Views
The Fourth Private International Law Conference for Young Scholars in Vienna
Written by Alessa Karlinski and Maren Vogel (both Free University Berlin).
On February 23rd and 24th, 2023, young scholars came together at the Sigmund Freud University, Vienna, to discuss different views on private international law under the theme of “Deference to the foreign – empty phrase or guiding principle of private international law?”. Continuing the success of the previous three German-Speaking Conferences of Young Scholars in PIL from previous years in Bonn, Würzburg and Hamburg, this year’s conference was hosted in Austria by Martina Melcher and Florian Heindler who organized the event together with Andreas Engel, Katharina Kaesling, Ben Köhler, Bettina Rentsch, Susanna Roßbach and Johannes Ungerer. Read more
The Dutch Supreme Court on how to deal with the CISG on appeal (Willemen Infra v Jura)
On 24 February 2023, the Dutch Supreme court has ruled in the case Willemen Infra v Jura, ECLI:NL:HR:2023:313. The ruling clarifies the scope of the Dutch courts’ duty to apply the CISG (UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, 1980) ex officio on appeal. The Dutch appellate courts shall not review of their own motion whether the first instance court had to apply the CISG to the dispute, if the question of governing law was not the subject of parties’ objections on appeal and thus got “beyond the parties’ dispute”.
Facts
The facts of this case related to a sale of gutters by a Dutch seller to a Belgian buyer. The gutters were to be used for the renovation of a runway at Zaventem airport. According to the seller’s general terms and conditions, the disputes were to be resolved before a Dutch court on the basis of Dutch law.
After the start of performance, the buyer had reasons to assume that that the seller was unable to timely supply the products of the required quality. The buyer refused to take all the purchased gutters.
Proceedings
The seller disagreed and claimed damages for the loss of profit caused by the breach of contract. In the proceedings, the buyer submitted a counterclaim, invoking partial avoidance of contract and, alternatively, nullity of contract due to vitiation of consent. The buyer submitted namely that it had concluded the contract based on misrepresentation relating to the products’ quality (the certificates which the products should have) and the delivery time.
The seller relied on both the CISG and Dutch law in its written submissions, including the statement that the choice for Dutch law in the general terms and conditions should be interpreted as excluding the application of the CISG. During the oral hearing, both parties referred to Dutch law only (see on this the Conclusion of the Advocate General, at [3.4]). The first instance court ruled as follows in relation to applicable law: ‘According to the [seller], the contract is governed by Dutch law. (…) ‘The court contends that [the buyer] also relies on Dutch law in its arguments, and thus follows [the seller’s] reasoning. The court follows the parties in this and shall apply Dutch law.” (the formulation is quoted in Willemen Infra v Jura at [4.3.1], compare to Advisory Council’s Opinion nr 16). The court has then applied the Dutch civil code, not the CISG, to the dispute.
The seller appealed against the decision, but not against the applicable law. Nevertheless, the appellate court considered of its own motion, whether the contract was governed by the CISG. It ruled that the contract fell under the CISG’s scope; the Convention was directly applicable on the basis of article 1(1)(a) CISG, as both Belgium and the Netherlands are Contracting States to CISG. Furthermore, the parties to the dispute have not explicitly excluded the CISG’s application based on article 6. The appellate court has applied the CISG to the contractual claim, and Dutch law – to the claim relating to the vitiation of consent, as this matter falls outside the Convention’s scope. The buyer has labelled the application of the CISG ‘surprising’, because no claim in appeal targeted applicable law.
In cassation, the Dutch Supreme has ruled that applicable law was indeed “beyond the parties’ dispute” on appeal. Therefore, the appellate court was neither free to determine applicable law anew nor free to apply CISG of its own motion (Willemen Infra v Jura at [2.1.2]- [3.1.6]).
CISG and procedural ordre public?
The ruling is logical from the point of view of civil procedure. Appellate review follows up on – and is limited by – the points invoked on appeal. Issues “beyond the parties’ dispute” are not reviewed, unless these issues fall under the rules of procedural ordre public, which the appellate courts must apply of their own motion. While there is no unanimously accepted definition of the Dutch procedural ordre public, the cassation claim explicitly suggested that ‘the CISG is not of ordre public’ (see Conclusion of the Advocate General, at [3.3.]). Whereas this element of the cassation claim has been satisfied, neither the Advocate General nor the Court have engaged with the discussion whether procedural ordre public covers direct application (or applicability) of the Convention’s uniform substantive sales law, even if it would be confined to establishing whether the parties have opted-out the CISG based on its article 6.
A New Court Open for International Business Soon: The Commercial Court in Cyprus
Written by Georgia Antonopoulou (Birmingham Law School) & Xandra Kramer (Erasmus University/Utrecht University; research funded by an NWO Vici grant, www.euciviljustice.eu).
We are grateful to Nicolas Kyriakides (University of Nicosia) for providing us with very useful information.
The Novel Commercial Court and Admiralty Court in Cyprus
New courts geared to dealing with international commercial disputes have been established in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, as has also been reported in earlier blogposts in particular on Europe (see, among others, here and here). They have various distinctive features such as the focus on cross-border commercial disputes and the use of the English language as the language of court proceedings. It seems that Cyprus will soon be joining other European countries that have established such courts in recent years, including France, the Netherlands, and Germany.
In May 2022, the House of Representatives in Cyprus passed Law 69(I)/2022 on the Establishment and Operation of the Commercial Court and Admiralty Court. The law creates two new specialised courts, namely the Commercial Court and Admiralty Court, focusing on commercial and maritime law disputes respectively. The courts were planned to open their doors on 1 January 2023. However, the Supreme Court of Cyprus, which is responsible for administrative matters, requested an extension and the courts are expected to be operational in July 2023 (see here).
According to the preamble to this Law, the establishment of these specialised courts aims at expediting the resolution of disputes and improving the efficiency of the administration of justice. In addition, the Courts’ establishment is expected to enhance the competitiveness of Cyprus, attract foreign investment, and contribute to its overall economic development. Similar arguments have been put forward in other European countries, notably in the Netherlands (Kramer & Antonopoulou 2022).
The Cypriot Commercial Court shall have jurisdiction to determine at first instance any type of commercial dispute, provided that the amount in dispute or the value of the dispute exceeds 2,000,000 Euros. The law defines commercial disputes broadly and offers an indicative list of such disputes for which the court has jurisdiction. The Commercial Court shall also have jurisdiction over competition law disputes, intellectual property law disputes, and arbitration related matters irrespective of the value of the dispute. The Commercial Court shall have territorial jurisdiction over disputes that have arisen, in part or wholly in Cyprus, as well as over defendants residing in Cyprus. In cross-border disputes parties can agree on the court’s jurisdiction in a choice of court agreement. Typically, the Brussels I-bis Regulation would apply to determine the validity of such clause. At the request of at least one party and in the interest of justice, the court shall accept procedural documents in English and shall conduct hearings and publish judgements in English. The Commercial Court will consist of five judges drawn from the Cypriot judiciary based on their expertise in commercial law disputes and practices and their English language skills.
A Genuine International Commercial Court for Cyprus?
While the definition of an international commercial court is open to interpretation and there are different types of international commercial courts (Bookman 2020; Dimitropoulos 2022), the Commercial Court’s specialised focus on high-value commercial disputes as well as the option to litigate in English suggest that Cyprus has just added itself to the growing number of countries that have established an international commercial court in recent years (see also Kramer & Sorabji 2019). This possibility of English-language court proceedings is a key feature of these new courts. However, the degree to which this is possible differs per country. The Netherlands Commercial Court (NCC) uses English throughout the proceedings apart from cassation at the Supreme Court. Due to the lack of a relevant constitutional provision, the use of the English language in NCC court proceedings was made possible by including a new provision in the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure. By contrast, the German Chambers for International Commercial Disputes and the Paris International Chambers limit the use of English in court to documentary evidence or oral submissions and on the basis of a lenient interpretation of existing rules. Cyprus is the first country in Europe that amended its constitution with a view to permitting the use of the English language in court proceedings. The new Article 4(3)(b) provides that the Commercial Court and the Admiralty Court as well as the higher courts ruling on appeals may allow the use of English in court including oral and written submissions, documentary evidence, witness statements and the pronouncement of judgements or orders. In addition, unlike other international commercial courts established as chambers or divisions within existing courts the Commercial Court in Cyprus is structured as a self-standing court. Its jurisdiction is not exclusively limited to cross-border disputes but extends to domestic disputes with territorial links to Cyprus. The court’s focus on both cross-border and domestic disputes might be explained by the objective to accelerate trials and increase the efficiency of public court proceedings especially with regard to disputes related to the financial crisis and its aftermath.
The Reasons for Creating the Cypriot Commercial Court
The establishment of international commercial courts in Europe and in Asia has been thus far mainly driven by access to justice and economic considerations. International commercial courts aim at improving commercial dispute resolution by offering litigating parties specialised, faster, and therefore better court proceedings. It has been also underpinned by the aim of improving the business climate, attracting foreign investment, and creating litigation business.
In line with these considerations, Law 68(I)/2022 reiterates the benefits of a specialised commercial court both for the Cypriot civil justice system and the economy. Despite these similarities between the reasons driving the worldwide proliferation of international commercial courts and the establishment of a commercial court in Cyprus, the Cypriot context is slightly different. The financial crisis suggests that the Cypriot international commercial court is also part of a broader array of measures aimed at meeting the particular dispute resolution demands following the crisis (see also Mouttotos 2020). The establishment of the Commercial Court in Cyprus therefore indicates that international commercial courts might no longer be seen as a luxury available to the few countries willing and able to participate in a global competition of courts, but also as an essential measure for countries aiming to recover from a financial crisis. Yet, whether specialised courts bring about direct economic benefits or if they only indirectly benefit national economies by signalling to foreign investors a well-functioning justice system remains open to debate (among others Farber 2002; Coyle 2012).
News
Virtual Workshop (In English) on July 2: Maggie Gardner on Beyond the Presumption Against Extraterritoriality
On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, the Hamburg Max Planck Institute will host its 46th monthly virtual workshop Current Research in Private International Law at 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm (CEST). Maggie Gardner (Cornell Law School) will speak, in English, about the topic
Beyond the Presumption Against Extraterritoriality
For the last decade, the debate over prescriptive jurisdiction in the United States has been monopolized by the Supreme Court’s rejuvenated presumption against extraterritoriality. Under this framework, U.S. courts interpreting federal statutes must ask (1) whether the statute expresses clear congressional intent to reach extraterritorial conduct, and if not, (2) whether the statute is nonetheless being applied domestically because its “focus” occurred in the United States. But even the Court’s presumption-with-teeth cannot answer all questions of prescriptive jurisdiction in a world of concurrent jurisdiction and economic interdependency. Are there limits on the applicability of U.S. statutes that do rebut the presumption at step one? At step two, does some need for balancing of sovereign interests remain–and is that balancing subsumed within the step two inquiry, or is it a distinct doctrine of international comity? This survey of lower federal court decisions shows that U.S. courts are continuing to engage in contextual balancing despite the rule-like framework of the modern presumption against extraterritoriality, but also that the “focus” test may be encouraging judges to identify a more limited and relevant set of factors to consider. What emerges is a multi-factor analysis that is statute-specific but still responsive to the circumstances of individual cases, in which the presumption serves only as an initial sorting rule. This project distills and defends this updated approach as more feasible for judges to apply, more faithful to congressional intent, and sufficiently capable of addressing international comity concerns without the need for an additional, free-standing comity doctrine.
The presentation will be followed by an open discussion. All are welcome. More information and sign-up here.
If you want to be invited to these events in the future, please write to veranstaltungen@mpipriv.de.
4 Positions for Doctoral Students Interested in “Cultural and Religious Diversity under State Law” at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle, Germany
The Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle, Germany, is hiring four docotoral students in the context of its project on “Cultural and Religious Diversity under State Law across Europe” (CUREDI). Two of the positions will be part of the research group on “Transformations in Private Law: Culture, Climate, and Technology” lead by Mareike Schmidt.
Specifically, the institute is looking for researchers interested in the following four topics:
- Asylum Law;
- Private Law;
- Law and Religion; and
- Procedural Justice.
The deadline for applications is 1 August 2024; more information is available here.
Job Vacancies in Vienna for Researchers in Private International Law and in International Banking Law
Professor Matthias Lehmann, Chair of Private International and Comparative Law at the University of Vienna, seeks two highly skilled and ambitious research fellows from 1 October 2024 (“prae-docs”). Post-docs can also apply; in this case, the procedure would be restarted and the two positions would be merged into one.
The first position is available in the area of private international law and international dispute resolution (further details here). The second position is available in the area of international banking and financial law (further details here). The candidate should have some knowledge in the respective area. A post-doc should have knowledge in either area.
Applicants hold a master’s degree in law from any jurisdiction and possess an excellent command of English; a basic knowledge of German is welcome, but not necessary. Knowledge of other languages and advanced IT skills are desirable qualities that may be taken into consideration.
Successful candidates will be given the opportunity to complete a PhD or conduct post-doctoral research in accordance with the Faculty’s regulations. Other responsibilities include supporting Professor Lehmann in his work at the Chair and independent teaching, including coaching moot courts.
The positions involve 30 hours per week, of which 10 hours are set aside for the individual PhD project, and are remunerated according to the salary scale of the University of Vienna (c. 2.680 € gross per month, rising to 3.180 € after 3 years – paid out 14 times (!) per year). Contracts are for an initial term of one year during which there is a termination option for both sides, afterwards it is to be extended to a full four years.
Applications (including a cover letter in German or English, a CV, and relevant diploma) should be submitted via the University of Vienna’s Job Centre portal (https://jobs.univie.ac.at/) no later than 28 June 2024. Please include reference number 2449 for the specialisation in private international law and/or reference number 2499 for the specialisation in international business law. Questions about the positions and the application process can be addressed to Mrs Diana Dejakum at service.rechtsvergleichung@univie.ac.at.