IACPIL » Event

Reality Check: Ad hoc and Hybrid Tribunals – Successful Solutions in International Criminal Jurisdiction?

Dr. Thomas Thiede, LL.B., LL.M. — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 12:42:00 +0000

Ad hoc Tribunals like the »International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991« and the »International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda« (ICTR) are subsidiary agencies of the UN, which are appointed ad hoc for the prosecution of war crimes and other felonies. Hybrid Tribunals rest on supra-national contracts between the UN and the local governments, like in the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) or the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, commonly known as the “Khmer Rouge Tribunal” to try those responsible for the crimes committed during the civil war. All of these Courts were met with extended criticism questioning inter alia their constitutional legality, viz. the application of universal or selective justice eventually describing them as »show trials«.
These critics and all other related questions will be discussed on January 17, 2011, 07:00 pm at the Hörsaal Juridicum II, Schenkenstrasse 8-10, 1010 Vienna – in German – by Susanne Brandstätter (Journalist, Author and Film Maker), Frank Höpfel (Professor for Penal Law, University of Vienna, former Judge at International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991) and Manfred Nowak (Professor for Human Rights Law, University of Vienna, former Judge International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia and former UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment).

Current Developments in Russian Private Law

Dr. Thomas Thiede, LL.B., LL.M. — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:19:28 +0000

On Monday, December 13, 2010, 07:30 pm at Hörsaal Schenkenstraße (Juridicum II), Schenkenstraße 8-10, 1010 Vienna, Ass.-Prof. Mag. Maxim Bashkatov will analyse the current reforms on securities law in Russia. He was involved in the working group »Conception of the development of legislation on securities and financial transactions« and provides with insights to the work of the group. Professor Bashkatov will inter alia focus on notion of securities in the Russian Civil Code, the application of rules on documentary securities for non-documentary securities in Russian civil legislation and practice of commercial courts. Furthermore, Mag.a Ekaterina Galkova will outline the regulations concerning Initial Public Offers in the Russian Federation. The range of questions to be addressed include definition and aim of IPO, IPO procedure under Russian securities law, underwriting agreement, Greenshoe option, IPO futures and Perspectives of global IPO market.

European Fundamental Rights and the Italian Legal System

Dr. Thomas Thiede, LL.B., LL.M. — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:59:17 +0000

Within the institutional framework of the European Union the relationship between the national legal systems and Union law is a very complex topic. The supremacy of Union law, as it was developed by the European Court of Justice, could stand in conflict with Art 117 of the Italian constitution, which regulates the legislative power of the state and the regions and includes the fundamental rights as central issue. The main players in this matter are the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human rights and the national Constitutional Courts. On Tuesday, December 7, 2010, 06:30 pm at Juridicum – Dachgeschoss, Schottenbastei 10-16, 1010 Vienna, Professor Dr. Onofrio Troiano (Facoltà di Giurisprudenza dell’Università degli Studi di Foggia, Italy) will discuss the relationship between those key players using the example of Italy. Focussing on the connection between the national judges in Italy’s Supreme Court and Constitutional Court on the one hand and the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights on the other hand he offers some new thoughts about a future European Bill of Rights.

The long tail of the Comet: Ulpian’s theories on Illegality and the Modern Law

Dr. Thomas Thiede, LL.B., LL.M. — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:39:58 +0000

Two definitions of illegality have come down from Ulpian. Those two definitions were developed by the French ius commune into two theories of illegality. In the course of the Austrian and French codifications the differences between the two theories were, to a large extent, lost in the background. However, in the second half of the 19th century, they remerged due to developments in Swiss law and have since then given rise to the discussion about so-called “objective” and “subjective” illegality.

On November 18, 2010, 19:30 s.t. at Juridicum II – Hörsaal Schenkenstrasse Prof. Bénédict Wininger will outline – in a lecture in German – the historical and theoretical background of this debate and assess whether, 2000 years later, Ulipan was right with his two, apparently controversial, definitions after all.

IGLP Workshop: “Law as a Regulatory Device”

Dr. Thomas Thiede, LL.B., LL.M. — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:51:35 +0000

The Institute for Global Law and Policy at Harvard Law School, The Interdisciplinary Association of Comparative and Private International Law, Vienna, and FOWI – Research Institute for Central and Eastern European Business Law at the Vienna University of Economics and Business announce their first annual IGLP Austrian Workshop “Law as a Regulatory Device”, 15 to 21 August 2010 at Schloss Seggau, Austria.

The IGLP Austrian Workshop is modelled on the annual IGLP Workshop, the first of which took place at Harvard Law School in June 2010. It is an intensive six day residential program designed for doctoral and post-doctoral scholars. The IGLP Austrian Workshop 2010 focuses on one general theme: the discussion of law as a regulatory device. This topic will be discussed in the context of debates on the current economic and social crisis. In the tradition of IGLP (and the European Law Research Centre) research, the IGLP Austrian Workshop aims at promoting alternative approaches and innovative ideas about global law, economic policy and social justice. It aims to bring together scholars from different areas of expertise such as law, economics and finance.

The IGLP Austrian Workshop will take place with the participation of Prof. David Kennedy, Harvard Law School, the faculty director of IGLP and of the IGLP Austrian Workshop. In addition to Prof. David Kennedy, Justice Dennis Davis, High Court of South Africa, from the Academic Council of IGLP, and Leopold Specht, Attorney at Law in Vienna, from the Advisory Council of IGLP, will participate in the IGLP Austrian Workshop.

The IGLP Austrian Workshop is sponsored by deloitte, STRABAG, Sullivan & Worcester LLP; JUFA Gästehaus Betriebe GmbH Graz and Ithuba Capital AG.

The faculty for the 2010 IGLP Austrian Workshop includes: Dr. Susanne Augenhofer, LL.M. (Yale), Junior Professor Humboldt University Berlin; Prof. Dan Danielson, Northeastern’s School of Law; Justice Dennis Davis, Western Cape High Court, South Africa; Prof. Peter Doralt, Vienna University of Economics and Business; Prof. Gunnar Heinsohn, University of Bremen; Prof. David Kennedy, Harvard Law School; Dr. Leopold Specht, Attorney at Law , Vienna; Prof. Martin Winner, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Chairman Austrian Takeover Commission.

The IGLP Austrian Workshop will be organized around three program themes:

Global Regulation
Regulation After the Crisis – The US Response, European Response
Regulation – The Role of Private Law and Private Enforcement

The Institute for Global Law and Policy is committed to keeping the workshop as cost neutral as possible for admitted applicants including lodging, meals, and travel grants. An application form for grants can be found here.

Current Developments in Russian Constitutional Law

Dr. Thomas Thiede, LL.B., LL.M. — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 08:12:14 +0000

You are cordially invited to a lecture by Prof. Dr. Suren Avakian taking place at the July 2, 2010 at 11:00 at the Juridicum – Dachgeschoss. Suren Avakian will present his thoughts on the current state of the constitution of the Russian Federation and on reforms of Russian constitutional law.

In particular, he will focus on political parties, developments in electoral law, protection of spheres of interest of people, access to information and the state of federalism and the system of state organs.

Proportional Liability

Dr. Thomas Thiede, LL.B., LL.M. — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:20:33 +0000

The evidential problems caused by medical and scientific uncertainty (eg as to the causes of disease in individual cases) have prompted courts in several European jurisdictions to investigate alternatives to their ordinary pproaches to proof of causation. Amongst these is the concept of proportional liability – liability in proportion to the risk attributable to the tortious conduct – which has so far been adopted in Austria, the Netherlands and the UK. Proportional liability is also proposed in the European Group on Tort Law’s Principles of European Tort Law, and the Group has embarked on a dedicated project to further explore the proper scope of the proportional liability approach. On Monday, May 31, 2010 at 8:00 pm in the lecture hall Rechtswissenschaften (Juridicum II), Schenkenstrasse 8-10 1010 Vienna, Ken Oliphant, a member of the Group, will summarise the outcomes of the research so far and offer some personal reflections on the concept of proportional liability. Afterwards Alexander Stremitzer will discuss the overall advantages of proportional liability and will complete his analysis by giving a comparative law overview with special consideration of new US-Jurisprudence in the fields of medical, environmental and capital market law.

Japanese consumer protection law and the influence of European consumer protection law

Dr. Thomas Thiede, LL.B., LL.M. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:28:58 +0000

Japanese consumer protection law offers an interesting comparative perspective on European consumer protection law. Professor Nakata of Ryokoku Law school in Kyoto is the leading expert in Japanese consumer protection and competition law. He will, for the first time, hold a lecture in Vienna on similarities and differences between Japanese and European consumer protection law.
IACPIL cordially inivites you to the lecture of professor Nakata, held on December 10, 2009 at 6 pm in Hörsaal 16 (University of Vienna, 1 Dr. Karl Lueger-Ring, 1010 Vienna).

The lecture will focus on

Japanese consumer protection and its relationship to general civil law
critical appraisal of recent Japanese reform proposals
comparison of these reform proposals with the rules of European private law
integration of consumer contract law into general civil law.

Please note that the lecture will be given in German language. Please register via organisation@igkk.org.

Brussels I on the Verge of Reform

Dr. Thomas Thiede, LL.B., LL.M. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:34:04 +0000

Eight years after the Brussels I Regulation came into effect, manifold issues turn out to be problematic in practice or have been unsuccessfully resolved from the very beginning. The Brussels I Regulation is apt for reform. A forthcoming report and a Green Paper exemplify the reform process.

Hence, IACPIL is exceptionally delighted to invite you to a lecture by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Peter Mankowski (University Hamburg, Germany) on the Reform of Brussels I Regulation taking place on November 23, 2009, 17:00 s.t. at the University of Vienna. Prof. Mankowski will pay special attention to the relation of the Brussels I Regulation with non Member States, with other conventions and with arbitration. In addition, “modern classics” such as rules on lis pendens, IP litigation and the protection of choice of court agreements, as well as the abolition of exequatur will be considered. Finally, the application of the jurisdiction of the place of performance in practice may be subject to criticism. Basically, reform endeavours must carefully navigate between innovation and stagnation. However, rumors indicate that a reform of Brussels I can be expected as early as 2010.

Please note that the lecture will be given in German language. Please register via praxis@igkk.org.

You may also an invitation including a programme (*.pdf).

Legal Conflicts and Conflict of Laws

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:12:12 +0000

You are cordially invited to a colloquium celebrating the inauguration of the newly established “Interdisciplinary Association of Comparative and Private International Law”. The association aims at strengthening the role of comparative and private international law in Austria. The panel discussion on “Legal Conflicts and Conflict of Laws, or – It may be true in theory, but necessarily in practice”, with Prof. Chr. Joerges (Germany), Prof. U. Mattei (Italy) and Prof. G. Woodman (UK), will take place on October 19, 2009 at the University of Vienna.
The speakers analyse, from a variety of perspectives, the notions of »law« and of the »rule of law«, including conflicts resulting from the understanding and application of these notions. The range of questions to be addressed include, among others:

How should legal systems, having an approach to law which is different from that of Western Europe, be understood and co-ordinated?
Can the »rule of law« principle be reconciled with the concept of the social State (»Sozialstaat«) in the European integration process?
Is the »rule of law« an important »export product« or rather an instrument of »parochialism«?
What are the consequences applying these notions in the context of comparative law and modern conflict of laws?

Please register via kollisionen@igkk.org.

You may also download an invitation including a programme (*.pdf).