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The New Zealand Court of Appeal on the cross-border application of New Zealand consumer and fair trading legislation

The New Zealand Court of Appeal has just released a judgment on the cross-border application of New Zealand consumer and fair trading legislation (Body Corporate Number DPS 91535 v 3A Composites GmbH [2023] NZCA 647). The Court held that local consumer legislation – in the form of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) – applies to foreign manufacturers. It also clarified that fair trading legislation – in the form of the Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) – applies to representations made to recipients in New Zealand. The decision is of particular interest to New Zealand consumers and manufacturers of goods that are supplied in New Zealand, as well as traders advertising their products to New Zealanders. More generally, the judgment provides a useful analysis of the interrelationship between statutory interpretation and choice of law, and lends weight to the proposition that product liability is properly governed by the law of the place of supply (or injury).

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China’s New Foreign State Immunity Law: Some Foreign Relations Aspects

Written by Wenliang Zhang (Associate Professor at Renmin University of China Law School), Haoxiang Ruan (PhD Candidate at Renmin University of China Law School), and William S. Dodge (the John D. Ayer Chair in Business Law and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law).

On September 1, 2023, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC Standing Committee) passed the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Foreign State Immunity (FSIL) (English translation here). The FSIL will enter into force on January 1, 2024.

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Australia’s statutist orthodoxy: High Court confirms the extraterritorial scope of the Australian Consumer Law in the Ruby Princess COVID-cruise case

The Ruby Princess will be remembered by many Australians with disdain as the floating petri dish that kicked off the spread of COVID-19 in Australia. The ship departed Sydney on 8 March 2020, then returned early on 19 March 2020 after an outbreak. Many passengers became sick. Some died. According to the BBC, the ship was ultimately linked to at least 900 infections and 28 deaths.

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Virtual Workshop (in English) on December 3: Stéphanie Francq on “Overriding Mandatory Rules in Family Matters and Personal Status, Are Belgians the Only Ones?”

On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, the Hamburg Max Planck Institute will host its monthly virtual workshop Current Research in Private International Law at 2:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. (CET). Professor Stéphanie Francq (UCLouvain) will speak, in English, about the topic

“Overriding Mandatory Rules in Family Matters and Personal Status, Are Belgians the Only Ones?”

Are we really witnessing the occurrence of overriding mandatory rules in family matters and personal status? A new phenomenon seems indeed to surface in this area with examples of substantive rules or values, announced by the lawmaker, together with a clear intention to apply in identified international situations. Belgian law offers a series of examples. But are Belgian the only ones using this method? German law has also offered a better known and rather unfortunate illustration with the Act to prevent child marriage. These rules, their upsides and downsides, deserve close consideration. First and obviously for technical reasons: are we indeed facing overriding mandatory rules, similar to those concerning business transactions? Or is this some new form of public policy exception? Are these rules carefully designed legal objects or rather clumsy attempts to secure the application of the lex fori? Beyond the technicalities, the presentation will tend to investigate potential reasons behind this new phenomenon.

It turns out that these rules might have something to tell us about the current state of conflict of laws, its politics and its theories, and its need to look beyond its own borders.

The presentation will be followed by open discussion. All are welcome. More information and sign-up here.

If you want to be invited to these events in the future, please write to veranstaltungen@mpipriv.de.

Programme | Conference on Private International Law and Sustainable Development in Asia

Private International Law and Sustainable Development in Asia

Date: 23 November 2024
Venue: Wuhan University School of Law, Conference Hall 120

Zoom link: Meeting ID: 846 5342 1671 Passcode: 206716

22 November 2024

06:00 PM: Conference Dinner

23 November 2024

08:30 – 09:00 AM: Registration and Welcome Coffee Read more