bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Unilateral Promises: Scots Law Compared with the PECL and the DCFR
Authors: MacQueen Hector L
Published: April 2022

Abstract: This contribution compares the recognition of a general concept of unilateral promises, binding without acceptance by the promisee, in Article 2:107 of the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and Article II.-1:103 of the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) with the equivalent Scottish rule. The significance of this comparison is that the rule in question is significantly wider than that found in most other European legal systems, which tend to recognize only limited categories of unilateral promises or to impose a requirement of acceptance. Despite an authoritative restatement of the law by Lord President Gill in Regus (Maxim) Ltd v. Bank of Scotland plc [2013] CSIH 12, the Scottish courts have generally approached the concept in a restricted and restrictive way, although at least occasionally allowing it a role even in commercial cases. The decision of the UK Supreme Court in the Scottish appeal Royal Bank of Scotland v. Carlyle [2015] UKSC 13 poses a significant challenge to such caution, and the judges’ self-imposed restrictions are also inconsistent with the DCFR’s approach. On the other hand, the Scottish experience suggests that the DCFR’s requirement that notice of the promissory statement must reach the promisee to make it effective except when the statement is a public declaration may, in turn, be too demanding. It is also suggested, in opposition to a suggestion by Professor Martin Hogg, that from both the DCFR and the Scottish experience the conduct of the recipient after the statement is made may be relevant to the question of whether the statement can be treated as a binding promise.
Die Verjährung  von den Principles of European Contract Law bis zum Entwurf eines Gemeinsamen Europäischen Kaufrechts: Textstufen transnationaler Modellregeln
Authors: Zimmermann Reinhard
Published: April 2022

Abstract: In the international discussion concerning the law of (liberative) prescription (or: limitation) the following model has, over the past twenty years, established itself as the new „mainstream“: (i) There is a general short period of prescription of (usually) three years, counting from the time when the creditor knew, or could reasonably be expected to have known, the facts on which his right is based. (ii) It is supplemented by a long period of usually ten or (concerning personal injuries) thirty years, the running of which does not depend on reasonable discoverability. (iii) Prescription does not extinguish the right concerned; rather the debtor is granted a right to withhold performance. (iv) There is a range of circumstances leading either to a renewal of the period of prescription, or to its suspension, or to a postponement of its expiry. (v) The parties may modify the rules on prescription, though only within certain limits. This model, originating in the Principles of European Contract Law, can be found in all transnational model rules based on those Principles, i.e. Draft Common Frame of Reference, Feasibility Study, and Draft Regulation on a Common European Sales Law, as well as in the Principles of International Commercial Contracts. It has also been influential on the level of national law reform. There are, however, many differences, as far as the details of implementing this model are concerned. The present essay critically examines the changes which the text of the Principles of European Contract Law has undergone on the way towards the Draft Regulation on a Common European Sales Law. It cautions against the assumption that the most recent text is the best text. Rather, the older texts – though they also require improvement – should continue to be the starting point for further discussions concerning the law of prescription at the national and international level.
Religion, Werte und Recht
Authors: McNamee Shane , Langhanke Carmen , Kramme Malte , Gläser Isabel , Russek Grzegorz , Schlüter Maximilian
Published: April 2022

Religion, Werte und Recht – so lautete das Thema zu dem sich vom 10. bis zum 12. September 2015. Rechtswissenschaftler aus der ganzen Welt an der Universität Bayreuth zur diesjährigen Tagung der Gesellschaft der Rechtsvergleichung e. V. zusammenfanden. In sieben Facharbeitsgruppen beschäftigten sich die Teilnehmer unter anderem mit Fragen der religiösen und weltanschaulichen Verankerung von Rechtsnormen, ihrer Legitimität vor dem Hintergrund staatlicher Neutralität sowie ihrem Einfluss auf Gleichheitskonzepte. Dem bereits etablierten Ablauf folgend begann die Veranstaltung am 10. September mit der Sitzung der thematisch führenden Fachgruppe „Grundlagen“, gefolgt von der Eröffnungsveranstaltung am Abend und parallelen Fachgruppensitzungen am Folgetag.
Trust in Quebec and Czech Law: Autonomous Patrimonies?
Authors: Popovici Alexandra
Published: April 2022

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the history and the controversies surrounding the nature of the Quebec trust, with the purpose of shedding light on the choices made by the Czech legislator. By articulating why the Quebec legislator chose patrimony by appropriation as the new vehicle for the trust rather than legal personality or a relational regime, it will be demonstrated that if the trust is now a fundamental legal institution in the law of Quebec, it is not without difficulty. The trust as patrimony by appropriation has indeed caused major transformations in Quebec’s understanding of rights and obligations. As it will be argued, it might be that the Czech legislator, in order to fully accommodate the trust as a patrimony by appropriation, has to relativize the absolute nature of property rights.
Trusts and Ownership: A Common Law Perspective
Authors: Swadling William
Published: April 2022

In the trust institution introduced by the new Czech Civil Code, ‘ownership’ of trust ‘property’ is vested in no-one. What motivates this provision seems to be the view that the common law trust involves a division of ownership, but that such is prohibited in Czech law generally. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the idea of the common law trust involving a division of ownership is false. Indeed, English law does not even have a concept of ownership. It instead deals with rights, but even so, these rights are not split when held on trust. The question is how, if at all, these insights can help us understand the newly introduced Czech trust. The conclusion which is reached is that when the Czech Civil Code provides that the trust property is owned by no-one, it simply means that it is not held beneficially by anyone. The property is not, as might seem at first sight, res nullius.
Trust as a Legislative Challenge: Bipolar Relation vs Quasi-Corporate Status?  Basic Trust Models in Legal Practice, Theory, and Legislation
Authors: Schmidt Karsten
Published: April 2022

Trust is a multifaced and enigmatic legal construction. The recent reform of trust law in the Czech Republic is based on a very demanding legal concept, obviously linked with the “fiducie” model in the Law of Québec. In contrast, the legal community in Germany has to cope with trust issues on the basic of very few and simple Civil Code provisions under the law of obligations. This concept has, however, has proved to be fruitful producing three elementary types of trust constructions: (a) simple bipolar mandate agreements, (b) trust agreements in the benefit of third persons, and (c) complex trust organisations serving as quasi-legal bodies. The Czech trust law, recently enacted in ss. 1400 et seqq., is appropriate for the third (most complicated) type c of trust construction. It may, however, fall short as far as simple trust agreements (a, b) are concerned. The German law, on the other hand, has to cope with a noticeable drawback regarding type c: the lack of transparency of trust based quasi-entities.
Fiduciary Arrangements in Civil Law Countries: Framing the Trustees Role and Duties
Authors: Malberti Corrado
Published: April 2022

This article explores how some civil law jurisdictions – Luxembourg, Italy, and France, which all derive their law from the Napoleonic Code – frame the role and the duties of trustees. Even though influenced by the common law, these countries developed original and independent solutions. Yet, the approaches of these civil law countries to fiduciary arrangements, and to the rights and duties of trustees, are not homogeneous and, in each of these jurisdictions, it may be difficult to clearly define the position of trustees. I suggest that some of these difficulties derive from the complexity of reconciling several key features of common law trusts with some principles existing in civil law jurisdictions.

After an introduction, this article analyses the essential features of fiduciary arrangements in three civil law jurisdictions: Luxembourg, Italy, and France. Then, it examines how the role and duties of trustees have been developed in these countries and outlines the respective advantages and limits of the solutions adopted in these legal systems. I conclude by examining the evolution of the legislation on trusts and fiduciary arrangements in San Marino, and finally arguing in favour of the adoption, in civil law countries, of legislation on fiduciary arrangements that is more coherent with the legal framework in which they will operate.
Position of a Trustee: The Capacity to Be a Trustee and a Trustees Duty of Care
Authors: Josková Lucie
Published: April 2022

On 1 January 2014, the regulation of trusts, inspired by the regulation of the Canadian province of Quebec, became part of Czech law. This article deals with two aspects of the regulation from the position of the trustee: the capacity to be a trustee and the dependence of the trustee´s duty of care based on their (non-)profession. In this respect, the Czech regulation is assessed in the context of foreign regulations. The Czech regulation of the capacity to be a trustee allows any natural person on one hand and only a restricted number of regulated legal persons on the other hand to act as a trustee is found to be justified. On the contrary, the lack of differentiation between a professional and non-professional trustee with regard to their duty of care in Czech law is considered unsatisfactory and worth improving.
Recognition of a Trust as a Specific Problem in Private International Law
Authors: Tichý Luboš
Published: April 2022

Recognition of a trust as a legal institution established under foreign legal order is quite remarkable per se because the objective law governs the recognition with exception of the application of the law governing the personal issues. The recognition of a legal institution is a reaction to the ancient theory under which a legal institution may have foreseen legal consequences only in the territory of a country under who’s law it was established.

The aim of the recognition of a trust is to allow it to develop its functions under its governing law in the legal context of a country of recognition. This requires to recognize it in terms of transposition of all possible effects enumerated for instance in Article 11 (2) and 3 of The Hague Convention on the law applicable to trusts and on their recognition into the other legal system. This aim should be achieved by transformation into similar legal institution of the country of recognition.

The process of recognition faces with two major problems: Depeçage and conflict with the mandatory laws including the legal rule of so called ordre public of the country of recognition. These problems have to be overcome by mainly two instruments, namely qualification (classification) and adaptation which often go hand in hand and are understood and applied in substantive legal sense. The results based on comparative analysis focused on one international treaty and five national laws lead to optimistic results. There is an evident trend towards an amicable understanding of trust the prevalent consensus on the possibility to have a trust governed by foreign law even in the complete absence of the trust regulations in the domestic legal order is of a great relevance. A connection to a trust governed by the foreign law should be single. A single law applicable to the trust should notably govern the trustees’ duties, rights of beneficiaries, trustees’ liability and legal relationships between the trustee and trust creditors. The content and objective as well as the nature of the respective trust shall be undoubtedly decisive. The issues of capacity and of the form of the trust are to be connected differently.
New Hungarian Civil Procedure Act and the Development of European Rules of Civil Procedure
Authors: Szabados Tamás
Published: April 2022

Almost at the same time, two significant projects related to civil procedure have been launched. The first one is the ELI/UNIDROIT project ‘From Transnational Principles to European Rules of Civil Procedure’, while the other is the codification of the New Hungarian Civil Procedure Act. This article briefly summarizes the lectures delivered at the Conference on the ‘New Hungarian Civil Procedure Act and the Development of European Rules of Civil Procedure’ held in Budapest at the Hungarian Academy of Justice on 30 and 31 May 2016. The goal of the conference was the introduction of the ELI/UNIDROIT project to Hungarian lawyers as well as giving an insight into the Hungarian codification process for the international audience. At the conference, internationally renowned academicians who are participating at the elaboration of European Rules of Civil Procedure discussed the major topics of the draft European model rules, whereas Hungarian scholars presented the parallel issues of codification concerning the New Hungarian Civil Procedure Act.
A Comparative Analysis of the Frustration Rule: Possibility of Reconciliation Between Hong Kong-English Hands-off Approach and German Interventionist Mechanism
Authors: Chung Gordon
Published: April 2022

Abstract: This article is a comparative analysis on the general frustration rule with reference to the two most interesting legal systems – Germany and Hong Kong. In Germany, the broad notion of Störung der Geschäftsgrundlage originated from its unique socio-economic background during the World Wars. Since its statutory codification on 1 January 2002, the doctrine has been praised as the most flexible and extensive solution to the problem of changed circumstances. Particularly, § 313 BGB welcomes judicial involvement in revising contractual terms. At least in a theoretical sense, the German model can be properly regarded as a highly ‘interventionist mechanism’. In Hong Kong, the pendulum has swung back too far to the other extreme. As the Hong Kong law on frustration was transplanted from the restrictive English model, the former largely operates within the narrow confines of supervening impossibility and essentially minimizes the role of judges who are given no power to fine-tune contractual obligations. In the light of this inflexible approach, the chances of succeeding in having a contract frustrated are very slim. However, against this discouraging trend, contracting parties have developed their own self-help strategies by incorporation of an appropriately drafted force majeure clause, a practice that tends to be the norm in most commercial dealings nowadays. This reflects a ‘hands-off approach’ of Hong Kong courts. The analysis here discloses that these two apparently dichotomous approaches, while representing two polar extremes in dealing with the problem of changed circumstances, actually yield the same result – a proper allocation of contractual risk. The author of this article will argue that, despite the apparent merits of the German model, the ‘hands-off approach’ suits the practical needs of Hong Kong and should be retained, particularly in view of the widespread use of force majeure clauses and the leniency shown by the courts in interpreting such clauses.
German Case Note on the Penalty Clause Decisions of the UK Supreme Court
Authors: Faust Florian
Published: April 2022

Abstract: Under German law, penalty clauses are generally enforceable. However, unless the debtor is a merchant, the application of the penalty clause under the specific circumstances is subject to judicial review. In the course of this review, a German court would have to address the issues dealt with by the UK Supreme Court. As the special review applies only to penalty clauses, the German court would have to decide whether the clauses in question are penalty clauses or rather liquidated damages clauses or clauses adjusting the parties' primary obligations. If the clauses are to be construed as penalty clauses, a German court would have to decide whether or not the penalties ought to be reduced because they are unreasonably high; this is to be judged as of the time when the penalty was triggered. With regard to Beavis, an issue not discussed by the UK Supreme Court would raise difficult questions under German law: the issue whether the parties really had agreed on the clause.

Nach deutschem Recht ist die Vereinbarung von Vertragsstrafen prinzipiell zulässig. Ist allerdings der Schuldner kein Kaufmann, kann das Gericht die Vertragsstrafe herabsetzen, wenn sie bei Berücksichtigung aller Umstände des Einzelfalls unverhältnismäßig hoch ist. Im Rahmen der Entscheidung über die Herabsetzung der Vertragsstrafe müsste ein deutschen Gericht diejenigen Gesichtspunkte ansprechen, die der UK Supreme Court erörterte: Da nur Vertragsstrafen herabgesetzt werden können, müsste das deutsche Gericht entscheiden, ob es sich bei den fraglichen Klauseln wirklich um Vertragsstrafen - und nicht um Schadenspauschalierungen oder die Anpassung der vertraglichen Leistungen - handelt. Falls es sich um Vertragsstrafen handelt, müsste ein deutsches Gericht entscheiden, ob sie unverhältnismäßig hoch sind; maßgeblich hierfür ist der Zeitpunkt der Verwirkung der Vertragsstrafe. Im Hinblick auf Beavis wäre nach deutschem Recht sehr zweifelhaft, ob sich die Parteien überhaupt auf die betreffende Klausel einigten - eine Frage, die der UK Supreme Court nicht problematisierte.
French Case Note on the Penalty Clause Decisions of the UK Supreme Court
Authors: Cannarsa Michel
Published: April 2022

Abstract: This case note is a French perspective on UK Supreme Court decision in Makdessi. English law and French law are known to rely on different approaches towards contractual penalties. This seems to be confirmed after the recent (2016) reform of the French law of obligations. One of the central features of French law on contractual penalties is judicial intervention when the amount of the penalty is derisory or excessive. English law, after Makdessi, could be brought closer to French law as it puts the focus on the substance of the penalty clause and on the legitimate interest in the enforcement of the contract. However, it does so in a trend that further restricts judicial intervention, whereas French law is leaning towards a quite opposite direction.
The Potential Implementation of Collective Arbitration in Europe
Authors: García Ana Montesinos
Published: April 2022

Abstract: This article analyses the feasibility and the potential implementation of collective arbitration in Europe. Although arbitration has reached a significant success in Europe, up to this date this mechanism has not been used to settle collective disputes yet, as there are many barriers hindering its implementation. But class arbitration is being successful in other parts of the world (especially in the United States) and, therefore, its feasibility should not be rejected. In fact, the EU bodies recommend the Member States to consider the possibility to settle collective disputes by out-of-court proceedings. This article considers both the obstacles and the benefits of this kind of arbitration, and includes some proposals. This work concludes with the only two sorts of collective arbitration systems implemented in Europe: the Spanish Consumer Collective Arbitration System and the German Corporate Arbitration System ruled by the German Arbitration Institution (DIS).

Résumé: Cet article analyse la faisabilité et le potentiel de mise en oeuvre de l’arbitrage collectif en Europe. Bien que l’arbitrage ait atteint un succès significatif en Europe, jusqu’à présent aucun recours n’a été fait à ce mécanisme pour régler des différents d’ordre collectif, en raison des nombreux obstacles empêchant sa mise en oeuvre. Cependant l’arbitrage collectif fonctionne avec succès dans d’autres parties du monde (particulièrement aux États-Unis) et, de par ce fait, le bien-fondé du recours à ce procédé ne peut être écarté. D’ailleurs, les institutions Européennes recommandent que les États Membres étudient les possibilités de résoudre les différends de nature collective hors des tribunaux. Cet article considère à la fois les obstacles et les bénéfices de ce type d’arbitrage. Ce travail présente en conclusion les deux seules formes d’arbitrage collectif en exercice en Europe: le Système d’Arbitrage Collectif à la Consommation Espagnol et le Système d’Arbitrage des Sociétés règlementé par L’Institut d’Arbitrage Allemand (DIS).
A Model for the Use of the European Certificate of Succession for Property Registration
Authors: Goossens Elise
Published: April 2022

Abstract: One of the most controversial elements in the Succession Regulation (SR), is the use of the European Certificate of Succession (ECS) for property registration. Article 69, 5 SR establishes the ECS as a valid document for the recording of succession property in the Member States’ registers, whereas at the same time, it makes a reservation for Article 1, 2, point (l) SR, which excludes the recording of property in the national registers from the scope of the Regulation. This paradox continues to trouble the legal doctrine, especially with regard to the registration of immovable property. The author has attempted to construct a comprehensive model for the interpretation of these provisions, by identifying and resolving the main conflicts that exist in the Member States between the ECS’s legal regime and the national provisions on property registration. Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands were used as case studies in this regard. This inductive approach has permitted to develop a model for the use of the ECS for property registration in the European Member States.

Résumé: L’un des éléments les plus controversés du Règlement en matière de successions (RS), est l’usage du Certificat successoral européen (CSE) pour l’enregistrement d’un bien. L’art. 69, 5 RS prévoit que le CSE est un document valable pour l’inscription d’un bien successoral dans les registres des Etats membres, alors qu’en même temps, il fait une réserve pour l’art. 1, 2, point (l) RS, qui exclut du champ d’application du Règlement l’inscription de biens dans les registres nationaux. Ce paradoxe continue de perturber la doctrine juridique, spécialement en ce qui concerne l’enregistrement de la propriété immmobilière. L’auteur a tenté d’élaborer un modèle détaillé d’interprétation de ces dispositions, en identifiant et résolvant les principaux conflits qui existent dans les Etats membres entre le régime légal du CSE et les dispositions nationales de l’enregistrement d’un bien. A cet égard la Belgique, la France, l’Allemagne et les Pays-Bas ont servi d’études de cas. Cette approche inductive a permis de développer un modèle d’utilisation du CSE dans les pays membres européens pour l’enregistrement d’un bien.
Public Law by Contract: The Reluctant Creation of Private Markets for Welfare Service
Authors: Hansen Ole
Published: April 2022

Abstract: This article conducts an analysis into long-term contractual practices for the outsourcing of social services. Until recently social services in Scandinavia have been provided by public entities on an administrative basis. With the primary aim to increase efficiency and reduce public budgets these tasks are however today to a large extent undertaken by private companies on the basis of long-term contracts entered into with local governments (municipalities). This Nordic model for privatization of public welfare is not unconditionally successful. Municipalities seem to hesitate in giving effect to the rising private market for welfare services. They insist on an almost complete control with the performances of the private service providers in the full length of the contracting period. In the legal literature it has been suggested that there are public law limits to privatization. The analysis of contractual strategies and practices for contracting out public welfare in this article shows that there are limits in private law for the ‘publicization’ of contracts and markets as well.

Résumé: Cet article analyse les pratiques contractuelles à long terme de la soustraitance de services sociaux. Jusqu’à récemment, les services sociaux en Scandinavie étaient fournis sur un plan administratif par des entités publiques. Or, dans le but principal d’accroître l’efficacité et de réduire les dépenses publiques, ces tâches sont actuellement exercées pour une large part par des entreprises privées sur base de contrats à long terme conclus avec des pouvoirs locaux (municipalités). Ce modèle nordique de privatisation de l’aide sociale ne connaît pas un succès inconditionnel. Les municipalités semblent réticentes face à l’application aux services sociaux de règles du marché privé grandissant. Elles insistent sur un contrôle presque complet des activités des fournisseurs privés de services durant toute la durée de la période contractuelle. On a suggéré dans la doctrine juridique qu’il y a des limites de droit public à la privatisation. L’analyse de stratégies et pratiques contractuelles de transfert des services d’aide sociale révèle dans cet article qu’il y a aussi des limites de droit privé à la ‘publicisation’ de contrats et marchés.
The Duty of Disclosure in the PEICL: A Scandinavian Perspective
Authors: Anderssen Harald Benestad
Published: April 2022

Abstract: The rules on the disclosure obligations of insurance applicants are key in determining what information an insurer receives at the time an insurance contract is concluded, and thus the insurer’s risk level. All European countries have therefore adopted rules on the disclosure obligations of applicants for insurance. Equivalent rules are found in the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL). Provided that the related European political and legislative process reaches a successful conclusion, this optional instrument will offer contracting parties an alternative for the regulation of both national and cross-border insurance contracts. This article examines the PEICL’s disclosure duty rules and compares them with the corresponding rules in current Scandinavian (Norwegian, Swedish and Danish) law. The purpose of the article is two-fold: to investigate the impact of the PEICL on Scandinavian insurance contracts and to comment on the PEICL from a Scandinavian perspective.

Résumé: Les règles d’obligations d’informations des demandeurs d’assurances sont d’une importance primordiale pour déterminer ce que l’assureur reçoit comme informations au moment où le contrat d’assurance se conclut, et donc le niveau de risque de l’assureur. Tous les pays européens ont par conséquent adopté des règles sur les obligations d’informations des demandeurs d’assurances. On trouve des règles équivalentes dans les Principes du droit européen du contrat d’assurance (PDECA). A condition que le processus politique et juridique européen qui s’y rapporte atteigne un bon résultat, cet instrument optimal offrira aux parties contractantes une alternative à la réglementation des contrats d’assurance nationaux et transfrontaliers. Le present article examine les règles d’obligations d’informations du PDECA et les compare aux règles correspondantes en droit actuel scandinave (norvégien, suédois et danois). L’objectif de cet article est double: étudier l’impact du PDECA sur les contrats d’assurance scandinaves et commenter le PDCEA dans la perpective scandinave.
Do Fundamental Rights Conflict with Private Law?
Authors: Ramos-Muñoz David
Published: April 2022

Abstract: The relationship of fundamental rights and private law is often filled with mistrust, which results in a framework where (1) the issue of horizontal effect acquires an oversized importance; (2) the relationship is described in terms of the conflict between fundamental rights and private rights; and (3) fundamental rights are seen as a constraint on consent. This article proposes a different, symbiotic, approach, where (1) horizontal effect is given less attention, because, in general, courts refuse to be tied by a single, unifying theory, when they approach the issue; (2) the purported ‘conflict between’ is reframed as an issue of overlapping conflicts between private interests on one level, and fundamental rights on the other, which are resolved through different methods; and (3) party autonomy is a cornerstone of both fundamental rights and private law, and a tool to address the two levels of conflict. With this approach we can identify some ‘false’ conflicts and restrict the ‘real conflicts’ to identifiable scenarios. The analysis is based on the extensive case law of Spanish courts, and the case law by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), using parallels with other jurisdictions for purposes of comparison.

Résumé: Les rapports entre les droits fondamentaux et le droit privé sont souvent empreints de méfiance, ce qui aboutit à un cadre où (i) la question de l’effet horizontal acquiert une trop grande importance; (ii) les rapports sont décrits en termes de conflit entre les droits fondamentaux et les droits privés; et (iii) les droits fondamentaux sont considérés comme un frein au consentement. Le présent article propose une approche différente, symbiotique, où (i) l’on attache moins d’attention à l’effet horizontal, parce que en général, les tribunaux refusent d’être tenus par une seule théorie unificatrice lorsqu’ils abordent la question; (ii) le prétendu ‘conflit entre’ est redéfini comme une question de conflits qui s’entrecroisent entre des intérêts privés d’une part et des droits fondamentaux d’autre part, qui sont résolus par différentes méthodes; et (iii) l’autonomie des parties est la pierre angulaire à la fois des droits fondamentaux et du droit privé, et un outil pour aborder les deux niveaux de conflit. Grâce à cette approche nous pouvons identifier plusieurs ‘faux’ conflits limitant les ‘conflits réels’ à des scenarios identifiables. L’analyse se base sur l’abondante jurisprudence des tribunaux espagnols et la jurisprudence de la Cour Européenne des Droits de l’Homme (CEDH), utilisant des parallèles avec d’autres juridictions dans un but de comparaison.
Rediscovering the Principle of Comity in English Private International Law
Authors: Mitchenson Jason , Schultz Thomas
Published: April 2022

Abstract: Academically speaking, comity is all but dead. Cold-shouldered by the literature, the principle has become known as little more than a useless relic of the past. But a review of the case law tells a very different story. Comity thrives in the judicial decisions of English courts, which suggests that, in particular areas of law, comity is alive and well. In light of the disjunct between the literature and judicial practice, this article seeks to shed new light on the role of comity in English private international law. Ultimately, it seeks to unbridle comity’s legal potential and reposition it as an important principle of English private international law worthy of further academic research.

Résumé: Académiquement, le principe de la comity, ou courtoisie internationale, est presque morte. Ignoré par la doctrine, le principe est essentiellement perçu comme une relique inutile du passé. Mais si l’on porte un regard attentif à la jurisprudence, une histoire très différente émerge. La comity prospère dans les décisions des tribunaux anglais: à tout le moins dans des domaines particuliers du droit, la comity est résolument en vie. Partant de ce contraste entre doctrine et pratique judiciaire, les auteurs cherchent à apporter un nouvel éclairage sur le rôle de la comity dans le droit international privé anglais. A partir de là, il semble possible de débrider le potentiel juridique de la comity, en le repositionnant comme un principe important du droit international privé anglais méritant une attention soutenue de la doctrine.
Will Innovative Technology Result in Innovative Legal Frameworks?  Smart Contracts in China
Authors: Lei Chen , Wang Jia
Published: April 2022

Abstract: This article explores whether the legal landscape will be fundamentally changed in view of the emergence of smart contracts in China. Beyond the phenomenon of bitcoin supported by blockchain technology, we examine the development of smart contracts on blockchain with a close scrutiny of their merits and limits, and the intrinsic legal uncertainties in their application. The main argument is that while the gaps between the regulatory framework and the business practice can be identified, for most parts, the current legal framework can accommodate or mitigate the legal risks brought about by smart contracts.

Résumé: Cet article pose la question si le paysage juridique sera fondamentalement changé par l’émergence des contrats intelligents en Chine. À part du phénomène du Bitcoin qui s’appuie sur la technologie Blockchain, nous examinons le développement des contrats intelligents en Blockchain avec une étude approfondie de leurs mérites et limites ainsi que les incertitudes légales qui sont intrinsèques à leur application. L’argument principal est que, bien qu’on puisse identifier des différences entre le cadre réglementaire et la pratique d’affaires, le cadre juridique contemporain peut, pour la plupart, accommoder ou mitiger les risques légaux causés par les contrats intelligents.
Towards a Regulatory Private Law Approach for CSR Self- Regulation? The Effect of Private Law on Corporate CSR Strategies
Authors: Beckers Anna
Published: April 2022

This article analyses the interplay between private law and large multinational companies in designing polices of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Based on a doctrinal legal analysis, the article first shows that private law takes a largely facilitative attitude towards CSR self-regulation in the sense that it subjects the enforcement of selfregulation and its review in the light of public interest standards to the intention of corporations as its authors. Taking account of the recent debate on whether there should be changes in private law towards a stronger interventionist or regulatory approach that subjects CSR self-regulation to public interest standards, the contribution discusses the likely consequences that this may have on the existence and further development of CSR self-regulation. For this purpose, the article reviews socio-economic studies on the motives and strategies of companies to engage in CSR self-regulation and the background role that the law plays in the development of such policies. The article argues that companies develop CSR self-regulation strategically in a way that it remains externally, i.e. towards the public and beneficiaries of this self-regulation, voluntary. Simultaneously, legal mechanisms are installed internally to ensure that those working for the company, such as employees and suppliers meet the self-regulatory goals. This strategy is also realized with a view to the existing laws. Looking into research on the factors that lead to changes in corporate behaviour, the article concludes that a stronger interventionist attitude of private law may only lead to adaptions in this strategy if combined with a particular corporate culture. Consequently, a stronger regulatory private law for CSR selfregulation may only be understood as an indirect pressure for improvement.
Leveraging Trade Law for Governance Reform: The Impact of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade on Private Standard-Setting
Authors: Mataija Mislav
Published: April 2022

Private product standards are products of private law, but are affected by international trade law in various ways. This article examines the impact of World Trade Organization (WTO) law, and in particular of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), on the governance of private standard-setting bodies. An overview of the ways in which WTO law can apply to private standards bodies is provided. Then, the article looks at the procedural avenues through which the measures of those bodies can be challenged on the basis of TBT law. Third, it asks where the potential impact of TBT law on the governance of standards bodies is greatest. The article concludes that a meaningful impact of WTO law on the governance of private standard-setting bodies is less likely to be found in direct enforcement, and that indirect mechanisms might be more fruitful. Among them are the reliance on the influence of States over private standards bodies in the case of standards that are co-opted in public law or ‘juridified’; the incentives provided by the TBT rules on international standards; and the leveraging of TBT rules through voluntary acceptance by standards bodies, private law adjudication, or even private enforcement.
Private Law Regulation of Innovations and Creditors Rights: What We Can Learn from Domain Name Rights for Blockchain Rights
Authors: Biemans Jan
Published: April 2022

The most significant innovation in recent years has been blockchain technology. Such innovations demand a response from the law. The most significant innovation of the last twenty-five years has been the internet. The relative lack of government regulation in the domain of public law has been one of the key features of the internet. The private law regulation of domain name rights has been left to private institutions to arrange this through contract law. Contract law, however, has its limitations when it comes to pledging, seizing and the forced sale of domain name rights. Qualification problems with regard to the nature of domain name rights and the prescribed mode of contract renewal have resulted in difficulties with respect to pledging and seizing domain name rights. These cannot be solved by bottom-up selfregulation. I will demonstrate this by discussing the law in the Belgian, Dutch, German and American jurisdictions. In particular, I will address the unique bottomup self-regulation of domain name rights in the Netherlands, which aims to replace statutory rules in the field of property law by contractual provisions. Lastly, I will discuss what we can learn from domain name rights for blockchain rights. I will argue that, learning from domain name rights, we should not try to fit in similar issues with regard to blockchain rights in existing private law or contractual arrangements, but should develop tailor-made statutory private law rules so as to avoid the same legal uncertainty as with domain name rights.
In a Cage of Law: Liability Imputation System in the Tort Law on Kept Animals  A ChineseGerman Comparative Study
Authors: Wang Qiang
Published: April 2022

The imputation of liability for damages caused by kept animals found in China’s Tort Law is a unique, synthetic, and multidimensional dual system. On the one hand, hazard-based liability is the dominant factor, and on the other is fault-based liability the auxiliary factor. The Tort Law on kept animals is oriented towards the types of liability for damages caused by kept animals, rather than towards categories of animal types, and it categorizes liability degrees under both normal and special circumstances. While underlining the merits achieved by this liability imputation system in terms of its structure (on the macro-level), this Article also probes into the problems and difficulties arising out of some key junctures (on the micro-level), especially as the system is put into practice and its operational complexity is revealed. Because of the strong affinity of the Chinese civil law, and especially tort law, with its German counterpart, this Article references the German tort law on animal keeper’s liability for an historical and comparative legal analysis, bringing more light to the Chinese system of liability. The imputation of liability for damages caused by kept animals found in China’s Tort Law is a unique, synthetic, and multidimensional dual system. On the one hand, hazard-based liability is the dominant factor, and on the other is fault-based liability the auxiliary factor. The Tort Law on kept animals is oriented towards the types of liability for damages caused by kept animals, rather than towards categories of animal types, and it categorizes liability degrees under both normal and special circumstances. While underlining the merits achieved by this liability imputation system in terms of its structure (on the macro-level), this Article also probes into the problems and difficulties arising out of some key junctures (on the micro-level), especially as the system is put into practice and its operational complexity is revealed. Because of the strong affinity of the Chinese civil law, and especially tort law, with its German counterpart, this Article references the German tort law on animal keeper’s liability for an historical and comparative legal analysis, bringing more light to the Chinese system of liability.
Legacy by Vindication Under the EU Succession Regulation No. 650/2012 Following the Kubicka Judgment of the ECJ
Authors: Tereszkiewicz Piotr , Wysocka-Bar Anna
Published: April 2022

This article explores the question of the ‘recognition’ of the material effects of legacies by vindication (legatum per vindicationem), if such legacies concern the right of ownership of immovable property located in an EU Member State the law of which does not provide for such legacies to have a direct material effect, such as Germany. The authors analyse this question in the light of the first judgement issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union on the European Union Regulation No. 650/2012 on Succession and Wills, the Kubicka case (C-218/16). The article’s first part provides a brief account of legacies by damnation and legacies by vindication as they are found in the substantive succession laws of EU Member States. Subsequently, key notions arising under the EU Succession Regulation No. 650/2012 with respect to the recognition of legacies by vindication, such the general principle of unity, the registry exemption, the rights in rem exception as well as the adaption of rights in rem, are discussed. The article’s final part maps out the implication of the Kubicka judgment for the theory and practice of European Succession Law.
Unfair Trading Practices in Food Supply Chains. Regulatory Responses and Institutional Alternatives in the Light of the New EU Directive
Authors: Iamiceli Paola , Cafaggi Fabrizio
Published: April 2022

Unfair trade practices (UTPs) can refer to individual firms or, more often, concern the entire chain. The article contends that UTPs in supply chains present specific features; as a consequence, they require specific rules and remedies. Power concentration in food global chains often leads to abuse by shifting risks and costs to weaker contractual partners, who are not necessarily the most efficient actors to control risks and to manage costs related to production and distribution processes. Inappropriate exercise of market and contractual power may bring about inefficient allocation of tasks together with undesirable distributional consequences. A distinction should be made between isolated UTPs, whose effects mostly remain within the bilateral contractual relation, and systemic UTPs, whose effects directly or indirectly spread along the chain. The latter create much more severe consequences, both distributional and exclusionary. By examining the recently adopted EU Directive on UTPs in agri-food chains and its complementarities in respect to private regulation, the authors develop a conceptual framework that might be useful to complement existing and forthcoming regulation at EU and national level with rules reflecting the supply chain dimension of UTPs. More particularly, the authors suggest that both distributional and exclusionary systemic effects should be considered in (a) the definition of the practice, (b) the type of prohibition and the extent to which agreed terms may allow the use of some of the practices, (c) the nature and scope of liability of the infringer(s), (d) the use of presumptions concerning the practices’ effects, (e) the choice and content of sanctions and remedies. These distinctions fit within the discretionary space allowed to Member States (MSs) when implementing the directive, making the implementation more effective and consistent with its regulatory goals.
Towards Civil Justice in the EU: The European Commission’s New Deal for Consumers. An Introduction to This Issue
Authors: Loos Marco B.M.
Published: April 2022

In this special issue, a series of authors from all over Europe discuss aspects of both the proposal for a Representative Actions Directive and the proposal for a Modernization Directive. Both directives deal with better enforcement of EU consumer law and follow from the European Commission’s Communication on a New Deal for Consumers. In this introduction I will briefly introduce and discuss these papers in relation to one another.

New Deal, consumer law, Representative Action Directive, Modernization Directive
The Collective Interests of Consumers: New Definition, New Weaknesses
Authors: Misiak Hanna
Published: April 2022

The definition of the collective interests of consumers present in European positive law is negative and limited to the statement that the collective interests of consumers mean interests which do not include the cumulation of the interests of individuals who have been harmed by an infringement. This notion has been criticized in legal doctrine. In April 2018, the European Commission presented a proposal for a new definition of the collective interests of consumers as part of ‘The New Deal for Consumers’. It is no longer negative but can cause similar problems as the currently binding one due to its lack of clarity. This feature will probably leave European consumers in a disadvantageous position.

The proposal transfers the notion of the collective interests of consumers to the domain of private law, keeping it beyond the scope of the activities of regulatory bodies. The notion of the collective interests of consumers is therefore losing its unique character of being ‘something more’ than a mere sum of individual interests – as designed in the injunctions directive – and a subject of special interest for administrative bodies. The new collective interests of consumers are to be strongly connected to representative actions, i.e. civil law claims regulated by the Member States, either in the codes of civil procedure or in other binding pieces of legislation. This could cause the need for a total change of the consumer protection system, particularly in the Member States that nowadays tend to separate the measures provided by the injunction directive, understood as regulatory means, from other types of collective redress sought in court.
Collective Redress in the Financial Sector and the New EU Deal for Consumers
Authors: Benöhr Iris
Published: April 2022

This article examines the role of collective redress in financial services, highlighting current obstacles for financial services users to access justice, and providing an overview of relevant EU measures and international best practices. Particular attention is devoted to various national dispute resolution models and major cases with the potential to affect a large number of financial services users across Member States. On the regulatory side, the article explores in detail the extent to which the New EU Deal for Consumers will introduce meaningful changes in the financial services sector. In particular, it will assess the new proposal for a Directive on representative actions, evaluating its advantages and weaknesses in light of the likely implications for consumer redress.

collective redress, financial consumer protection, access to justice.