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Montana Supreme Court Decides International Child Custody Case
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, which has been enacted by every U.S. state, discourages forum shopping in child custody disputes by assigning subject-matter jurisdiction to the court located in the “home state” of the child. In Allen v. Allen, decided on April 21, 2026, the Montana Supreme Court had to determine whether the child’s “home state” was Montana or the Netherlands. This case shines an important spotlight on the importance of timing in international child custody disputes. The left-behind parent’s likelihood of success is strongly correlated with how quickly her or she acts to vindicate their legal rights. Read more
China’s Countering Improper Foreign Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Regulation Blocked EU’s Extraterritorial Data Acquisition
Written by Jeremy MEI Ziyang
LLM student at Wuhan University
Visiting student at Singapore Management University
I. Background
On 15 May this year, Ministry of Justice (MOJ) of China issued its Official Notice No 5 of 2026 (‘the MOJ Notice’), announcing that the relevant extraterritorial investigation carried out by EU on Chinese entities Nuctech constitutes improper extraterritorial jurisdiction measures under China’s Regulation on Countering Improper Foreign Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ROCIFEJ, State Council Decree No 835).[1] This Regulation was promulgated and entered into force on 7 April 2026. As a nationwide regulation promulgated by State Council, although it cannot be called an ‘Act’ that should be passed by the National People’s Congress, its legal hierarchical force directly follows an ‘Act’, higher than the previous Blocking Rules issued by Ministry of Commerce (MOC).[2]
Enforcement of New York Judgments in Côte d’Ivoire: Insights from a Recent Decision of the Abidjan Commercial Court
Many thanks to Boris Awa (Kigali Independent University ULK, Kigali, Rwanda) for the tip-off
I. Introduction
The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Francophone African countries remains a largely underexplored subject in the literature, including in French-language scholarship. The laws of many countries have not yet been systematically analysed from a comparative perspective, and in several jurisdictions access to even the most basic information is itself a considerable challenge. This note aims to raise awareness of African private international law, in particular in Francophone Sub-Saharan African countries. The case discussed here concerns the enforcement of a New York judgment in Côte d’Ivoire. It provides an opportunity to present the Ivorian system of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and to examine some of the key issues addressed by the Ivorian court.
News
Webinar on the New ICC Arbitration Rules
On 8 July, King&Spalding will be hosting a webinar on the new ICC Arbitration Rules, which entered into force last month.
The webinar will feature contributions from multiple members of the firms arbitration practice as well as a Q&A.
More information and an option to register can be found here.
Conference on Wills Substitutes (Lausanne, 8 September 2026)
On 8 September 2026 Andrea Bonomi and the Centre for Comparative, European and International Law of the University of Lausanne are organizing a conference titled „Wills substitutes” in comparative and private international law.
Speakers include: Michael W. Galligan (New York), Edward Reed (London) and Jeffrey Talpis (Montreal), Charlotte Wendland (Munich), Sophie Lambert (Aix-Marseille), François Derème (Mons), Angelo Chianale (Turin), Francesco Schurr (Liechtenstein) and Julien Perrin (Lausanne).
Discussions will be held partly in French and partly in English.
The full programme is available here.
Participants may join onsite in Lausanne or online. The registration form can be found here. University scholars may contact the organizer for discounted rates (at andrea.bonomi@unil.ch).
Online Book Launch – Choice of Law for Consumer Contracts in Theory and Practice
The following announcement has kindly been shared with us by Dr. Benedikt Schmitz.
Save the Date: 4 November 2026
Online Book Launch – Choice of Law or Consumer Contracts in Theory and Practice
We are pleased to announce an upcoming virtual book launch for Dr. Benedikt Schmitz’s new monograph, Choice of Law for Consumer Contracts in Theory and Practice (Edward Elgar Publishing). The event is hosted by the WEAKER PIL research line (weakerparties.eu).
- Date & Time: 4 November 2026, 15:00 – 17:00 CET, online
- Topic: The event will examine cross-border consumer protection and the complex conflict-of-laws frameworks regulating the global surge in online shopping. Panelists will discuss many aspects of Article 6 Rome I Regulation, including the historical dimensions of consumer protection in applicable law, the targeting test and consumer definition, the restriction to party autonomy, its ex officio application, and the US American approach to cross-border consumer contracts.