Views
According to the French Cour de Cassation, the law applicable to the sub-purchaser’s direct action against the original seller depends on who brings the claim!
Written by Héloise Meur, Université Paris 8
In two rulings dated 28 May 2025, the French Cour de cassation (Supreme Court) ruled on the issue of the law applicable to a sub-purchaser’s direct action in a chain of contracts transferring ownership, under European private international law. The issue is sensitive. The contractual classification under French law —an outlier in comparative law— had not been upheld by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to determine international jurisdiction under the Brussels system (CJEU, 17 June 1992, C-26/91, Jakob Handte). Despite CJEU’s position, the Cour de cassation had consistently refused to adopt a tort-based qualification to determine the applicable law (esp. Civ. 1st, 18 dec. 1990, n° 89-12.177 ; 10 oct. 1995, n° 93-17.359 ; 6 feb. 1996, n° 94-11.143 ; Civ. 3rd, 16 janv. 2019, n° 11-13.509. See also, Civ. 1st, 16 jan. 2019, n° 17-21.477), until these two rulings rendered under the Rome II Regulation.
“Towards an EU Law on International Commercial Arbitration?” A Sorbonne Law School Research Project
Written by Dr. Nima Nasrollahi-Shahri (Sorbonne Law School) and Vincent Bassani-Winckler (PhD Candidate, Sorbonne Law School), both authors participated in the Working Group.
A few days ago, the Sorbonne Law School released the final report of a collective research project chaired by Professors Mathias Audit and Sylvain Bollée, entitled “Towards an EU Law on International Commercial Arbitration?”.
Conducted within the IRJS (Institut de Recherche Juridique de la Sorbonne), and more specifically its research group on private international law, SERPI (Sorbonne – Étude des Relations Privées Internationales), this project sets out to examine whether and how to improve the relationship between commercial arbitration and EU law.
Civil Personal Status Law in the UAE and the Paradox of the Application of Foreign Law: A Legal Trap?
I. Introduction (*)
(*) For the sake of simplicity, reference will be made only to Federal Decree-Law No. 41/2022 of 2 October 2022 on Civil Personal Status. The Emirate of Abu Dhabi has enacted a separate law that addresses similar matters at the local level. For a comparison of the various applicable legal frameworks in family law in the UAE, see Béligh Elbalti, “The Personal Status Regimes in the UAE — What’s New and What Are the Implications for Private International Law? A Brief Critical Appraisal”.
There is no doubt that the introduction of the Civil Personal Status Law (CPSL) in the United Arab Emirates marks a significant turning point in the region’s legal landscape, particularly in areas traditionally governed by religious norms. The CPSL refers to the special law adopted at the federal level, which allows family law disputes involving non-Muslims (both foreigners and UAE citizens) to be resolved under a legal framework, that is intended to be modern, flexible, based on “rules of justice and fairness” and “the best international practices from comparative legal systems” (cf. article 19 of the Cabinet Resolution Concerning the Executive Regulation of Federal Decree-Law on the Civil Personal Status). However, the incorporation of the CPSL into the existing legal frameworks in the UAE has raised several issues. These include, among others, the articulation of the CPSL with the other applicable legal frameworks, and more importantly, the extent to which parties may opt out of this “modern” regime in favor of applying their own national laws (for a general overview, see Elbalti, op. cit.). Read more
News
Call for papers – fourth edition of their Decolonial Comparative Law Workshop series
This post is posted on behalf of Kwamou FEUKEU Eva, Head of the Africa Centre of Expertise and Coordinator of Decolonial Comparative Law, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht
The Africa Centre of Expertise and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law have announced a call for papers for the fourth edition of their Decolonial Comparative Law Workshop series, to be held on 5–6 May 2027 in Douala in collaboration with the Fondation Afric’Avenir. This edition focuses on the theme “Decolonial Comparative Law and the Informal/Formal Economy,” asking scholars to rethink the distinction between formal and informal economies from a decolonial and comparative perspective. The workshop places particular emphasis on recognising the informal economy as a site of legality in its own right, foregrounding legal pluralism and context-specific practices. Contributions are encouraged on a wide range of topics, including microlending, alternative forms of value creation, labour rights in informal work, and indigenous and customary economies. Selected papers will be discussed in an interdisciplinary setting, with engagement from peers, scholars from fields such as anthropology, history, and economics, and practitioners and artists.
The deadline for paper submissions is 1 September 2026. Further details, including the full call for papers (available in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Arabic), can be accessed here: https://www.mpipriv.de/2020710/decola-informal-formal-economy. An online information session for prospective applicants will be held on 18 March 2026 at 10:00 and 16:00 GMT, with registration available here: https://events.mpipriv.de/b?p=decola_and_the_informal_forma_leconomy_information_session. Following the workshop, an “Epupa School” (meaning “rainy season” in the Douala language) will take place from 10 to 12 May 2027 at the Fondation Afric’Avenir, offering scholars, students, and activists an opportunity to further engage with decolonial comparative approaches to the formal and informal economy.
Save the Date: 24/25 September 2026, International Filiation Law in the EU
On 24 and 25 September 2026, the international conference ‘International Filiation Law in the EU’ will take place at the University of Bonn (Germany). The conference will analyse the EU Parenthood Proposal and the several academic and political reactions to this Proposal, and embed it in a human rights and EU law frame.
Confirmed speakers are Cristina González Beilfuss (Barcelona, Spain), Susanne Lilian Gössl (Bonn, Germany), Ulrike Kjestina Janzen (German Federal Ministry for Justice and Consumer Protection), Martina Melcher (Graz, Austria), Nicolas Nord (CIEC/ICCS), Ilaria Pretelli, (Lausanne, Switzerland), Velina Todorova (Plovdiv, Bulgaria), Alina Tryfonidou (Cyprus), and Patrick Wautelet (Liége, Belgium).
Everybody who is interested in cross-border questions of filiation, child protection and EU law is invited to come and contribute to the ongoing discussion!
More information and the programme will follow soon. If you have questions, please write to sekretariat.goessl@jura.uni-bonn.de.
Virtual Presentation (in English) on March 24, 2026: Prof. TU Guangjian on Legislative Jurisdiction, Adjudicatory Jurisdiction and Enforcement Jurisdiction: How Can They Be Reconciled in Private International Law and Beyond?
The next Asian Private International Law Academy (APILA) meeting will be on Tuesday 24 March (not 17 March) when Professor Tu Guangjian will introduce his work in progress on “Legislative Jurisdiction, Adjudicatory Jurisdiction and Enforcement Jurisdiction: How Can They Be Reconciled in Private International Law and Beyond?”. Professor Tu looks forward to the insights and comments of attendees on how he might develop his ideas on the topic. Read more