Views
Amendment of Chinese Civil Procedure Law Concerning Foreign Affairs
by Du Tao*/Xie Keshi
On September 1, 2023, the fifth session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress deliberated and adopted the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Amending the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, which will come into force on January 1, 2024. This amendment to the Civil Litigation Law implements the Party Central Committee’s decision and deployment on coordinating domestic rule of law and foreign-related rule of law, strengthening foreign-related rule of law construction, and among the 26 amendments involved, the fourth part of the Special Provisions on Foreign-related civil Procedure is exclusive to 19, which is the first substantive amendment to the foreign-related civil procedure since 1991.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights: first judgment on international child abduction
Guest post by Janaína Albuquerque, International Lawyer and Mediator
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) has just published their first ever judgment on an international child abduction case in Córdoba v. Paraguay, which concerns the illicit removal of a child who was habitually resident in Argentina. The applicant and left-behind parent, Mr. Arnaldo Javier Córdoba, claimed that Paraguay violated his human rights by failing to enforce the return order and ensuring the maintenance of contact with his son. At the time of the abduction, the child was about to reach 2 years of age and the taking parent relocated, without the father’s consent, to Paraguay.
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).
News
PAX Moot Half-Day Conference Blog Post Series by the Aberdeen Centre for Private International Law & Transnational Governance
The Centre for Private International Law at the University of Aberdeen published its newest blog post series in early August. This series is based on the keynote speeches and panel discussions from the 2024 PAX Moot Half Day Conference, held on 26 April 2024 in Ljubljana. The insightful event was co-organised by the Centre for Private International Law of the University of Aberdeen, the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana, and the PAX Moot Project, co-funded by the European Commission.
The conference, titled ‘Private International Law in Dispute Resolution,’ brought together leading experts to explore the evolving landscape of private international law and its role in resolving cross-border disputes. Throughout the series, the speakers reflected on their key themes and the discussions that emerged from the event, providing practical insights that can be applied in real-world scenarios.
The first post brings you Professor Ronald Brand’s opening keynote speech on drafting choice of court and arbitration agreements, exploring private international law points from a transaction planning perspective.
The second post, Business and Human Rights Litigation and Private International Law, highlights findings shared by panellists on sustainability and private international law, and human-rights-related torts in the private international law of the European Union.
The third post, The Law Applicable to the Arbitration Agreement, will deliver on the legal complexities and considerations in determining the applicable law for arbitration agreements, especially in light of the latest amendments to the 1996 English Arbitration Act.
Finally, the fourth post provides a new perspective on the impact of globalisation on private international law, arguing that the so-called neutrality of private international law is becoming a fiction embedded in a very specific liberal and Eurocentric worldview.
Book Launches for Research Methods in International Private Law
Following the publication of the book Research Methods in Private International Law: A Handbook on Regulation, Research and Teaching (Elgar, 2024), edited by Xandra Kramer and Laura Carballo Piñeiro (see our earlier news item), we are organising two launch events.
Cut, Paste, and Overruled! SICC Voids Retired Indian Judge’s Award for Arbitrator I?m?Partiality
Written by Tarasha Gupta and Akshath Indusekhar, Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India
Recently, the Singapore International Commercial Court (“SICC”) in DJO v. DJP & Others set aside an award authored by retired Indian judges that it deemed to have copied and pasted portions of another arbitral award. The SICC reasoned its decision on the basis that the copy and pasting reflected the arbitrators’ partiality and their being influenced by arguments extraneous to the arbitration at hand. This article unravels the rationale for the SICC’s judgement in this peculiar case and explores its implications on international commercial arbitration for seat courts across jurisdictions worldwide.