Views
The CJEU settles the issue of characterising the surviving spouse’s share of the estate in the context of the Succession Regulation
It has not been yet noted on this blog that the CJEU has recently settled a classic problem of characterisation that has plagued German courts and academics for decades (CJEU, 1 March 2018 – C-558/16, Mahnkopf, ECLI:EU:C:2018:138). The German statutory regime of matrimonial property is a community of accrued gains, i.e. that each spouse keeps its own property, but gains that have been made during the marriage are equalised when the marriage ends, i.e. by a divorce or by the death of one spouse. According to § 1371(1) of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB), the equalisation of the accrued gains shall be effected by increasing the surviving spouse’s share of the estate on intestacy by one quarter of the estate if the property regime is ended by the death of a spouse; it is irrelevant in this regard whether the spouses have made accrued gains in the individual case. How is this claim to be characterized? Read more
Torture, Universal Civil Jurisdiction and Forum Necessitatis: Naït-Litman v. Switzerland before the ECtHR
On March 15 the ECtHR, sitting as the Grand Chamber,decided on the Naït-Litman v. Switzerland case (application no. 51357/07), against the applicant and his claim of violation of Article 6 ECHR. Independently on whether one agrees or not with the final outcome, for PIL lawyers and amateurs the judgment (for very busy people at least the press release) is certainly worth reading. Read more
The Pitfalls of International Insolvency and State Interventionism in Slovenia
Written by Dr. Jorg Sladic, Attorney in Ljubljana and Assistant Professor in Maribor (Slovenia)
The most interesting development in European private international law and European insolvency law seems the Croatian AGROKOR case. Rulings of English courts have been reported (see e.g. Prof. Van Calster’s blog, Agrokor DD – Recognition of Croatian proceedings shows the impact of Insolvency Regulation’s Annex A.)[1] However, a new and contrary development seems to be an order by the Slovenian Supreme Court in case Cpg 2/2018 of 14 March 2018.[2] Read more
News
Foreign law in the Draft Code of French Private International Law: New volume in French
Gustavo Cerqueira and Hugues Fulchiron have recently edited a new volume (in French) on the appliation of foreign law in the draft code of French private international law (Le droit étranger dans le projet de code de droit international privé – Connaissance et applicationdroit). They have kindly provided us with the following English summary:
On the occasion of the public consultation on the draft code of French private international law launched by the Ministry of Justice on 8 June 2022, the Société de législation comparée organized a debate in Paris on 13 September of the same year on the provisions relating to the knowledge and application of foreign law – Articles 13 and 14 of the draft.
Between consolidation of case law, methodological clarification, new procedural perspectives and recourse to institutional cooperation, the choices made by the drafters of the proposed Code offered a great opportunity for collective reflection, bringing together the key players in the field. This reflection was all the timelier given that these provisions were not given particular attention either in the explanatory memorandum to the draft code or in the commentaries on the draft code by academic writers.
The purpose of this book is therefore to bring to public debate the most salient issues relating to this often-neglected chapter of conflict of laws, while at the same time putting forward singular proposals to ensure that the content of foreign law in France is established as accurate as possible.
In recent years, the Société de législation comparée has taken an interest in the issue of understanding and applying foreign law. Through this new initiative, the Société works to enhance French private international law, in line with the goals set out in Article 1 of its Articles of Association.
Certificat de coutume: New volume in French
Gustavo Cerqueira, Nicolas Nord, and Cyril Nourissat have recently edited a new volume on the “Certificat de coutume – Pratiques en droit des affaires internationales” (in French). The editors have kindly provided us with an English translation of the blurb available on the publisher’s website:
Read more
Seminar series Crossroads in Private International Law
The Centre for Private international Law of the University of Aberdeen’s Law School is continuing this year its series on Crossroads in Private International Law.
The aim of the series is to explore the intersection between Private International Law and substantive areas of law, with the outcome of featuring cutting edge interdisciplinary research carried out by the Centre members.
The format is hybrid, with presentations and room for discussion. Find out more and register for the individual events here; and sign up for selected seminars of for the entire series here.