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New Article on International Sanctions and Human Rights

Profesor Dr. Francisco Javier Zamora Cabot and Dr. Maria Chiara Marullo (Chair of Private International Law at the Universitat Jaume I de Castellón) have recently published an article on International Sanctions and Human Rights.

Professor Zamora Cabot has kindly provided us with a short introduction to this topic:

The fight for the international protection of human rights is currently being developed on multiple fronts and through a diverse set of instruments and mechanisms. Thus, at the state level we can highlight, for instance, on the one hand, the use of powerful norms of an imperative nature, such as, in the United States, those that deal with serious problems such as torture or human trafficking, along with the emergence of an increasingly important regulation at a comparative level regarding the control of supply chains or the repression of the so-called modern slavery. Also at the state level, it should be noted, on the other hand, the trend that is becoming generalized in favor of facilitating access to justice for victims of human rights violations, being the ambit of the relations of companies with the latter a clear field of choice for it.

For its part, the international community, although it is not living a particularly brilliant time as regards the protection of the aforementioned rights, persists in the application of the body of laws generated in it, especially through the various institutionalized systems, and in the search for new instruments, such as those already adopted or in the process of being adopted in the area of the relations between companies and human rights, key in our days, with the inescapable reference of the role of the United Nations.

In addition, international sanctions have long been playing a relevant role in relation to the two levels we have been managing. The examples are countless, and so is the discussion that often arises, even when they have been conveyed through the international instances. For example, although they are defined and specified with technical accuracy, they often have a negative impact on those sectors of the population they should actually protect.

Trying to minimize these impacts, and opening up new ways in the international protection of human rights, a number of texts have appeared in recent times, with the pioneering impulse of the United States, along with other countries, which, through well-defined sanctions, combine the fight against the corruption with the fight against the serious violations of the rights above mentioned. This is a very timely approach, insofar as corruption and violations are often intimately related, as, for example, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the United Nations Economic and Social Council emphasized through its General Comment No. 24,E/C.12/GC/24, in the context of business activities, urging States to take action against such corruption, providing them with the appropriate mechanisms and ensuring their independence and sufficient level of resources.

In short, the paradigm of the aforementioned approach would be the Global Magnitski Act of the United States, Public Law 114-328., 130 Stat. 2533, which covers also legal persons and is already resulting in a practice of prominence, and even reflections in other countries at the regulatory level. A norm that deserves an in-depth analysis and follow-up in its application, herald as it is of a new horizon in the struggle for human rights to which we alluded initially, without losing sight of the rigor and caution with which we must act. And this is due to the intrinsic character of international sanctions as instruments of restricted and exceptional application, complementary, but never substitutable in this order, of those already existing and of which there is evidence in these brief reflections.

The article (in Spanish) is available here.

St. Petersburg International Legal Forum Private Law Prize 2020

Entries for the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum Private Law Prize 2020 will close on 15 October 2019. The first prize of 10 million rubles will be awarded to the author of the best academic work (monograph or article) published in the field of private law, private international law or comparative law since 1 January 2015. Textbooks and commentaries are not eligible for the prize. The prize expert committee consists of world renowned academics.

The prize will be awarded at the X St. Petersburg International Legal Forum in May 2020.

Further details on the conditions, eligibility and the prize expert committee may be accessed here.

Updated European Small Claims Guides

The new Practice Guide and User Guide for the European Small Claims Procedure, prepared by Xandra Kramer (ESL, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Utrecht University) in collaboration with the European Commission and the European Judicial Network, have been published. These updates were necessitated by the amendments to the European Small Claims Regulation, resulting from Regulation No 2015/2421 as applicable since 14 July 2017. The European Small Claims Regulation provides a uniform, low threshold procedure for consumers to claim their rights in cross-border cases in the EU.

‘The most significant amendment is the raising of the monetary limit of the procedure from €2,000 to €5,000 (Article 2). Most other amendments aim at strengthening the use of distance communication technology, including to conduct oral hearings (Article 8), and the taking of evidence (Article 9) and enabling the e-service of documents (Article 13) and distant payment of court fees (Article 15a). Other amendments are that the primacy of the written procedure is underlined (Article 5), the practical assistance of parties is strengthened (Article 11) and the rule on minimum standard for review is clarified (Article 18). New provisions are inserted regarding the requirement that court fees should be proportionate (Article 15a), the language of the enforcement certificate (Article 21a) and the enforcement of court settlements (Article 23a). In addition, Regulation No 2015/2421 amended one provision of the Order for Payment Procedure (15). Article 17 of that Regulation now envisages a transfer to the European Small Claims Procedure in cases where a statement of opposition is lodged against the payment order, where the European Small Claims Procedure is applicable.’ (p. 12 Practice Guide).

One of the novelties in the User Guide and the Practice Guide is the link to available ADR mechanisms and the reference to the ODR platform, which informs consumers and practitioners about the existing alternatives and secure a more integrated approach to consumer dispute resolution. The publication of the new guides are part of a European consumer campaign launched in July. The Guides as well as other tools on and information about the Small Claims Procedure – including an infographic for consumers, a leaflet for legal professionals, a leaflet for businesses and a web toolkit – are available in the Small Claims Section of the e-Justice Portal.