Views
Nothing Found
Sorry, no posts matched your criteria
News
AG Campos Sánchez-Bordona on ex officio examination of jurisdiction under the Succession Regulation in the case V A and Z A C-645/20
Where the habitual residence of the deceased at the time of death is not located in any of the Member States, the court of a Member State which finds that the deceased had the nationality of that State and held assets within its territory must, of its own motion, examine whether it has jurisdiction under Article 10 of the Succession Regulation?
This question lies at the heart of the request for a preliminary ruling lodged by French Cour de Cassation before the Court of Justice in the case V A and Z A, C-645/20. This is also the question that AG Campos Sánchez-Bordona thoroughly analyses in his Opinion presented this Thursday.
HCCH Monthly Update: November 2021
Conventions & Instruments
On 17 November 2021, the Russian Federation signed the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention. Although the 2019 Judgments Convention is not yet in force, the Russian Federation is its fifth signatory. The Russian Federation has been a Member of the HCCH since 2001 and is a Contracting Party to six HCCH Conventions. More information is available here.
Meetings & Events
On 5 November 2021, the HCCH hosted a virtual seminar on the HCCH 1980 Child Abduction Convention and the HCCH 1996 Child Protection Convention for the Supreme Court of Ukraine. This was the second of a series of seminars, organised with the generous support of the EU Project Pravo-Justice, aimed at facilitating the proper and effective implementation of the HCCH Conventions and instruments in Ukraine. More information is available here.
On 8 November 2021, the HCCH Working Group on Preventing and Addressing Illicit Practices in Intercountry Adoption met via videoconference. The Group continued to work on the development of a Toolkit aimed at preventing and addressing illicit practices in intercountry adoptions made under the HCCH 1993 Adoption Convention. More information is available here.
From 15 to 19 November 2021, the HCCH Experts’ Group on Parentage / Surrogacy met via videoconference. The Group discussed the form, structure and focus of the final report that is to be presented to the Council on General Affairs and Policy of the HCCH at its 2023 meeting. More information is available here.
From 22 to 25 November 2021, the HCCH participated in the 24th International Congress of the International Union of Judicial Officers. Secretary General Dr Christophe Bernasconi participated in the panel discussion “Cyber Justice: New Opportunities for the Judicial Officer” and in the roundtable discussion “Cyber Justice – The future of our profession – Evolution or Revolution?”, while Senior Legal Officer Dr Ning Zhao delivered a presentation on the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention. Dr Zhao’s accompanying article “The HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention – adding essential components for an effective international legal framework on recognition and enforcement” will be published in the proceedings of the Congress. More information is available here.
Upcoming Events
HCCH a|Bridged Edition 2021 will be held online on Wednesday, 1 December 2021. This year’s edition will discuss contemporary issues relating to the application of the HCCH 2005 Choice of Court Convention, including the establishment of international commercial courts around the globe and how it enables party autonomy. More information is available here.
These monthly updates are published by the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), providing an overview of the latest developments. More information and materials are available on the HCCH website.
The Reform of Italian Arbitration Law
This post is by Alberto Pomari, LLM Student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and JD Student at the University of Verona School of Law.
On November 25, 2021, the Italian Parliament passed the long-awaited Enabling Act for “the efficiency of the civil trial” as one of the conditions attached to the Next Generation EU funding. Among its provisions, this law amends part of the Italian arbitration law with a view toward making arbitration in the country more appealing to individuals and foreign investors. Worthy of particular attention are the amendments regarding (1) the independence and impartiality of arbitrators, and (2) the arbitral tribunal’s power to grant interim relief.
Up until now, the Italian Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) has not compelled arbitrators to disclose any fact or circumstance that would reasonably call into question their impartiality and independence. This is not to say, though, that Italian law neglects impartiality and independence on the part of arbitrators. To the contrary, Article 815 CPC enumerates several situations where arbitrators can be challenged for specific circumstances that are likely to give rise to justifiable doubts about their unbiased judgment. However, the Enabling Act aims at shoring up this reactive guarantee by introducing a proactive duty of disclosure, which directly burdens the arbitrators appointed. Specifically, Article 15(a) of the Act calls for an express mandate for arbitrators to disclose, upon acceptance of their appointment, any situation that may give grounds for a challenge under Article 815 CPC. Along those lines, Article 15(a) also introduces broad grounds to challenge an arbitrator for any “severe reason of suitability.” Through these amendments, the Government commits to enhance the guarantee of fairness of the parties’ fact- and law-finder at the very outset of proceedings, thus avoiding the costs associated with a challenge.
Arguably, the Enabling Act’s most important innovation is contained in Article 15(c) and relates to the arbitrators’ power to grant interim relief. To date, with the only exception of corporate law disputes, no arbitral tribunal whose seat is in Italy is vested with the power to provide provisional relief. Article 818 CPC leaves no room for doubt by proscribing any provisional remedies rendered by an arbitral tribunal. The magnitude of this provision is reflected, for instance, by Article 26 of the Milan Chamber of Arbitration’s (CAM) Rules, which point out that the arbitral tribunal may issue interim measures unless “barred by mandatory provisions applicable to the proceedings.” Article 15(c) enables the Government to empower arbitrators to grant interim relief as long as parties manifest the intent of achieving this end. Therefore, arbitrators will have the power to issue conservatory measures, subject to the Italian lex arbitri, if the arbitration agreement expressly provides so as well as references institutional rules that contemplate such a power (like the above-mentioned CAM’s Rules). Understandably, Article 15(c) specifies that a national court issues the interim measures if a party seeks them before the arbitral tribunal has been fully appointed. Of course, the enforceability of said interim relief remains a prerogative of national courts. Lastly, Article 15(c) directs the Government to create a new appeal as of right whereby a party may challenge the arbitral tribunal’s decision regarding the requested interim relief before a national judge. However, said appeal can be brought exclusively for errors of law enumerated in Article 829(1) CPC, which currently warrants an appeal designed to void the final award. It follows that a national judge will not be allowed to hear the appeal if the party avers errors of fact.
While awaiting the implementing regulations issued by the Government, these changes represent a desirable modernization of the Italian arbitration law and should therefore be hailed. However, while they bring Italy up to the speed of countries that are legally more appealing to foreign investors, it remains to be seen whether they will be sufficient to effectively attract foreign investors or prove to be too late or too timid.