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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.
News
Journal of Private International Law 20th Anniversary Conference – Programme and Registration
The 20th Anniversary Conference of the Journal of Private International Law will take place at the Faculty of Laws of University College London between 11 and 13 September 2025.A
The conference organizers, Ugljesa Grusic (UCL) and Alex Mills (UCL), and the editors of the Journal, Paul Beaumont (University of Stirling) and Jonathan Harris (King’s College London), are pleased to announce that the conference programme is now available on the conference website.
The conference will include, in the customary manner, a mixture of parallel panel sessions (on Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning) and plenary sessions (on Friday).
A limited number of non-speaker tickets and conference dinner tickets are available via the conference website, with early bird fees until 1 July 2025.
LEX & FORUM Vol. 3/2024
EDITORIAL
In an increasingly globalized world—and especially within the framework of a unified market founded on economic freedom and the free movement and establishment of individuals and businesses—international sales have emerged as a cornerstone of the legal and economic order. They are not merely instruments for the acquisition of assets across borders; they also function as a key mechanism for fostering business growth and enhancing competitiveness through the expansion of commercial activity and client networks.
Given their fundamental role, international sales are subject to a broad and multi-layered legal framework at the international level. This complex regulatory landscape gives rise to a number of interpretative and practical challenges, particularly with regard to the interaction and prioritization of overlapping legal norms. Read more
Call for Papers: “Tariffs: Emerging challenges in global trade” by the Journal of Law, Market & Innovation (JMLI)
The Journal of Law, Market & Innovation (JLMI) welcomes submissions for its first issue of 2026.
The Call for Papers for this second issue is devoted to Tariffs: Emerging challenges in global trade.
You can find the call with all the details at this link.
Prospective articles should be submitted in the form of an abstract (around 800 words) or draft articles to submissions.jlmi@iuse.it within 10 July 2025. The publication of the issue is set for the end of March, 2026.
For further information, or for consultation on a potential submission, you can contact us by email at editors.jlmi@iuse.it.