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Jurisdiction, Conflict of Laws and Data Protection in Cyberspace

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Report on the Conference held in Luxembourg on 12 October 2017, by Martina Mantovani, Research Fellow MPI Luxembourg

On 12 October 2017, the Brussels Privacy Hub (BPH) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Department of European and Comparative Procedural Law of the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg held a joint conference entitled “Jurisdiction, Conflicts of Law and Data Protection in Cyberspace”. The conference, which was attended by nearly 100 people, included presentations by academics from around the world, as well as from Advocate General Henrik Saugmandsgaard Øe of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The entire conference was filmed and is available for viewing on the YouTube Channel of the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg (first and second parts) Read more

Chinese courts made decision taking into account of the Hague Choice of Court Convention

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China has signed the Hague Choice of Court Convention on 12 September 2017, but has not yet ratified this Convention. The Hague Choice of Court Convention has not entered into force in China. However, Shanghai High Court has already relied on the Hague Choice of Court Convention to make decision.

In Cathay United Bank v Gao, Shanghai High Court, (2016) Hu Min Xia Zhong No 99, the appellant, a Taiwan commercial bank, and the respondent, a Chinese citizen resident in Shanghai, entered into a Guarantee contract. It included a clause choosing Taiwan court as the competent court to hear disputes arising out of the contract. This clause did not specify whether it was exclusive or not. Chinese law does not provide how to decide exclusivity of a choice of court agreement. Facing the legal gap, Shanghai High Court took into account Article 3 of the Hague Choice of Court Convention 2005 and decided that choice of court agreements should be exclusive unless the parties stated otherwise. The Shanghai High Court thus declined jurisdiction in favour of Taiwan Court.

This decision was made on 20 April 2017, even before China signed the Hague Choice of Court Convention. Since the Hague Choice of Court Convention has not entered into force in China, it should not be directly applied by Chinese courts in judicial practice. The question is whether Chinese courts could ‘take into account’ of international conventions not being effective in China to make decision. Although Article 9 of the Chinese Supreme Court’s Judicial Interpretation of Chinese Conflict of Laws Act allows the Chinese courts to apply international conventions, which have not entered into effect in China, to decide the parties’ rights and obligations, such an application is subject to party autonomy. In other words, parties should have chosen the international convention to govern their rights and obligations. Article 9 does not apply to international judicial cooperation conventions that do not deal with individuals’ substantive rights and are not subject to party autonomy. Perhaps, a more relevant provision is Article 142(3) of the PRC General Principle of Civil Law, which provides that international customs or practice may be applied to matters for which neither the law of the PRC nor any international treaty concluded or acceded to by China has any provisions. Arguably, the Hague Choice of Court Convention represents common practice adopted internationally and forms a source to fill the gap in the current Chinese law.

EU Member State sees opportunities in Brexit: Belgium is establishing a new English-language commercial court

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Expecting higher demands for international commercial dispute resolution following Britain’s departure from the EU, Belgium plans to set up a new English-language commercial court, the Brussels International Business Court (BIBC), to take cases away from the courts and tribunals in London. This decision was announced on 27 Oct 2017. This BIBC is designed to address disputes arising out of Brexit and major international commercial disputes. The court will take jurisdiction based on parties’ choice, and will do the hearing and deliver judgments in English. The parties would have no right to appeal. BIBC combines elements of both traditional courts and arbitration. See comments here.

Although Brexit may cause uncertainty to litigants in the UK, a survey suggests that the EU judicial cooperation scheme is not the main reason for international parties choosing London to resolve their disputes. The top two factors that attract international litigants to London are the reputation and experience of English judges and combination of choice of court clauses with choice of law clauses in favor of English law,  followed by efficient remedies, procedural effectiveness, neutrality of the forum, market practice, English language, effective UK-based counsel, speed and enforceability of judgments. Furthermore, Brexit will not affect the New York Convention and would less likely affect London as an arbitration centre. It may be more reasonable to suggest that the main purpose of BIBC is not to compete with London at the international level, but to offer additional judicial tool and become a new commercial dispute resolution centre within the EU to attract companies and businesses to Brussels.

News

Call for Papers: SLS Conflict of Laws Section, Oxford Brookes, 2023

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The convenors of the SLS Conflict of Laws section, Lauren Clayton-Helm and Bobby Lindsay, have been so kind as to share the following call for papers with us.

This is a call for papers and panels for the Conflict of Laws section of the 2023 Society of Legal Scholars’ Annual Conference to be held at Oxford Brookes, from 27th – 30th June.  The Conflict of Laws section will meet in the second half of the conference on 29–30 June and will have four sessions, each lasting 90 minutes.

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Registration open: German Conference for Young Scholars in Private International Law 2023

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As previously announced, the 4th German Conference for Young Scholars in Private International Law will take place on 23 and 24 February 2023 at Sigmund Freud University in Vienna.

The theme of the conference is

Deference to the foreign – empty phrase or guiding principle of private international law?

Although primarily held in German, a significant amount of presentations will be offered in English, including

“The metaphor of the ‘dismal swamp’: an ecosophical approach to the conflict of laws” by Prof. Horatia Muir Wat (Keynote lecture)

“Overriding Mandatory Rules and Choice of Law Rule in Procedure: Opposite Trends?” by Shahar Giller (presentation)

“Mind the Gap – Adaptation Mechanisms in the Cross-Border Enforcement of Judgments” by Tess Bens (presentation)

“Connecting Factors: Tools or Loopholes in Achieving Deference to the Foreign” by Stefano Dominelli and Michael Cremer (short presentation)

For further information and registration, please visit the event’s homepage – the organizers kindly ask to register by 17 February 2023.

Chronology of Practice: Chinese Practice in Private International Law in 2021

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Professor HE Qisheng  has published the annual report, Chronology of Practice: Chinese Practice in Private International Law in 2021, now in its 9th year. The article has been published by the Chinese Journal of International Law, a journal published by Oxford University Press..

This survey contains materials reflecting the Chinese practice of Chinese private international law in 2021. Firstly, regarding changes in the statutory framework of private international law in China, six legislative acts, one administrative regulation on Counteracting Unjustified Extra-Territorial Application of Foreign Legislation and Other Measures, and six judicial interpretations of the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) were adopted or amended in 2021, covering a wide range of matters, including punitive damages, online litigation, online mediation, and international civil procedure. Secondly, five typical cases on Chinese courts’ jurisdiction are selected to highlight the development of Chinese judicial practice in respect of consumer contracts, abuse of dominant market position, repeated actions and other matters. Thirdly, this survey considers 18 cases on choice-of-law issues relating, in particular, to capacities of legal persons, proprietary rights, employee contracts, mandatory rules, gambling and public policy. Fourthly, two significant decisions on punitive damages of intellectual property are reported. Fifthly, several key decisions in the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, international arbitration agreements and foreign settlement agreements, are reproduced. Lastly, this survey also covers the Summaries of the National Symposium on Foreign-related Commercial and Maritime Trials of Courts published by the SPC, an official document which represents the current judicial practices in the Chinese courts, and which is expected to provide guidance in the adjudication of foreign-related matters in the future.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Overview

II.A. Report on the Work of the SPC in 2021

II.B. Laws and the SPC’s interpretations

III. Jurisdiction

III.A. Rules in the SPC Summaries on Foreign-related Trials

III.B. Consumer contract

III.C. Different courts agreed upon in the principal and accessory contract

III.D. Jurisdiction over abuse of dominant market position

III.E. Repeated actions

  1. Choice of law

IV.A. Rules in the SPC Summaries on Foreign-related Trials

IV.B. Capacity of legal person

IV.C. Rights in rem

IV.D. Obligations

IV.E. Mandatory rules

IV.E.i. Foreign exchange guarantee

IV.E.ii. Share transfer

IV.F. Gambling and public order

  1. Intellectual property

V.A. New rules on punitive damages

V.B. Selected cases on punitive damages in Chinese courts

  1. Foreign judgments

VI.A. Rules in the SPC Summaries on Foreign-related Trials

VI.B. Cases about recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments

VII. International arbitration and foreign awards

VII.A. Rules in the SPC Summaries on Foreign-related Trials

VII.B. Arbitration clause and a lien dispute over the subject matter

VIII. Confirmation of the validity of foreign settlement agreement

Here are the links to the article:

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