The summary contains the weekly topics which are discussed throughout the course. The document contains the following topics: Introduction of private international law, Marriage and Divorce, Matrimonial Property, Parental Responsibility, and Child Abduction.
Week 1 - Introduction
Private International Law; in common law known as conflicts of law
Private:
● Private law in comparison to Public International law deals with cases between private
parties
● Between private individuals or legal companies
● Not dealing with the state
● Tort law
● Contract law
● Company law
● Property law
● Family law
International:
● Deals with international cases because there is an international element in the facts of
the case
● Not the source where the case comes from
● Refers to the type of case itself
● E.g. contract between two parties living in different countries: source of law is national
law but the facts of the case we need resort to rules of private international law to solve
the case
● The ‘internationality’ of the case
Law:
● In the strict sense of law, rather than custom
● EU law, International Conventions, case law
Example 1: shop owners in Italy want compensation from Ducth football supporters
- In which country are they allowed to bring the football supporters to court? Italy or
Netherlands?
- Question 1: Who has jurisdiction? → which courts to gain remedy
- = tortious claim
Example 2: Ducth person purchases a car in France and in the Netherlands an issue arises and
wants to return
- Question 2: Which law would apply to the contract? → which law is applicable to
the legal relationship of the parties involves
- = contractual claim
Example 3: German employer sends someone to England on short term contract and whilst
being in England the person gets fired from the employment contract; acquires compensation
from the English court and the employer needs to pay a certain amount to the employee
, - English decision has validity but
- Employee may need to have the English decision recognised and enforced in Germany
if the companies assets are in Germany
- Question 3: recognition and enforcement of judgements
Main Subject areas
⇒ which subject matters are dealing with Private International Law
3 main Questions:
1. Who has jurisdiction? → Jurisdiction / competence of the law
2. Which law would apply to the contract? → Applicable law / choice of law
3. recognition and enforcement of judgements
Other thighs associated with PIL:
4. Administrative Co-operation
- Which law is applicable ?
- Content of that law ?
→ cout may need assistance of another court or transfer decisions from
one place to another
→ International Administrative Cooperation systems
E.g. instruments such as “cross border service of documents”
5. Procedural law
a. Service
- Service regulations
- International service conventions
b. Evidence
- If in a different country from the country where proceedings take place
- Gain access under certain instrument which allow for cross border
collection of evidence and transfer
1. Who has jurisdiction? → Jurisdiction / competence of the law = “forum”
● Very different from what law is applicable
● Which court is entitled to hear the case
● E.g. tort case between Ducth soccer supporter and Italy: where can the shop owners
bring the claim in tort?
→ Forum delicti
● The court of the place where the property is located has jurisdiction
→ Forum rei sitae
● Choice of court clause (may be included in the contract): certain areas for
parties to make choices → choose which court has jurisdiction
, 2. Which law would apply to the contract? → Applicable law / choice of law
● Which law does the court or the party apply to determine the response to the question
● Law of the place where the delict took place
→ Lex loci delicti
● The law of the place where the property is located
→ Lex rei sitae
● Choice of law clause (may be included in the contract): certain areas for
parties to make choices → choose which law applies
3. recognition and enforcement of judgements
4. Administrative co-operation
From a national standpoint: Private International Law is regulated on a national basis
and only in the event of an international instrument (e.g. EU Regulation) we resort
to them to solve the issue; if those are not applicable → fall back on national rules of
private international law
E.g. Ducth Private International law is different than German or Belgium Private International
Law
Sources
Solutions to the Problems are national law, but also on an international basis
Where have International Solutions been found?
1. EU instruments (mostly Regulations, rarely also Directives) / Regional
→ supranational instrument
2. International instruments (mostly Conventions)
→ supranational instrument
- Some instruments deal with all three areas of private international law across a
given field whereas other instruments only deal with one particular question
3. National sources → only if there are no international sources applicable, then
refer to national sources
a. Statutes (e.g. 10 Ducth Civil Code or BGB)
b. Unwritten law (case law)
c. Principles and Custom (e.g. restatement → US)
Which sources do we apply when?
● International Instruments
● Scope of instruments
○ Material / substantive scope: scope in subject
, ○ Formal / geographical scope: scope in space
○ Temporal scope: scope in time
➔ 3 different scopes apply to every international instrument to determine whether the
international instrument applies in any given case before the court
➔ E.g. if there is a question of divorce jurisdiction, does not mean we always apply the EU
Regulation, check first whether facts satisfy the scope of the instrument
➔ All 3 scopes need to be cumulatively applied
➔ The instrument is only applicable if the Factual pattern satisfies:
◆ substantive scope
◆ geographical scope
◆ Temporal scope
➔ Only because it might be applicable, does not mean we will actually apply it - because it
can be the case that there are 2 international and European instruments applicable:
which one is then applicable?
In the case of multiple instruments:
If multiple international instruments are applicable, then a problem of concurrence occurs
Which of the national or international laws supersedes the other one
International vs. National
● National rules determine which instrument goes first: for example Art. 93/94 Dutch
Constitution (IL will always supersede national law)
Convention vs. EU Regulation
● In instrument itself it is determined which one is applied
Convention vs. Convention
● Vienna Convention of Conventions 1969 which applies which one
Related subjects
- Nationality law
- Interregional law
- Uniform private law
- Substantive rules, one set of rules e.g. Vienna Convention
- Public international law
-
- Immigration law
- Comparative law
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