Views
Beyond Domicile: The BHP Litigation and the Functional Interconnection of Public and Private International Law
from Marcel Vitor de Magalhães e Guerra
On 14 November 2025, the English High Court handed down its Stage 1 judgment in Município de Mariana and others v. BHP Group Plc and BHP Group Limited [2025] EWHC 3001 (TCC), finding the defendants liable — under Brazilian law — for the 2015 collapse of the Fundão tailings dam: over 600,000 claimants, an estimated £36 billion, the largest group litigation in English legal history. This post argues that Mariana exposes a functional interconnection between public and private international law at the stage of determining jurisdiction itself: although doctrinally distinct, the court’s application of a private international law rule required engaging questions of corporate organisation, adjudicatory legitimacy, and transnational responsibility that traditionally belong to public international law. Read more
Conflicts of jurisdiction in Senegal: lesson from the Senegalese Supreme Court on Lis Pendens and the Exequatur of foreign judgments
This post was kindly prepared by Véronique Carole Ngono, Professor of Private Law (agrégée), University of Douala, Cameroon.
I. Introduction
The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa has not been the subject of many studies. Although a few such studies do exist, this is in contrast to the field of conflict of laws and personal status law in particular. Consequently, the two rulings issued by the Supreme Court of Senegal on August 12, 2020, in connected disputes went practically unnoticed, even though they offer valuable insights into determining the jurisdiction of Senegalese courts in international disputes and the enforcement of foreign judgments.
The purpose of this note is therefore to shed light on the law and practice of conflict jurisdictions in Senegal.
Adoption in the proposal for a European Parenthood Regulation
This post was written by Aukje Mens, Jurist at INEA, the Dutch expertise centre on intercountry adoption. She wrote in her own name.
Recently, an article I wrote about adoption in the proposal for a European Parenthood Regulation was published in the Dutch Journal of Family and Youth Law (Tijdschrift voor Familie- en Jeugdrecht, 2026/3). This article examines the uncertainties and gaps in the regulation of adoption and argues for an autonomous European Adoption Regulation to adequately govern international adoptions. Below is a summary in English of the article.
News
Call for Papers: Third Conflict of Laws Annual Workshop (CLAW3)
This announcement has kindly been shared with us by Roger Michalski (University of Oklahoma).
We are excited to announce that the Third Conflict of Laws Annual Workshop (CLAW3) will be hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School on Friday, November 13, 2026 with a welcome dinner the night before. The CLAW aims to provide a forum to discuss new work in conflict of laws. The CLAW welcomes work on all aspects of conflict of laws, including civil, criminal, domestic and transnational conflict of laws. We welcome all those writing and working in the field of conflict of laws to attend.
Keio University Law School Book Series Seminar: Hart’s Studies in Private International Law – Asia (25 September 2026, 3–4PM)
Keio University Law School in Tokyo (KLS) will be hosting a seminar entitled “Keio University Law School Book Series Seminar: Hart’s Studies in Private International Law – Asia” at Room 2B12 in South Building, Keio University Mita Campus, on Friday, 25 September 2026, from 3 to 4pm.
As the readers of ConflictofLaws.net are well aware, Studies in Private International Law – Asia is a forum for discussion and analysis of private international law issues in Asian jurisdictions, which is published under Hart’s celebrated series Studies in Private International Law. This seminar aims to provide an overview of the book series to the audience. Legal practitioners, government officials, academics and students who are interested in Asian law, private international law (broadly defined) and/or law and development are welcome to join.
The seminar will be followed by a networking tea, during which interested participants may explore future publication opportunities in the Studies in Private International Law – Asia series and other Hart Publishing outlets with Justice Anselmo Reyes (General Editor of Studies in Private International Law – Asia and International Judge at Singapore International Commercial Court) and Dr Roberta Bassi (Publisher at Hart Publishing).
There is no registration fee for this event, but registration is required for catering purposes. Visit here to register.
Programme
| 3.00pm | Opening remarks by Professor Hiroshi MATSUO (Vice Dean and Director of Global LLM Program at Keio University Law School) |
| 3.10pm | Book series introduction by Justice Anselmo Reyes and
Dr Roberta Bassi |
| 3.30pm | Experience sharing by Dr Nobumichi TERAMURA (Associate Professor at Keio University Law School) |
| 3.40pm | Q&A |
| 4pm | End of the seminar and networking tea |
Private International Law Festival 24-25 September 2026: Registration Open
Breakdown of the Rules-Based International Order
– What Role for Private International Law?
Following the first Private International Law Festival in 2022 (conference report), on 24-25 September 2026, the University of Edinburgh Law School and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, generously supported by the Lindemann Foundation, will cohost the second Private International Law Festival at Edinburgh University’s splendid Playfair Library in Edinburgh. Two days of conflict of laws, plus a Ceilidh!
The program is here, a flyer is here. As to the Ceilidh, no prior expertise is expected, but you can take a look here.
Registration is open until August 28, please register here.