Views
The Dubai Supreme Court on Indirect Jurisdiction – A Ray of Clarity after a Long Fog of Uncertainty?
I. Introduction
It is widely acknowledged that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments depend, first and foremost, on whether the foreign court issuing the judgment was competent to hear the dispute (see Béligh Elbalti, “The Jurisdiction of Foreign Courts and the Enforcement of Their Judgments in Tunisia: A Need for Reconsideration”, 8 Journal of Private International Law 2 (2012) 199). This is often referred to as “indirect jurisdiction,” a term generally attributed to the renowned French scholar Bartin. (For more on the life and work of this influential figure, see Samuel Fulli-Lemaire, “Bartin, Etienne”, in J. Basedow et al. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Private International Law – Vol. I (2017) 151.)
Delhi High Court Grants Rare Anti-Enforcement Injunction: Implications for International Disputes
By Ananya Bhargava, Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University, India.
Recently, the Delhi High Court in the case of Honasa Consumer Limited v RSM General Trading LLC granted an anti-enforcement injunction against the execution proceedings instituted in the Dubai Court on the ground that it threatened the arbitral process in India. The Court deemed the proceedings before the Dubai Court as an attempt to frustrate a possible arbitration envisaged by the contract between the parties. The injunction was granted under S.9 of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 as an “interim measure.” This is a significant turning point in the intersection of arbitration and cross-border litigation in India since the remedy of anti-enforcement injunction is rarely granted by judicial authorities across jurisdictions.
How many monetary judgments that Chinese courts decided to enforce are successfully enforced?
It is necessary to distinguish (1) a court’s decision to acknowledge the validity of a foreign judgment (judgment recognition and enforcement), and (1) whether a judgment creditor successfully recovers the awarded amount in practice.
News
AAPrIL’s November seminar: Mary Keyes on Jurisdiction Agreements in International Family Litigation
This week, the Australasian Association of Private International Law (AAPrIL) is co-hosting a free online seminar on ‘Jurisdiction Agreements in International Family Litigation’, to be presented by Professor Mary Keyes of Griffith University.
The seminar will be held online and in-person at UniSQ, Toowoomba, Queensland. The details are:
Online (Zoom): Wednesday 26 November 2025, 12.30 to 1.30pm AEST.*
In-person: Wednesday 26 November 2025, 12.30 to 1.30pm AEST, Wonderley & Hall Moot Court, Room Q420, Toowoomba Campus, University of Southern Queensland.
Please register by the details in the attached flyer:
Flyer_UniSQ and AAPrIL Seminar 2025-4
*Note the times given are in Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10).
[Out Now!] Sooksripaisarnkit and Garimella on Legal Challenges of China’s One Belt One Road Initative: Private International Law Considerations
This note was kindly prepared by Dr. Poomintr Sooksripaisarnkit.
A new book Legal Challenges of China’s One Belt One Road Initative: Private International Law Considerations edited by Dr Poomintr Sooksripaisarnkit and Dr Sai Ramani Garimella has now been released by Routledge.
This book is a sequel to the book China’s One Belt One Road Initiative and Private International Law which was published by Routledge in 2018.
Here is the publisher’s blurb:
“This book covers new legal developments of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) project and assesses how litigation may be organised to enforce and compensate for defaults for its related initiatives.
This book is structured into five themes, consisting of essays which assess the decade of BRI’s existence in the context of international economic engagement and the rule of law, private international law, dispute resolution mechanisms – including mediation and judgment mobility. The chapters in the book strike new ground and cover recent developments such as the establishment of China’s International Commercial Court, engagements in multiple Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) construction and investment projects.
The book will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers and students interested in private international law issues pertaining to the OBOR routes as well as private international law in general, Asian studies and the politics of international trade”.
The table of contents and contributors include:
Poomintr Sooksripaisarnkit and Sai Ramani Garimella: Current Developments of the One Belt One Road Project and the Emerging Private International Law Issues
Dilini Pathirana: Sri Lanka’s Loan Agreements with China under the BRI: A Reflection of Selected Infrastructure Project-Related Loans
Atul Alexander: China and Foreign State Immunity Law: Legal Implications on State-Owned Entities
Mark McLaughlin: Global Standards, Local Realities: An Analysis of Singapore Convention on Mediation in the Context of Chinese State-Owned Enterprises
Zhengxin Huo: China’s International Commercial Court and Their Operation
Beligh Elbalti: Choice of Law in Contracts and Foreign Law before MENA Arab Courts from the Perspective of Belt and Road Initiative
Anna Wysocka-Bar: Circulation of Judgments Between EU Member States and China: A Path Through Complicated Framework Examined on the Example of Poland
Nobumichi Teramura: Recognition and Enforcement of Chinese judgments in Cambodia: Uncertain Foundations of the Rigid Reciprocity Standard in Cambodian Law
Jie (Jeanne) Huang: Recognition and Enforcement of Chinese Judicially Confirmed Mediation Decisions Abroad: The Challenges of Finality
Poomintr Sooksripaisarnkit: Private International Law Dimensions of Blockchain-Based Bills of Lading
Poomintr Sooksripaisarnkit and Sai Ramani Garimella: Conclusion and Reflection
The book can be ordered directly from Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Legal-Challenges-of-Chinas-One-Belt-One-Road-Initiative-Private-International-Law-Considerations/Sooksripaisarnkit-Garimella/p/book/9781032805733
Anyone can use the below discount code to obtain 20% discount (available until 31st March 2026:
The editors are in the process of planning a book launch event (online). Currently, it is scheduled on 26th January 2026 between 8:00 -9:00 p.m (Australian Eastern Daylight Time). Further details will be announced once the full programme of event is available.
Crossroads in Private International Law Webinar with on ‘the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive’ at the University of Aberdeen
The Centre for Private International Law & Transnational Governance of the University of Aberdeen is continuing its Crossroads in Private International Law webinar series with a talk by Birgit van Houtert (Maastricht University) and Francesca Farrington (University of Liverpool) titled ‘The EU Anti-SLAPP Directive – Comparative Perspectives on Implementation’:
The Centre for Private International Law & Transnational Governance invites you to our next Crossroads in PIL webinar. This session brings together experts on Anti-SLAPP legislation from the UK and the Netherlands to discuss the Anti-SLAPP Directive. With 6 months to go before the Directive’s implementation deadline, this webinar will take stock of emerging best practices and challenges in implementing the directive and flesh out some unresolved questions.
Dr Francesca Farrington (University of Liverpool) will introduce the challenges posed by cross-border SLAPPs, before discussing how the Directive’s provisions on jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments respond to these challenges. While these provisions represent a positive development, they also leave a number of issues unresolved and raise concerns about the fragmentation of European private international law.
Dr Birgit van Houtert (Maastricht University) will address the Dutch draft act regarding the transposition of the Anti SLAPP Directive. She will focus in particular on the challenges concerning the implementation of Articles 16 and 17 of the Directive. These core private international law provisions aim to provide protection for SLAPP targets against third country proceedings and judgments.
The webinar will be chaired by Prof Justin Borg-Barthet (University of Aberdeen).
Additional information and the link to register can be found here.