The representatives at the Diplomatic Conference at the Hague Convention have issued a provisional text of the Convention here. I am short of time to post a quick scan of the Convention – see some of my earlier posts on same. Also, since the Convention has taken on the format of the Brussels regime, it is of course quite an exercise even just to give a quick overview.
Of interest is that Jane Holliday posted a summary of key positive takeaways by prof Paul Beaumont, who was heavily involved in the drafting i.a. as a representative of the EU. These include the room for asymmetric choice of court (not covered by the Hague choice of court Convention and crucial for many common law jurisdictions); and the blend between the US and the EU regime for forum contractus: Article 5(g):
‘the judgment ruled on a contractual obligation and it was given by a court of the State in which performance of that obligation took place, or should have taken place, in accordance with
(i) the agreement of the parties, or (ii) the law applicable to the contract, in the absence of an agreed place of performance,
unless the activities of the defendant in relation to
the transaction clearly did not constitute a purposeful and substantial connection to that State.
Of note of course is also the carve-out for intellectual property and of ‘unilateral’ sovereign debt restructuring, but also of defamation and of privacy.
Much analysis no doubt to follow, as are complications in reaching a unified interpretation of the Convention once ratified.
Geert.
(Handbook of) EU Private International Law, 2nd ed. 2016. Chapter 2.
