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The AIFC Court, Gazprom v Naftogaz and the Emergence of a New Conduit Jurisdiction Debate
This post is written by Dr. Nicolás Zambrana-Tévar LLM(LSE) PhD(Navarra), Associate Professor School of Law KIMEP
Introduction
In May 2026, the Court of First Instance of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) recognised and enforced a Swiss ICC arbitral award rendered in favour of Naftogaz against Gazprom. The award arose out of the disputes between the parties concerning the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine after the start of the war.
Montana Supreme Court Decides International Child Custody Case
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, which has been enacted by every U.S. state, discourages forum shopping in child custody disputes by assigning subject-matter jurisdiction to the court located in the “home state” of the child. In Allen v. Allen, decided on April 21, 2026, the Montana Supreme Court had to determine whether the child’s “home state” was Montana or the Netherlands. This case shines an important spotlight on the importance of timing in international child custody disputes. The left-behind parent’s likelihood of success is strongly correlated with how quickly her or she acts to vindicate their legal rights. Read more
China’s Countering Improper Foreign Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Regulation Blocked EU’s Extraterritorial Data Acquisition
Written by Jeremy MEI Ziyang
LLM student at Wuhan University
Visiting student at Singapore Management University
I. Background
On 15 May this year, Ministry of Justice (MOJ) of China issued its Official Notice No 5 of 2026 (‘the MOJ Notice’), announcing that the relevant extraterritorial investigation carried out by EU on Chinese entities Nuctech constitutes improper extraterritorial jurisdiction measures under China’s Regulation on Countering Improper Foreign Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ROCIFEJ, State Council Decree No 835).[1] This Regulation was promulgated and entered into force on 7 April 2026. As a nationwide regulation promulgated by State Council, although it cannot be called an ‘Act’ that should be passed by the National People’s Congress, its legal hierarchical force directly follows an ‘Act’, higher than the previous Blocking Rules issued by Ministry of Commerce (MOC).[2]
News
Conference on Wills Substitutes (Lausanne, 8 September 2026)
On 8 September 2026 Andrea Bonomi and the Centre for Comparative, European and International Law of the University of Lausanne are organizing a conference titled „Wills substitutes” in comparative and private international law.
Speakers include: Michael W. Galligan (New York), Edward Reed (London) and Jeffrey Talpis (Montreal), Charlotte Wendland (Munich), Sophie Lambert (Aix-Marseille), François Derème (Mons), Angelo Chianale (Turin), Francesco Schurr (Liechtenstein) and Julien Perrin (Lausanne).
Discussions will be held partly in French and partly in English.
The full programme is available here.
Participants may join onsite in Lausanne or online. The registration form can be found here. University scholars may contact the organizer for discounted rates (at andrea.bonomi@unil.ch).
Online Book Launch – Choice of Law for Consumer Contracts in Theory and Practice
The following announcement has kindly been shared with us by Dr. Benedikt Schmitz.
Save the Date: 4 November 2026
Online Book Launch – Choice of Law or Consumer Contracts in Theory and Practice
We are pleased to announce an upcoming virtual book launch for Dr. Benedikt Schmitz’s new monograph, Choice of Law for Consumer Contracts in Theory and Practice (Edward Elgar Publishing). The event is hosted by the WEAKER PIL research line (weakerparties.eu).
- Date & Time: 4 November 2026, 15:00 – 17:00 CET, online
- Topic: The event will examine cross-border consumer protection and the complex conflict-of-laws frameworks regulating the global surge in online shopping. Panelists will discuss many aspects of Article 6 Rome I Regulation, including the historical dimensions of consumer protection in applicable law, the targeting test and consumer definition, the restriction to party autonomy, its ex officio application, and the US American approach to cross-border consumer contracts.
Second LJUBLJANA PIL Conference – express registration up to 30 June!
On 10 September 2026, the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law, in cooperation with the Institute for Comparative Law, will host the Second Private International Law Conference, a regional forum dedicated to current developments and emerging challenges in private international law. The conference will bring together leading academics, judges, attorneys, arbitrators, and legal practitioners from Slovenia and across Europe to discuss some of the most significant issues arising in cross-border legal practice. With the aim of engaging the international private international law community while also fostering the development and use of Slovenian legal terminology, the conference programme is divided into two parts: a morning session in Slovenian and an afternoon session in English. Abstracts of all presentations will be available in both languages.