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Judicial Application of the 1980 HCCH Convention in Morocco
The question of the accession (or reluctance to accede) of Muslim countries to the 1980 HCCH Convention has attracted the interest of scholars from Muslim countries and abroad. Scholars who have addressed this issue have come to different (sometimes contradictory) conclusions, especially when it comes to the influence of classical Islamic rules and principles on the attitudes and policies of Muslim states. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon that the available studies on this subject do not take into account the actual judicial practice of Muslim jurisdictions and focus more on the (theoretical) compatibility (or not) of Islamic rules and principles underlying the 1980 HCCH Convention. This post briefly presents some decisions dealing with the issue of cross-border child abduction under the 1980 HCCH Convention in a Muslim state, Morocco, but without going into too much into details or assessment, as this deserves to be done properly in a dedicated article.
Overview of the 2023 Amendments to Chinese Civil Procedure Law
Written by NIE Yuxin, Wuhan University Institute of International Law
1. Background
China’s Civil Procedure Law was enacted in April 1991 by the Fourth Session of the Seventh National People’s Congress. Since then, it had undergone four revisions in 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2021. However, no substantial revisions were made to the provisions concerning foreign-related civil litigation. The latest amendments to the Civil Procedure Law in 2023, referred to as the new CPL, involve 26 amendments, including 14 modified articles and 15 new additions. Notably, 19 changes deal with the special provisions on cross-border procedures.
China Adopts Restrictive Theory of Foreign State Immunity
Written by Bill Dodge, the John D. Ayer Chair in Business Law and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law.
On September 1, 2023, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the Foreign State Immunity Law of the People’s Republic of China (FSIL) (English translation here). When the law enters into force on January 1, 2024, China will join those countries—a clear majority—that have adopted the restrictive theory of foreign state immunity. For the law of state immunity, this move is particularly significant because China had been the most important adherent to the rival, absolute theory of foreign state immunity.
In two prior posts (here and here), I discussed a draft of the FSIL (English translation here). In this post I analyze the final version of the law, noting some of its key provision and identifying changes from the draft, some of which address issues that I had identified. I also explain why analysts who see China’s new law as a form of “Wolf Warrior Diplomacy” are mistaken. Contrary to some suggestions, the FSIL will not allow China to sue the United States over U.S. export controls on computer chips or potential restrictions on Tiktok. Rather, the FSIL is properly viewed as a step towards joining the international community on an important question of international law. Read more
News
University of Edinburgh: Lecturer in Global Law
The University of Edinburgh is looking to fill a new position in Global Law – which is understood to include private international law. More here.
Boskovic on Localisation of Damage in Private International Law
The latest volume (Volume 4) of the Ius Comparatum series, which includes the general reports as well as the national and special reports from the General Congresses and Thematic Congresses of the International Academy of Comparative Law, along with other publications related to the Academy’s activities, has been published. This volume focuses on the Localization of Damage in Private International Law, edited by Prof. Olivera Boskovic (Université Paris Cité).
The book addresses the complex issue of the localization of damage in private international law, a challenge that has long puzzled legal scholars and practitioners. This comparative work brings together contributions from different jurisdictions to address the many issues raised, as outlined in the book’s blurb below:
Localisation in private international law of torts is a notoriously difficult question. How do you localize financial or moral damage? What about latent damage? Should damage in the context of cyber-torts be localized differently? The great variety of tortious actions gives rise to endless difficulties ranging from banal situations involving material damage to climate change. Trying to find suitable solutions requires answering many difficult questions, such as the very definition of damage within the meaning of private international law rules, the influence of various considerations such as foreseeability, protection of the claimant, and the remedy sought. The contributions in this volume address these questions and more from the perspectives of 17 different countries, from Austria to Venezuela.
Box Set Launch on January 23, 2025 in Paris: Le droit étranger. Études de droit international privé comparé
On Thursday, January 23, 2025, at 5 pm, the Société de législation comparée will present the Box Set Le droit étranger – Études de droit international privé comparé. The event will take place in 28 rue Saint-Guillaume – Amphitheater, 1st floor, 75007 Paris. Everybody is welcome to attend.
On the Box Set: Over the past ten years, the Société de législation comparée has conducted a series of collective studies on the theoretical, methodological, and practical issues related to accessing, understanding, and implementing foreign law. These issues are highly relevant today. Foreign law is playing an increasingly significant role in practice—not only for judges, of course, but also for other practitioners such as notaries, civil registrars, and lawyers. In France and elsewhere, when judges, notaries, or civil registrars are required to apply foreign law, understanding and implementing an unfamiliar legal system present numerous challenges. These challenges are even more daunting given that the treatment of foreign law retains a profoundly national dimension, despite the growing unification of conflict-of-law rules in Europe and in Americas.
The studies conducted by the Société de législation comparée aim to go beyond conventional analyses. By exploring the positive law of various countries and regions, they shed light on grey areas, shortcomings, and contradictions — abundant in what constitutes the very essence of Private International Law. Now gathered in a single volume they provide academics and practitioners with a comprehensive overview of the reflections carried out by jurists from diverse backgrounds on the most pressing issues in this often-neglected area of conflict of laws, along with their proposals to ensure the most accurate establishment of foreign law content.
The texts were compiled by Gustavo Cerqueira, professor at Université Côte d’Azur, and Nicolas Nord, Secretary General of the International Commission on Civil Status.