Views
Moroccan Supreme Court on the HCCH 1996 Child Protection Convention
Among all Arab and Muslim-majority countries, Morocco stands out as the only State to have ratified seven (7) HCCH Conventions. This number of ratifications, comparable to that of other prominent countries such as United States or Japan, speaks volumes about Morocco’s commitment to being an integral part of the global network of jurisdictions benefiting from the work of the HCCH on the harmonisation of private international and fostering mutual legal cooperation. The decisions of the Moroccan Supreme Court also reflect these efforts as the Court has shown its willingness to oversight the proper application of the HCCH Conventions (on the application of the 1980 HCCH Convention, see here). The Supreme Court Ruling No. 71 of 7 February 2023 briefly commented on here is another notable example related to the application of the 1996 HCCH Child Protection Convention. The case is also particularly interesting because it concerns the establishment of a kafala under Moroccan law for the purpose of relocating the child in another Contracting State (France in casu).
The New Zealand Court of Appeal on the cross-border application of New Zealand consumer and fair trading legislation
The New Zealand Court of Appeal has just released a judgment on the cross-border application of New Zealand consumer and fair trading legislation (Body Corporate Number DPS 91535 v 3A Composites GmbH [2023] NZCA 647). The Court held that local consumer legislation – in the form of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) – applies to foreign manufacturers. It also clarified that fair trading legislation – in the form of the Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) – applies to representations made to recipients in New Zealand. The decision is of particular interest to New Zealand consumers and manufacturers of goods that are supplied in New Zealand, as well as traders advertising their products to New Zealanders. More generally, the judgment provides a useful analysis of the interrelationship between statutory interpretation and choice of law, and lends weight to the proposition that product liability is properly governed by the law of the place of supply (or injury).
China’s New Foreign State Immunity Law: Some Foreign Relations Aspects
Written by Wenliang Zhang (Associate Professor at Renmin University of China Law School), Haoxiang Ruan (PhD Candidate at Renmin University of China Law School), and William S. Dodge (the John D. Ayer Chair in Business Law and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law).
On September 1, 2023, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC Standing Committee) passed the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Foreign State Immunity (FSIL) (English translation here). The FSIL will enter into force on January 1, 2024.
News
Out Now: Heiderhoff/Queirolo (eds), EU (and) Private International Law. Societal Changes and Legal Challenges
Every year, a group of 11 universities coordinated by Bettina Heiderhoff (University of Münster, 
Germany) brings together PhD candidates for a set of seminars through the Programme in European Private Law for Postgraduates (PEPP). The papers presented during the 22/23 session have now been published open access in a volume entitled ‘EU (and) Private International Law. Societal Changes and Legal Challenges’, edited by Bettina Heiderhoff and Ilaria Queirolo.
Reflecting the broad scope of the programme, the volume features an impressive collection of 14 essays on topics ranging from CSDDD & forum necessitatis (Clara Pastorino), the Hague Judgments Convention & third states (Guglielmo Bonacchi), and the relationship between PIL and Mediation (Christopher Reibetanz) to Neo-Cultural Imperialism in Cross-Border Trade Law (Stefano Dominelli).
The full book is available here.
Out now: Book on cross-border insolvency proceedings by Remigijus Jokubauskas
A new book entitled Cross-Border Insolvency Proceedings Policies and Directives in the European Union written by assoc. prof. Remigijus Jokubauskas has just been published by Routledge.
Australian International Law Journal – Call for Submissions
The Australian International Law Journal (AILJ), published by the International Law Association (Australian Branch), is calling for papers on topics of public or private international law for its forthcoming volume.