Private International Law
Full course description
No education will be offered. Students who are enrolled in the European Law School programme as of September 2022 or earlier are entitled to two additional assessment opportunities in 2024/2025 to complete the respective programme components of year 2.
Private International Law (PIL) provides a set of legal rules for situations where one or more of the parties, facts or circumstances related to a legal dispute are connected with more than one legal system. Private International Law in particular provides: 1. legal rules which establish when a national court has international jurisdiction in any case involving an international element; 2. legal rules which determine the applicable law in cases involving international elements heard before a national court; and 3. legal rules on recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments.
Each country has its own PIL rules, but a significant portion of sources of PIL are international treaties and, in this region, EU regulations. PIL has become even more significant as a result of increasing integration within the European Union and because of globalization and increased mobility of people across borders.
This course in particular focuses on the European perspective of PIL. Hence it includes: 1. an examination of the general structure, main doctrines, principles and topics (family law, goods, contractual/non-contractual obligations) of PIL from the EU perspective; 2. an introduction to the most important EU Regulations, such as the Regulation 593/2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations, Regulation 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations, as well as some key international treaties on PIL; 3. an overview of the impact of EU primary law in the development of PIL.
For the purposes of this course, PIL is understood in a broad sense, thus including the conflict of laws and the law of international civil procedure.
Teaching method:
PBL/PGO and lectures.
The participants of this course come together for tutorials twice a week during a period of three weeks. In addition, six lectures are provided.
Course objectives
The general aim of the course is to provide students with an understanding of the problems inherent in legal situations involving (a) cross-border element(s) pertaining to private law (b) mainly from a European perspective.
- Gaining knowledge
The students will gain knowledge of the basic principles and legal rules of PIL from a European perspective.
- Applying knowledge and understanding
The students will learn to apply the knowledge they acquire to identify and solve concrete problems that arise in international family disputes or civil and commercial transactions.
- Making legal assessments
The students will develop their ability to translate knowledge (from textbooks, primary legal sources) into sound legal arguments or own legal points of view.
They will learn how to identify the pertinent questions in international civil and commercial transactions (type of dispute, relevant PIL question(s), etc.).
- Communicating
The students will train their abilities to express legal arguments clearly, both orally and on paper.
- Learning Skills
The students will develop the techniques legal experts need as regards the gathering, selecting, analyzing, interpreting and synthesizing information from primary sources of EU, international and national law (treaties, legislation, case law) as well as second sources (textbooks, law journals, etc.)
They will develop their ability to approach the law with a holistic perspective and grasp the consequences of increasingly interconnected civil and commercial transactions.
Prerequisites
None
Recommended prior knowledge
Basic knowledge of law in general.
Recommended reading
- The mandatory textbook for this course is the 2019 edition of M. Bogdan & M. Pertegás Sender, Concise introduction to EU Private International Law, Groningen: Europa Law Publishing.
- The use of the latest edition of ‘Selected National, European and International Provisions from Public and Private Law, the Maastricht Collection’ by Nicole Kornet & S. Hardt (eds.), Groningen: Europa Law Publishing, is recommended for those students who are already in possession of the book and/or participate in other ELS courses.
(See also announcement on Student Portal before the start of the course, all books can be ordered e.g. via Studystore or the publisher).