Swobodny przepływ dokumentów w Unii Europejskiej: znaczenie i oddziaływanie rozporządzenia 2016/1191

The article is dedicated to the (still relatively unknown) EU Regulation 2016/1191. The Regulation disposes of some of the formalities with respect to circulation of the public documents within EU. In particular, no legalization in any form, including the apostille under the Hague Convention, will be needed with respect to documents covered by the Regulation. Unliked originally planned by the Commission, the Regulation does not, unfortunately, completes a more challenging goal of mandating recognition of the civil status throughout the Union. This issue still remains subject to national conflict-of-law rules. Moreover, the scope of Regulation is relatively narrow. It does not, again regrettably, apply to many public documents which are crucial in cross-border transactions (excerpts from commercial registers, powers of attorney for sale of immovable property). The author analyses to what extent Regulation 2016/1191 offers progress in circulation of documents. This question is first raised in light of the long standing application of the Hague Apostille Convention. The author then attempts to discern the effective role of the Regulation given the fact that under Article 1138 of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure, no legalization in any form is in principle required for the foreign public documents to be treated as authentic and official proof in Poland (although the practice often is to ask for the apostille even if not required by law). Still, the Regulation 2016/1138 might come of assistance for the parties in some respects. First, it will facilitate acceptance of Polish public documents in those Member States, which have so far required apostille. Second, the Regulation may help to overcome an incorrect practice in Poland of requiring apostille by the officials, where Article 1138 actually dispenses of such formality. Third, the Regulation introduces an administrative cooperation based on the IMI system which allows to verify doubts as to the authenticity of the public document from another Member States. This last feature of the Regulation, it is argued, may prove of its true value to the freedom of circulation of public documents within the EU.

International Child Abduction: The Complexities of Forensic Psychiatric Assessments Before the Hague Convention

The Hague Convention is an international intergovernmental agreement that facilitates the return of abducted children to lawful parents across international borders. Children may not be returned if it can be established that the return would result in harm to the child. Forensic psychiatrists may be called upon to provide an expert opinion regarding the potential harm to come to a child, as well as various other psycholegal issues. We discuss interpretations and precedents regarding this law and the possible contributions of forensic psychiatrists. We also discuss two hybridized case examples involving international child abduction and proceedings before the Hague Convention. We will discuss issues that arose after psychiatric evaluations in each case.

11. Service Outside the Jurisdiction

This chapter deals with jurisdiction in England and Wales. Proceedings generally have to be served within the jurisdiction. There always has to be a sound basis before proceedings can be served outside the jurisdiction. Where the parties have an exclusive jurisdiction clause in favour of the courts of England and Wales, proceedings may be commenced against a defendant who is outside the jurisdiction pursuant to the Hague Convention 2005, and served on the defendant without seeking court permission. In other cases, if jurisdiction can be established against a defendant who is outside the jurisdiction under the CPR, r 6.36 and PD 6B, para 3.1, proceedings can be served outside the jurisdiction only with the permission of the court. The times for responding to claims served outside the jurisdiction are extended.

Specifics pertaining to the implementation of international conventions related to civil aviation into national legislations

The paper considers the implementation of the Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Relating to International Civil Aviation and the Protocol supplementing The Hague Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft into the national legislations of ICAO Member States. The analysis of criminal acts is carried out and the appropriate determination is given. Taking into account the content of the Convention in reference to acts of unlawful interference committed against the aircraft safety, the authors propose conceptual approaches which help to efficiently amend various legal documents, applying special legislative means. The paper also discusses the relevant criminal issues related to air transportation of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons with the supplementary materials included. Strict attention is paid to the issue of criminal liability of legal entities for violations of aircraft safety. To foster the ratification of pertinent legal documents, the authors describe methods that help to develop necessary amendments and additions.

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

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.

12 Protection of the Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked

This chapter studies the protection of the wounded, sick, and shipwrecked. The definition of persons protected under the various treaties for the protection of the wounded, sick, and shipwrecked evolved constantly from the adoption of the 1864 Geneva Convention, which only applied to ‘combatants’. The 1906 Geneva Convention subsequently broadened the scope of application to add ‘other persons officially attached to the armed forces’, and the 1929 Geneva Convention similarly referred to ‘officers and soldiers and other persons officially attached to the armed forces’. As far as warfare at sea was concerned, the Hague Convention (III) of 1899 applied to ‘sailors and soldiers who are taken on board’, while the 1907 Hague Convention (X) added to this definition ‘other persons officially attached to fleets or armies’ in analogy to the 1906 Geneva Convention. The chapter then looks at the protection of medical personnel and the rules of international humanitarian law on the dead and missing persons. It also details the development which has led to the adoption of a new protective emblem: the Red Crystal.