A study (for the JURI Committee of the European Parliament) on Cross-Border Traffic Accidents in the EU — The Potential Impact of Driverless Cars, authored by Thomas Kadner Graziano, was very recently released.
Here it is: here
05 Tuesday Jul 2016
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inA study (for the JURI Committee of the European Parliament) on Cross-Border Traffic Accidents in the EU — The Potential Impact of Driverless Cars, authored by Thomas Kadner Graziano, was very recently released.
Here it is: here
10 Friday Jun 2016
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in“From 1 to 9 June 2016, the Special Commission on the Judgments Project was convened in The Hague. The Special Commission was attended by 153 participants from 53 States and one Regional Economic Integration Organisation (“REIO”), representing Members of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, and a select number of non-Member States, and 16 international governmental and non-governmental organisations. The Special Commission took the text proposed by the Working Group as a basis for its work; it further developed this text and prepared a revised text of the future Convention, which will form the basis for discussion at the second meeting of the Special Commission to be held from 16 to 24 February 2017.
The Special Commission identified two main objectives of the future Convention:
02 Thursday Jun 2016
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inAs anticipated, Singapore ratified today the Hague 2005 Choice of Court Convention, which will enter into force between Singapore and the other Contracting States (EU Member States minus Danemark and Mexico) as from 1 October 2016.
The Hague Conference issued the following press release:
“On Thursday 2 June 2016, Ms Thian Yee Sze, Director-General of the Legal Group, Ministry of Law of Singapore, deposited Singapore’s instrument of ratification to the Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements. The deposit took place during the meeting of the Special Commission on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments.
30 Monday May 2016
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inUK opts in to the proposed Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations on a Hague Judgments Convention (25 May 2016). The way it does is interesting:
“1. The United Kingdom notes that recital 7 of the Council Decision states that the Union has exclusive external competence with regard to the matters dealt with by the proposed Judgments Convention, on the basis that the envisaged Convention will affect common rules of the existing Union framework, in particular Regulation 1215/2012 (Brussels I recast).
2. However, the United Kingdom wishes to draw attention to the fact that the Council Decision to be adopted is pursuant to Title V of Part III of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Consequently, the Council Decision will only bind the United Kingdom if it opts in to the Council Decision in accordance with Protocol 21 to the Treaties.
22 Friday Apr 2016
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inThe Hague Conference announced today that, thanks to the European Commission (DG Justice), the Practical Handbook for Caseworkers under the Hague Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance is now available in all official languages of the European Union on the following webpage: here
31 Thursday Mar 2016
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inCouncil Decision (EU) 2016/414 of 10 March 2016 authorising the Republic of Austria to sign and ratify, and Malta to accede to, the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, in the interest of the European Union has been published at the OJEU, L 75, 22.3.2016, p. 1.
31 Thursday Mar 2016
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inTags
Hague Conference, Hague Convention of 1996, Hague Convention on Choice of Courts, Hague Convention on Evidence, International Commercial Contracts, International surrogacy, Maintenance, Recognition and Enforcement
Here are some recent developments at the Hague Conference on Private International Law:
1) On 30 March 2016, Norway signed and deposited its instrument of ratification to the Hague Convention of 19 October 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children and thus became the 44th Contracting State to this Convention. The Convention will enter into force for Norway on 1 July 2016.
2) On 21 March 2016, Ukraine signed the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements, as well as the Protocol of 23 November 2007 on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations.
3) From 15 to 17 March 2016, Members of the Hague Conference gathered in The Hague for the meeting of the Council on General Affairs and Policy. The Council was attended by 219 participants, a new record for this meeting, representing 69 Members, 2 Candidate States and observers from 12 IGO / NGOs.
On information related to the meeting, see already here
Regarding the key decisions taken by the Council, one should note :
16 Wednesday Mar 2016
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inTags
Hague Conference, Hague Convention on Abduction, Hague Convention on Evidence, Hague Convention on Service
The Philippines deposited today its instrument of accession to the 1980 Child Abduction Convention. It will become the 94th Contracting State to this Convention.
More than 70 States are now parties to The Hague Service Convention as Costa Rica and Vietnam acceded today, during the Council on General Affairs and Policy of the Hague Conference, to the Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (Service Convention).
Additionally, Costa Rica also became a party to the Convention of 25 October 1980 on International Access to Justice (Access to Justice Convention), and the Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters (Evidence Convention).
Finally, the Republic of Moldova became the 81st Member of the Hague Conference. The Republic of Kazakhstan may be the next.
26 Friday Feb 2016
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inThe Hague Conference on Private International Law published yesterday the report of the Experts’ Group on Parentage / Surrogacy, who met this month. The experts represented 21 States from all regions, including some States of origin as well as some receiving States in relation to international surrogacy arrangements (ISAs). The mandate of the Group is to explore the feasibility of advancing work on the private international law issues surrounding the status of children, including issues arising from ISAs. The Group was asked to first consider the private international law rules regarding the legal status of children in cross-border situations, including those born of ISAs.
Extracts:
“4. The Group began its work by discussing specific case examples. The discussion revealed significant diversity in national approaches. The Group recognised that the absence of uniform private international law rules or approaches with respect to the establishment and contestation of parentage can lead to conflicting legal statuses across borders and can create significant problems for children and families, e.g., uncertain paternity or maternity, limping parental statuses, uncertain identity of the child, immigration problems, uncertain nationality or statelessness of the child, abandonment including the lack of maintenance. The Group recognised that common solutions are needed to address these problems.
10 Wednesday Feb 2016
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“On Tuesday 9 February 2016, the Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law formally opened the six month period for existing Member States to vote on the proposal of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to admit Saudi Arabia as a new Member of the Organisation. The Netherlands presented its proposal in response to interest expressed by Saudi Arabia in joining the Hague Conference” (see https://www.hcch.net/en/news-archive/details/?varevent=466).
This is an important step forward for the Hague Conference as the number of Member States with a majority of Arabic people remains small. Of course, being a Member is not good enough. What matters is to ratify conventions, as the difference between Morocco (a country setting the example) and Tunisia illustrates. Should Saudi Arabia ratify a few key conventions such as the one on Service, it will have a clear impact on relations with the European Union (for an illustration of the issues raised in the absence of an Hague Convention with some Arabic countries in a similar position to Saudi Arabia today, see here).