Views
Personal Jurisdiction, Consent, and the Law of Agency
I have long argued – in articles, blog posts, and amicus briefs – that it violates due process to invoke a forum selection clause to obtain personal jurisdiction over a defendant who was not a party to the agreement in which the clause appears. This position has not yet achieved universal acceptance. The state courts in New York, in particular, have repeatedly held that forum selection clauses can be used to assert personal jurisdiction over non-party defendants who are “closely related” to the parties or the transaction. In this blog post, I use a recent case—Bandari v. QED Connect Inc.—decided by Magistrate Judge Gary Stein (SDNY) to highlight some of the problems with the “closely related” test. Read more
Can a Seat Court Injunct a Foreign Non-Party to an Arbitration? Singapore High Court clarifies in Alphard Maritime v Samson Maritime (2025) SGHC 154
This guest post is posted on behalf of Kamakshi Puri, Senior Associate at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Delhi, India, and dual-qualified lawyer (India and England and Wales).
The Singapore High Court recently clarified the scope of the court’s jurisdiction over foreign non-parties to the arbitration. In an application to set aside two interim injunctions, in Alphard Maritime Ltd. v Samson Maritime Ltd. & Ors. (2025) SGHC 154,[1] the court held that the the seat per se did not confer jurisdiction against non-parties to an arbitration, and that jurisdiction would first have to be established through regular service-out procedures before the seat court could grant an injunction against a non-party.
AI in Arbitration: Will the EU AI Act Stand in the Way of Enforcement?
This guest post was written by Ezzatollah Pabakhsh, Master’s Student at the University of Antwerp
The European Union has taken an unprecedented step by regulating artificial intelligence (AI) through the EU AI Act, which is the world’s first comprehensive legal framework for AI governance. According to Recital 61, Article 6(2) and Annex III, 8(a), AI tools used in legal or administrative decision-making processes—including alternative dispute resolution (ADR), when used similarly to courts and producing legal effects—are considered high risk. These tools must comply with the strict requirements outlined in Articles 8 through 27. Read more
News
TDM Call for Papers on “Project Finance in International Arbitration”
The following call was kindly shared with us by the editors of TDM.
We are pleased to announce a forthcoming Transnational Dispute Management (TDM, ISSN 1875-4120, www.transnational-dispute-management.com) special issue on “Project Finance in International Arbitration” This Special Issue will be edited by Seabron Adamson and Tiago Duarte-Silva, both of Charles River Associates.
This call for papers can also be found on the TDM website:
https://www.transnational-dispute-management.com/news.asp?key=2118
Conference at Bilkent University on Private International Law and Sustainable Development
Bilkent University Faculty of Law is pleased to invite you to an upcoming conference titled “Private International Law and Sustainable Development.”
We are honored to host a panel of world-renowned experts to discuss the evolving role of Private International Law in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Date: 13th April 2026, Monday
Time: 13:30 – 15:30
Venue: FFB 2
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Bilgin Tiryakio?lu
Distinguished Speakers:
Prof. Dr. Ralf Michaels (Max Planck Institute) – The Place of Private International Law in Sustainable Development
Prof. Dr. Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm (University of Edinburgh) – Sustainable Consumption and Production (SDG 12): Circularity in Fashion
Prof. Van Loon Hans (Former Secretary General of the HCCH) – The Role of the Judge in Climate Cases (SDG 13)
Assoc. Prof. Dr.Gulum Özçelik (Bilkent University) – Recognition of Personal Status Acquired Abroad (SDGs 5, 10, 16)
The conference will be live-streamed on our official YouTube channel: @bilkentuniversitesihukuk.
The event will be held in English.
All interested participants are welcome.
Students who attend the event will be awarded GE 250/251 points.
Call for Papers: 6th PIL Early Career Researchers’ Conference (9/10 April 2027, Munich)
Hot on the heels of the publication of the proceedings of the 5th PIL Early Career Researchers’ Conference, the organizers of the 6th conference have just published the Call for Papers (German version).
The conference will take place on 9 and 10 April 2027 at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich under the title ‘Crises in PIL – Crises of PIL’, which the organizers introduce as follows:
We are living in an age of polycrisis: war and environmental destruction are forcing thousands upon thousands to flee; growing social inequality and the concentration of economic power are undermining social cohesion; political polarization and the rise of renationalization threaten the project of European integration and international cooperation. At our conference, we aim to explore the implications of these crises for private international law (PIL). What new questions do the political, social, economic, and ecological crises of our time raise for PIL? How does PIL contribute to crisis management, or, conversely, to the exacerbation of crises? And might the discipline of PIL itself be in crisis?
The keynote speech will be given by Heinz-Peter Mansel (University of Cologne).
More information can be found on the conference website.