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The Titanium Brace Tightens: Rome II and Director Liability after Wunner
By Luisa Cassar Pullicino and Krista Refalo, Ganado Advocates
In the preliminary reference Case C-77/24 Wunner (the Titanium Brace case), the CJEU was asked to determine whether a damages claim brought by a consumer directly against company directors for losses suffered from unlicensed online gambling fell within the scope of the Rome II Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 864/2007), or whether it was excluded under Article 1(2)(d) as a “non-contractual obligation arising out of the law of companies”.
The practical stakes were considerable. If Rome II applied, Article 4(1) would designate the law of the place where the damage occurred — which, for online gambling losses, would normally be the habitual residence of the consumer. If excluded, the applicable law would instead be determined by national conflict-of-laws rules, typically, the lex societatis.
‘Salami-slicing’ and Issue Estoppel: Foreign Decisions on the Governing Law
One of the requirements for issue estoppel is identity of issue. However, the process of ‘refining down’ or ‘salami-slicing’[1] is not always clear. The argument that the issue is different because the two courts would arrive at different conclusions on the governing law is increasingly being utilised as a litigation strategy. If the first court applied its choice of law rules to determine that the governing law of the claim is Utopian law, would an issue estoppel arise over this decision in the second court if under the second court’s choice of law rules, Ruritanian law is the governing law? The answer depends on whether the ‘slice’ is thick or thin. Is the relevant issue ‘What law governs the dispute or issue?’ or ‘What law is identified by our (forum) choice of law rules to govern the dispute or issue?’ Read more
The Conflict-of-Law Rules in the UAE’s New Civil Transactions Act: Yet Another Missed Opportunity!
I. Introduction
On 1 January 2026, the Legislative Decree No. 25/2025 promulgating a new Civil Transactions Act (hereafter ‘NCTA’) entered into force. The NCTA repeals and replaces the former Federal Civil Transactions Act of 1985 (hereafter ‘the 1985 Act’). The adoption of the NCTA forms part of the State’s broader and ongoing effort to comprehensively update and modernize its legal system, an effort that has already touched major legislative instruments, including, among many others, the 2022 Civil Procedure Act, the 2024 Personal Status Act, the 2023 Competition Act, and the 2022 Commercial Transactions Act.
Since the 1985 Act contained a codified set of conflict-of-laws rules, its replacement necessarily entails a re-examination of the UAE’s private international law framework and, at least in principle, the introduction of new or revised choice-of-law provisions. Against this background, this note offers a preliminary and necessarily tentative assessment of the modifications introduced by the NCTA. It focuses on the main features of the new law in relation to choice-of-law regulation, highlighting both the changes introduced and the limits of the reform. Read more
News
Call for Papers: 2nd Riga Private International Law Conference: ‘European Private International Law: An Era of Reforms’
The following call was kindly shared with us by Aleksandrs Fillers (Riga Graduate School of Law).
This year is marked by growing discussions about revisions of the core EU private international law documents. The 2nd edition of the Riga Private International Law Conference aims to reflect on the possible changes to be encouraged and those to be discouraged. This year the conference will mostly focus on three core ‘general’ EU private international law instruments: Brussels Ibis Regulation, Rome I and Rome II Regulations.
The conference is organized by the Riga Graduate School of Law and will be held online via Zoom on 22 June 2026. Please submit abstracts of no more than 300 words to associate professor Dr. Aleksandrs Fillers (aleksandrs.fillers@rgsl.edu.lv) by 1 June 2026. We will notify you about the acceptance of papers by 5 June 2026.
Selected articles will be published in the Baltic Yearbook of International Law (indexed in Scopus).
1st Issue of Journal of Private International Law for 2026
The first issue of the Journal of Private International Law for 2026 was published today. It contains the following articles:
Cross-Border Protection of Cultural Property: Chinese Journal of Transnational Law, Vol. 3 Issue 1 (2026)
The Chinese Journal of Transnational Law released a landmark Special Issue titled “Cross-Border Protection of Cultural Property”. This issue brings together leading scholars from around the world to explore one of the most urgent challenges in international law today: how to better protect cultural heritages across borders in an increasingly complex global environment. Focusing on cutting-edge issues at the intersection of international law and private law concerning cultural heritage, this issue systematically examines the provenance of cultural property, mechanisms for cross-border restitution, the application of conflict of laws, and the balance of rights between states and individuals, thereby offering a multi-dimensional perspective and institutional insights to advance global cultural heritage governance. The full table of content can be found here.