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Conference Report: Contracts for the Supply of Digital Content and Digital Services, A legal debate on the proposed directive, ERA Brussels, 22 November 2017
Written by Antonella Nolten, Research Fellow at the EBS Law School, Wiesbaden, Germany
On 22 November 2017 the Academy of European Law (ERA) hosted a conference on the recent developments on the Proposal for a Digital Content Directive in Brussels. Read more
Bob Wessels, International Insolvency Law: Part II European Insolvency Law, 4th edition 2017, Wolters Kluwer
Written by Lukas Schmidt, Research Fellow at the Center for Transnational Commercial Dispute Resolution (TCDR) of the EBS Law School, Wiesbaden, Germany
With International Insolvency Law Part II having been published, Bob Wessels’ 10 volume series ‘Insolventierecht’ (Insolvency Law) is now completed in its 4th edition. The publication comprehensively deals with the European Insolvency Regulation Recast as entered into force on 26 June 2017, while International Insolvency Law: Part I Global Perspectives on Cross-Border Insolvency Law, already published at the end of 2015, covers the core concepts of Cross-Border Insolvency Law, other regional frameworks than the EIR and relevant instruments of soft law. Read more
Deference to Foreign Sovereign Submissions
As previously reported here, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision in 2016 reversing a $147.8 million price-fixing judgment against two Chinese manufacturers of Vitamin C. The plaintiffs alleged that the Chinese manufacturers engaged in price fixing and supply manipulation in violation of U.S. antitrust laws. In its first ever appearance as an amicus before a U.S. court, the Chinese government filed a formal statement asserting that Chinese law required the Chinese manufacturers to set prices and reduce the quantities of Vitamin C sold abroad. Relying on this statement, the Second Circuit held that because the Chinese manufacturers could not comply with both Chinese law and the U.S. antitrust laws, principles of international comity compelled dismissal of the case.
This case raises a host of interesting questions. First, did the Second Circuit reach the right result? Second, is this a comity case or a foreign sovereign compulsion case? Third, what level of deference is due to a foreign sovereign that appears in private litigation to explain their country’s laws? Fourth, should U.S. judges defer to such an explanation?
In June 2017, the United States Supreme Court called for the views of the United States. This past Tuesday, the Solicitor General (SG) filed this brief in response to the Court’s order.
In this submission, the SG explains that the Court should grant review of the Second Circuit’s decision in order to review the court of appeals’ holding that the Chinese government’s submission conclusively established the content of Chinese law. According to the SG, “a foreign government’s characterization of its own law is entitled to substantial weight, but it is not conclusive.” The SG argues that the case warrants the Court’s review because “[t]he degree of deference that a court owes to a foreign government’s characterization of its own law is an important and recurring question, and foreign sovereigns considering making their views known to federal courts should understand the standards that will be applied to their submissions.”
Should the Court grant review, the question of what standard should be applied to foreign sovereign submissions will be key. This is a question I have explored here.
It will be interesting to see whether the Court accepts the SG’s request to review the Second Circuit’s decision.
News
In Memoriam Oliver Remien
It is with great sadness that we have learned of the untimely passing of Oliver Remien, Professor at the University of Würzburg, Germany, on Monday, 24 April 2023.
Oliver Remien, born in 1957, wrote his doctoral and habilitation theses at the Hamburg Max Planck Institute, where he worked as an assistant to Ulrich Drobnig. He joined the University of Würzburg in 2001. An area of perpetual interest for him was the comparison of European private law(s), with a particular focus on the “Four Freedoms” of primary EU law, the growing impact of secondary EU law, and the practilities of the increasingly frequent application of foreign law in the domestic courts of the Member States.
Our thoughts are with his family.
Friendly Reminder and Update: Conference “The HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention: Cornerstones – Prospects – Outlook”, 9 and 10 June 2023
Good news for the University of Bonn|HCCH Conference on “The HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention: Cornerstones – Prospects – Outlook“, taking place in Bonn on 9 and 10 June 2023:
As of 1 April 2023, the German Federal Government as well as the local authorities have lifted all Covid-related restrictions. Therefore, registration is now possible without submitting any documents of vaccination. As it appears, there has never been a better time to register…
We are looking forward to welcoming a truly international audience at the beautiful premises of the University Club, located just a stone’s throw away from the river Rhine.
For all of you who have already registered and received a confirmation from our office, please be assured that there is nothing more to be done at the moment.
Concluding ELI Webinar on the “Application of the EU Succession Regulation in the Member States”
On 15 May 2023, the comparative findings of the ELI Webinar Series on the EU Succession Regulation (previously reported here) will be presented in a concluding webinar. The organizers kindly invite anyone interested into the actual practice regarding cross border succession cases to register for this final event within the series:
“Join us for the concluding webinar on the ‘Application of the EU Succession Regulation in the Member States’!
The webinar organized within the Special Interest Group on Family and Succession Law of the European Law Institute will take place on Monday, May 15th, 3-5 pm CET and shall present important results gathered during the five webinars on the application of the EU Succession Regulation in the Member States organized in 2022.
Attendance is free of charge. A ZOOM link will be sent to those who register by sending an e-mail to zivilrecht@uni-graz.at”