Views
Colonialism and German PIL (2) – German and European Structures and Values
This post is part of a series regarding Colonialism and the general structure of (German) Private International Law, based on a presentation I gave in spring 2023. See the introduction
The Convergence of Judicial Rules between Mainland China and Hong Kong has Reached a Higher Level
By Du Tao* and Jingwei Qiu**
With the increasingly close personnel exchanges and deepening economic cooperation between Mainland China and Hong Kong, the number and types of legal disputes between the two regions have also increased. Against the backdrop of adhering to the “One Country, Two Systems” principle and the Basic Law of Hong Kong, the judicial and legal professions of the two regions have worked closely together and finally signed “the Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (hereinafter referred to as “REJ Arrangement”) in January 2019, which will come into effect in January 2024. REJ Arrangement aims to establish an institutional arrangement for the courts of the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to recognize and enforce judgments in civil and commercial cases, achieve the “circulation” of judgments in civil and commercial cases, reduce the burden of repeated litigation, and save judicial resources in the two regions.
Colonialism and German PIL (1) – Colonial Structures in Traditional PIL
This post is the first of a series regarding Colonialism and the general structure of (German) Private International Law, based on a presentation I gave in spring 2023. See the introduction here.
As mentioned in the introduction, this series does not intent to automatically pass judgment on a norm or method influenced by colonialism as inherently negative (I emphasise this because my experience shows that the impression quickly arises). Instead, the aim is to reveal these influences and to initiate a first engagement with and awareness of this topic and to stimulate a discussion and reflection.
The first category, to be discussed today, relates to the (sometimes unconscious) implementation and later continuation of the colonial structure in PIL – now and then.
News
Exploring the Inference of Similarity in Foreign Law
Hot off the press and published in the Cambridge Law Journal, the article “The Inference of Similarity,” written by Marcus Teo, delves into the intricacies of what has traditionally been referred to as the “presumption of similarity” in English legal proceedings. Teo’s work challenges the conventional understanding of this presumption, arguing that it should be seen not as a true presumption but rather as an inference that courts can draw under certain circumstances.
Teo begins by outlining the challenges litigants who wish to rely on foreign law in English courts face. They must first demonstrate that the relevant choice-of-law rule selects the foreign law as applicable and then prove that the foreign law supports their claim or defence. This task is often complicated by the patchy or vague nature of foreign law evidence, leading courts to apply what has been termed a “presumption of similarity”—the idea that foreign law is presumed similar to English law when not sufficiently proven. Read more
New General Editor
ConflictofLaws.net is happy to announce Saloni Khanderia from Jindal Global Law School as our new General Editor. Saloni joined the blog’s Editorial Board in 2019 and has been an active contributor ever since. She takes over from Jeanne Huang (University of Sydney) and will serve as the blog’s General Editor together with Tobias Lutzi (University of Augsburg).
The Editorial Board is indebted to Jeanne for her over two years of service as General Editor. During her tenure, important changes have been implemented regarding the blog’s operation, including the redesign of our frontpage with the new calendar feature. At the same time, our community has continued to grow to more than 2,5k subscribers of our e-mail newsletter and 5k followers on LinkedIn. We’re deeply grateful for the time and energy she has dedicated to the blog and are delighted that she will stay on the Editorial Board.
Reminder: CoL.net Virtual Roundtable on the Rome II Report (11 March, 12pm CET)
On Tuesday, 11 March 2025, 12pm CET, ConflictofLaws.net will be hosting an ad-hoc virtual roundtable on the Commission’s Rome II Report.
Everyone interested is warmly invited to join via this Zoom link.
More information can be found here.