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German Federal Court of Justice: Article 26 Brussels Ia Regulation Applies to Non-EU Defendants
By Moses Wiepen, Legal Trainee at the Higher Regional Court of Hamm, Germany
In its decision of 21 July 2023 (V ZR 112/22), the German Federal Court of Justice confirmed that Art. 26 Brussels Ia Regulation applies regardless of the defendant’s domicile. The case in question involved an art collector filing suit against a Canadian trust that manages the estate of a Jew who was persecuted by the German Nazi regime. The defendant published a wanted notice in an online Lost Art database for a painting that the plaintiff bought in 1999. The plaintiff considers this as a violation of his property right.
This week begins the Special Commission on the 1980 Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Child Protection Convention
Written by Mayela Celis
The eighth meeting of the Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the 1980 Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Child Protection Convention will be held from 10 to 17 October 2023 in The Hague, the Netherlands. For more information, click here.
One of the key documents prepared for the meeting is the Global Report – Statistical study of applications made in 2021 under the 1980 Child Abduction Convention, where crucial information has been gathered about the application of this Convention during the year 2021. However, these figures were perhaps affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as indicated in the Addendum of the document (see paragraphs 157-167, pp. 33-34). Because it refers to a time period in the midst of lockdowns and travel restrictions, it is not unrealistic to say that the figures of the year 2021 should be taken with a grain of salt. For example, the overall return rate was the lowest ever recorded at 39% (it was 45% in 2015). The percentage of the combined sole and multiple reasons for judicial refusals in 2021 was 46% as regards the grave risk exception (it was 25% in 2015). The overall average time taken to reach a final outcome from the receipt of the application by the Central Authority in 2021 was 207 days (it was 164 days in 2015). While statistics are always useful to understand a social phenomenon, one may only wonder why a statistical study was conducted with regard to applications during such an unusual year – apart from the fact that a Special Commission meeting is taking place and needs recent statistics -, as it will unlikely reflect realistic trends (but it can certainly satisfy a curious mind).
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.
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CoL.net Virtual Roundtable on the Commission’s Rome II Report
ConflictofLaws.net will be hosting an ad-hoc virtual roundtable on the Commission’s Rome II Report
on 11 March 2025, 12pm–1.30pm (CET).
The conversation will focus on the long-awaited report published by the Commission on 31 January 2025 and its implications for a possible future reform of the Regulation.
The event will feature the following panellists:
Rui Dias
University of Coimbra
Thomas Kadner Graziano
University of Geneva
Xandra Kramer
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Eva Lein
University of Lausanne &
British Institute of International and Comparative Law
Tobias Lutzi
University of Augsburg
Everyone interested is warmly invited to join via this Zoom link.
Registration open: Australasian Association of Private International Law inaugural conference, Brisbane, Australia, 16-17 April 2025
Registration is now open for the inaugural conference of the Australasian Association of Private International Law, to be held at the Ship Inn conference centre at Southbank, Brisbane from 16-17 April 2025.
The program features panels on
• Private International Law and Technology;
• Anti-suit and Anti-enforcement Injunctions;
• Private International Law and Climate Change; and
• Prenuptial Agreements.
Attendance at conference sessions can be used for CPD; check local requirements.
Conference fees
Reduced fees apply to members of AAPrIL. You can join the Association at https://aapril.org/membership/
Member (2 days) $110
Member (1 day) $60
Non-member (2 days) $150
Non-member (1 day) $80
Student: Free to attend the conference only.
Conference dinner: $110 for a three course meal and a selection of drinks
Aboute AAPrIL
The Australasian Association of Private International Law (AAPrIL) is a group of people committed to furthering the understanding of private international law in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region.
AAPrIL was founded in 2024 by private international lawyers from Australia and New Zealand who have known one another for years through engaging with the discipline of private international law, including through conferences of the Journal of Private International Law, meetings of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, and numerous other academic activities. The inuagural AAPrIL President is Professor Mary Keyes. The Hon Andrew Bell, Chief Justice of New South Wales.
Bi-Annual Conference of the Wissenschaftliche Vereinigung für internationales Verfahrensrecht (27–29 March, Münster)
The German Wissenschaftliche Vereinigung für internationales Verfahrensrecht, an association of German-speaking academics working on questions of international civil procedure law, will be holding its bi-annual conference at the University of Münster on 27–29 March 2025. The event is only open to members of the association.
The full programme can be found here; registration is possible here.