Part 2 National and Regional Reports, Part 2.4 Europe: Coordinated by Thomas Kadner Graziano, 48 Switzerland: Swiss Perspectives on the Hague Principles

Author(s):  
Graziano Thomas Kadner ◽  
Meyle Hannes

This chapter describes Swiss perspectives on the Hague Principles. Switzerland is a Contracting State to the Hague Convention of 15 June 1955 on the Law Applicable to International Sale of Goods. For contracts other than commercial sales, the applicable law is determined by the Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law (PILA). It covers jurisdiction, international civil procedure, applicable law, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. The Swiss PILA therefore constitutes an all-inclusive, comprehensive codification of private international law. For many issues, the rules contained with the PILA are already in conformity with those in the Hague Principles. Where the Hague Principles cover issues that have not yet been explicitly addressed by the PILA, such as choice of non-State rules in Article 3 of the Hague Principles, or conflicting choice of law clauses in standard forms in Article 6(1)(b) of the Hague Principles, the legislator may very well take the Hague Principles into consideration when amending the PILA. In fact, the Swiss legislator regularly takes inspiration from international and foreign law when amending the law or covering new issues.

Author(s):  
Kobeh Marie-Claude Najm

This chapter evaluates Lebanese perspectives on the Hague Principles. In Lebanon, private international law rules in respect of international commercial contracts are not codified. There are statutory rules governing certain areas of private international law, some of which might be relevant in cases where international commercial contracts are litigated. This is the case for rules on international jurisdiction (Articles 74–80 Code of Civil Procedure, hereafter CCP), recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions (Articles 1009–1024 CCP), international arbitration (Articles 809–821 CCP) and the application of foreign law (Articles 139–142 CCP). Given the rarity of private international law statutory rules, and specifically the absence of statutory choice of law rules for international commercial contracts, it was up to the courts to shape conflict of law rules for these contracts.. In this respect, Lebanese courts do not have the authority to refer to the Hague Principles as persuasive applicable rules, ie to use them to interpret and supplement the applicable rules and principles of private international law. Nevertheless, it should be noted that Article 4 CCP invites the courts, in the absence of statutory law, to rely on ‘general principles, custom and equity’.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 219
Author(s):  
Pietro Franzina

Riassunto: Una recente pronuncia del Tribunale di Belluno offre l’occasione per discutere le difficoltà che circondano l’applicazione delle norme italiane di diritto internazionale privato relative alla protezione delle persone maggiorenni che, a causa di un un’infermità o di menomazioni psichiche o fisiche, non sono in grado di provvedere ai propri interessi. Investito di un’istanza per la nomina di un amministratore di sostegno, il Tribunale ha affermato la sussistenza della giurisdizione italiana in ragione del fatto che la beneficiaria della misura di protezione –una cittadina macedone– aveva la propria residenza in Italia; circostanza rilevante, si legge nel provvedimento, tanto ai sensi dell’art. 3 quanto ai sensi dell’art. 9 della legge italiana di diritto internazionale privato (legge n. 218/1995), le norme generali riguardanti, rispettivamente, la giurisdizione contenziosa e quella volontaria. Quanto alla legge applicabile, il Tribunale ha innanzitutto rilevato che l’art. 43 della legge italiana di diritto internazio-nale privato richiama la legge nazionale della persona di cui trattasi, cioè, nella specie, la legge macedone. Si è dunque preoccupato di accertare se le norme macedoni sui conflitti di leggi richiamassero una legge diversa, ed è giunto alla conclusione che queste rinviassero nel caso di specie alla legge italiana. Anche il diritto internazionale privato macedone assoggetta in via ordinaria la protezione degli adulti alla legge del paese di cittadinanza dell’interessato, ma esiste nel sistema macedone una clausola di eccezione di carattere generale che, in un caso come quello considerato, interamente collegato con l’Italia (a parte la cittadinanza della beneficiaria) corregge il richiamo predetto e riconduce la fattispecie sotto il diritto italiano. Da qui, in forza dell’art. 13 della legge italiana di diritto internazionale privato, in tema di rinvio, l’applicabilità del diritto italiano. L’articolata argomentazione che sorregge la pronuncia, in sé convincente, mette in luce le ragioni per le quali l’assetto normativo attuale appare inadeguato a soddisfare gli interessi che oggi dominano la materia, quali risultano in particolare dalla Convenzione delle Nazioni Unite del 2006 sui diritti delle persone con disabilità. La ratifica italiana della Convenzione dell’Aja del 2000 sulla protezione internazionale degli adulti comporterebbe, si sostiene nell’articolo, vantaggi significativi. Parole chiave: disabilità; capacità; supporto nella assunzione di decisioni; competenza giurisdizionale; procedimenti contenziosi e volontari; legge applicabile; rinvio; clausola di eccezione. Abstract: A recent decision by the Tribunal of Belluno provides the opportunity to discuss the difficulties that surround the application of the Italian rules of private international law concerning the protection of adults who, by reason of an impairment or insufficiency of their personal faculties, are not in a position to protect their interests. Seised of a request for the appointment of an “amministratore di sostegno” (a person charged with assisting the adult concerned in the taking of particular decisions), the Tribunal found it had jurisdiction on the ground that the person for whom the protection was sought – a national of Macedonia – resided in Italy. As noted by the Tribunal, this provided a sufficient basis for jurisdiction under both Article 3 and Article 9 of the Italian Statute on Private International (Law No 218 of 1995), concerning jurisdiction over contentious and non-contentious proceedings, respectively. As regards the applicable law, the Tribunal observed at the outset that, pursuant to Article 43 of the Italian Statute, the protection of adults is governed by the law of the State of nationality of the adult concerned, that is, in the circumstances, the law of Macedonia. The Tribunal went on to assess whether the conflictof-laws rules in force in Macedonia refer, in turn, to the law of the different country, and found that they refer the matter back to Italian law. Like the Italian Statute, the Macedonian Statute of Private International Law provides that the protection of adults be governed by the law of nationality of the adult in question. However, the Macedo-nian Statute includes a general exception clause pursuant to which, in the Tribunal’s view, the case must rather be considered to be governed by Italian law, given that the case is con-nected with Italy in all respects, apart from the nationality of the person concerned. Hence, according to Article 13 of the Italian Statute, on renvoi, the application of Italian law. The Tribunal’s complex reasoning, while persuasive in itself, illustrates the reasons why the cur-rent legal landscape hardly suits the interests underlying this area of law, in particular as they result from the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities of 2006. The paper argues that the picture would significantly improve if Italy ratified the Hague Convention of 2000 on the international protection of adults. Keywords: disability; capacity; assisted decision-making; jurisdiction; contentious and non-contentious proceedings; applicable law; renvoi; exception clause.


Author(s):  
Dias Rui ◽  
Nordmeier Carl Friedrich

This chapter explores Angolan and Mozambican perspectives on the Hague Principles. The rules of Angolan and Mozambican civil law, and with them private international law, currently in force correspond to the Portuguese rules as they stood in 1975. As to private international law, the 1966 Portuguese Civil Code (hereafter CC) contains a codification of this field of the law in Articles 15 to 65. Meanwhile, rules on international civil procedure are to be found in the Angolan and the Mozambican Civil Procedure Codes. They concern, inter alia, international jurisdiction and the enforcement of foreign judgments. Party autonomy is recognized as the principal connecting factor for contractual relationships (Art 41(1) CC). Nevertheless, the choice of law is not unlimited: it is necessary that either some of the elements of the contract having relevance in private international law are connected with the law chosen, or that the choice of the applicable law corresponds to a serious interest. It is clear from this backdrop that a set of rules, such as the Hague Principles, which present themselves as an embodiment of current best practices is well placed to help interpret, supplement, or develop the choice of law rules of the 1966 Civil Code.


2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (90) ◽  
pp. 189-205
Author(s):  
Radmila Dragišić

In this paper, the author explores the sources of European Union Law that regulate one segment of parental responsibility - the right of access to a child. The focal point of research is the transition from the conventional (interstate) regulation of judicial cooperation in marital disputes and parental responsibility issues to the regulation enacted by the European Union institutions, with specific reference to the Brussels II bis Regulation. First, the author briefly points out to its relationship with other relevant international law sources regulating this subject matter: the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction; the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in the Field of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children; and other international sources of law. Then, the author examines in more detail its relationship with the Brussels II bis recast Regulation, which will be applicable as of 1 August 2022. In addition, the paper includes an analysis of the first case in which the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decided on the application of the Brussels II bis Regulation, at the request of granparents to exercise the right of access to the child. On the issue of determining the competent court which has jurisdiction to decide on how this right shall be exercised, the CJEU had to decide whether the competent court is determined on the basis of the Brussels II bis Regulation or on the basis of national Private International Law rules. This paper is useful for the professional and scientific community because it deals (inter alia) with the issue of justification of adopting a special source of law at the EU level, which would regulate the issue of mutual enforcement of court decisions on the right of access to the child. This legal solution was proposed by the Republic of France, primarily guided by the fundamental right of the child to have contact with both parents.


Author(s):  
V.C. Govindaraj

The world has to acknowledge the contribution the Hague Conference on Private International Law has hitherto made and continues to make in its endeavour to obtain from the world community approval and acceptance of the outcome of its efforts to unify rules of conflict of laws. India has become an active member of the Hague Conference. This chapter discusses the recognition of decrees of divorces and judicial separation and maintenance obligations; child custody and child abduction; the law relating to succession; the law relating to service of summons abroad; Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, 1961; and Hague Convention on Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, 1970.


Author(s):  
von Segesser Georg

This chapter examines the effect of the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition (Hague Trust Convention) on the law applicable to the arbitration of trust disputes. It also considers the extent to which arbitrators can apply the conflict of laws rules of the convention in cases where the parties have not agreed that these rules should govern the issues in dispute. The chapter is organized as follows. Section II addresses the selection of the applicable substantive law by arbitral tribunals in cases where the parties have not agreed on the applicable law. Sections III and IV cover international conventions and, in particular the Hague Trust Convention, as sources for the selection of the applicable law. Section V deals with the validity and effect of arbitration agreements while Section VI considers the effects of a choice of-law-clause and the binding effect of such a clause for the arbitral proceedings. Section VII addresses the effect of specific conflict of laws rules of the Hague Trust Convention on the law applicable to the merits in international trust arbitration disputes.


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