaire. The results of the questionnaire provided the basis for the conference on the Brussels Ibis reform held at the former MPI Luxembourg on 9 September 2022, where more than 80 participants discussed reform proposals in five panels (report).
Following the 2022 Luxembourg conference, Burkhard Hess and a team of researchers of the MPI prepared a second Working Paper, which put forward 32 proposals for the reforms of the Brussels Ibis Regulation. Members of the EAPIL Working Group were invited to express again their opinion and to vote on these proposals in an online poll. The poll was later opened to the public, as announced on the EAPIL-blog and ConflictofLaws.net. The purpose of this poll was to give the academic public as well as other stakeholders an opportunity to express their view on the proposals. An extensive documentation and analysis of the poll will be published soon, which serves as a basis for discussion at the upcoming conference.
The 2024 Vienna conference features speakers from various parts of the European Union. In the morning, the prospects of the reform process and overarching issues of the Brussels Ibis Regulation are addressed by Andreas Stein (EU Commission), Astrid Stadler (Konstanz), Cristina González Beilfuss (Barcelona), Gilles Cuniberti (Luxembourg), as well as Karol Weitz and Bartosz Wo?odkiewicz (Warsaw). The various proposals for the reform of the Brussels Ibis Regulation will be addressed from a practical perspective in the afternoon during a roundtable featuring, inter alia, Anthony Collins (EU Court of Justice), Georg Kodek (Austrian Supreme Court), Petra Leupold (VKI), Sabine Leupold (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) and Andreas Stein (EU Commission). The full program can be found on the flyer.
Burkhard Hess, Christian Koller and Paul Oberhammer of the Institute of Civil Procedure look forward to your participation in the Vienna conference. Please send your registration to reformingbrussels-Ibis.zvr@univie.ac.at and indicate whether you will participate in person or online.
20th IEAF Call for Papers: Evolution or Revolution of European Insolvency Law
The organisers of the 2024 edition of the INSOL Europe Academic Forum kindly shared with us the following call for papers. Please note the deadline for submission is 1 March 2024:
From Theory to Practice in Private International Law: Gedächtnisschrift for Professor Jonathan Fitchen
Written by Justin Borg-Barthet, Katarina Trimmings, Burcu Yüksel Ripley and Patricia Živkovic
Note: This post is also available via the blog of the European Association of Private International Law.
When our colleague and friend Prof Jonathan Fitchen passed away on 22nd January 2021, we were comforted in our grief by an outpouring of messages of condolence from private international lawyers around the world. We had known, of course, of the impact and importance of Jonathan’s work to the world of private international law scholarship. His monograph on authentic instruments, for example, will remain an essential reference on that subject for many years to come. Jonathan’s impact on the world of private international law scholars was, to a degree, less obvious. He was an unassuming man. He did not seek to command the attention of every gathering he attended, and he might have been surprised to realise how often he did just that. He was tremendously well-liked and well-respected for his wit, his self-deprecating sense of humour, and his empathy.