Views
French Cour de cassation rules (again) on duty of domestic courts to apply European rules of conflict on their own motion
In the Airmeex case (Civ. 1re 27 septembre 2023, n°22-15.146, available here), the French Cour de cassation (première chambre civile) had the opportunity to rule on the duty of domestic courts to apply European rules of conflict on their own motion. The decision is a great opportunity to discuss the French approach to the authority of conflict-of-laws rules.Postmodernism in Singapore private international law: foreign judgments in the common law
Guest post by Professor Yeo Tiong Min, SC (honoris causa), Yong Pung How Chair Professor of Law, Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp (formerly known as Merck & Co, Inc) v Merck KGaA (formerly known as E Merck) [2021] 1 SLR 1102, [2021] SGCA 14 (“Merck”), noted previously, is a landmark case in Singapore private international law, being a decision of a full bench of the Court of Appeal setting out for the first time in Singapore law the limits of transnational issue estoppel. It was also the beginning of the deconstruction of the common law on the legal effect to be given to foreign judgments. Without ruling on the issue, the court was not convinced by the obligation theory as the rationale for the recognition of foreign in personam judgments under the common law, preferring instead to rest the law on the rationales of transnational comity and reciprocal respect among courts of independent jurisdictions. There was no occasion to depart from the traditional rules of recognition of in personam judgments in that case, and the court did not do so. However, the shift in the rationale suggested that changes could be forthcoming. While this sort of underlying movements have generally led to more expansive recognition of foreign judgments (eg, in Canada’s recognition of foreign judgments from courts with real and substantial connection to the underlying dispute), the indications in the case appeared to signal a restrictive direction, with the contemplation of a possible reciprocity requirement as a necessary condition for recognition of a foreign judgment, and a possible defence where the foreign court had made an error of Singapore domestic law.
Amendment of Chinese Civil Procedure Law Concerning Foreign Affairs
by Du Tao*/Xie Keshi
On September 1, 2023, the fifth session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress deliberated and adopted the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Amending the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, which will come into force on January 1, 2024. This amendment to the Civil Litigation Law implements the Party Central Committee’s decision and deployment on coordinating domestic rule of law and foreign-related rule of law, strengthening foreign-related rule of law construction, and among the 26 amendments involved, the fourth part of the Special Provisions on Foreign-related civil Procedure is exclusive to 19, which is the first substantive amendment to the foreign-related civil procedure since 1991.
News
AMEDIP’s upcoming webinar: Private International Law in the Inter-American system: A glance in the light of the 50 anniversary of the CIDIP (27 February 2025 – in Spanish)
The Mexican Academy of Private International and Comparative Law (AMEDIP) is holding a webinar on Thursday 27 February 2025 at 14:30 (Mexico City time – CST), 21:30 (CET time). The topic of the webinar is ‘Private International Law in the Inter-American system: A glance in the light of the 50 anniversary of the CIDIP’ and will be presented by OAS Director Dante Negro (in Spanish).
CIDIP is the Spanish acronym for the Inter-American Specialized Conferences on Private International Law. For a history of the CIDIP, click here. Read more
Book Launch: Philosophical Foundations of Private International Law – Oxford, March 19, 4pm-6pm
In 2024, Oxford University Press published Philosophical Foundations of Private International Law, edited by Roxana Banu, Michael S Green, and Ralf Michaels. The book represents the first inter-disciplinary engagement with questions of private international law from a philosophical perspective, covers a wide range of philosophical questions in private international law and brings philosophers in conversation with private international law scholars to demystify the analytical tools of each discipline in relationship to the other. More information on the book, including a table of contents, is here.
Now, Oxford University is organizing a hybrid book launch on March 19, 4pm-6pm. An introduction from the Editors will be followed by a discussion on key themes by Gabriel Encinas, Verónica Ruiz Abu-Nigm, Robert Stevens, Antonios Tzanakopoulos, and Emmanuel Voyiakis. More information on the event and on how to sign up for physical or virtual participation is here.
Workshop on Cross-border Protection of Cultural Property-Agenda
Workshop on Cross-border Protection of Cultural Property Agenda
2025.2.28, UTC 8:00 – 12:15 (London Time)
| 8:00 – 8:05 | Opening Remarks | ||
| Zheng Tang | professor of Law, editor in chief, Chinese Journal of Transnational Law; Associate Dean, Wuhan University Academy of International Law and Global Governance | ||
| 8:05 – 8:45 | Keynote Address | ||
| Christa Roodt | Senior Lecturer of History of Art, University of Glasgow | ||
| Zhengxin Huo | Professor of Law, China University of Political Science and Law | ||
| Panel 1: Legal Mechanisms of Cross-Border Cultural Property Protection | |||
| 8:45 – 9:00 | Elena Moustaira | The contribution of Postcolonial Theory to the cross-border protection of Indigenous cultural heritage | |
| 9:00 – 9:15 | Yehya Badr | Restitution of stolen foreign cultural property and hurdles in choice of law | |
| 9:15 – 9:30 | Maggie Fleming Cacot | Forfeiture and freezing orders in transborder cultural property litigation | |
| 9:30 – 9:50 | Commentary and Discussion | ||
| Panel 2: Regional Practices and Challenges in Cultural Property Restitution | |||
| 9:50 – 10:05 | Andrzej’s Jakubowski | Moving People, Shifting State Borders and the Return of Cultural Property: The Case of Poland | |
| 10:05 – 10:20 | Miroslaw Michal Sadowski | From freedom to restitution (with special focus on Central and Eastern Europe and the Lusophone community) | |
| 10:20 – 10:35 | Ekin Omeroglu | The Issue of Applicable Law in Disputes Arising from Violations of Private Law Regulations on Cultural Properties: The Case of Turkiye | |
| 10:35 – 10:50 | Ruida Chen | Restitution of cultural property in China: In search of a new paradigm for cross-border cultural property claims | |
| 10:50 – 11:10 | Commentary and Discussion | ||
| Panel 3: Looking to the Past and the Future | |||
| 11:10 – 11:25 | Dabbie De Girolamo | The Relevance of ADR for transnational cultural property disputes: A Survey and Analysis of China’s experience | |
| 11:25 – 11:40 | Andreas Giorgallis | Restitution of cultural objects unethically acquired during the colonial era: The intersection of Public and Private International Law | |
| 11:40 – 11:55 | Evelien Campfens | Evolving Legal Models of Restitution | |
| 11:55 – 12:15 | Commentary and Discussion | ||
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/87424891864?pwd=8rHX72dmzi7FCDWWnm7F2n1OLIOFaC.1
Meeting ID: 874 2489 1864 Password: 574150