Views
The enforcement of an advance on costs for substitute performance at the expense of a Russian debtor in German-French legal relations
This note has been co-authored with Dr. Samuel Vuattoux-Bock, LL.M. (Kiel). It is based on a legal expert opinion for White and Case LLP, Frankfurt. A more comprehensive version – in German – is forthcoming in the Zeitschrift für Internationales Wirtschaftsrecht (IWRZ).
I. Introduction
International enforcement regarding the performance of actions that may be taken by others pursuant to Section 887 of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) raises complex questions within the Brussels Ibis Regulation. These issues concern the correct classification of such enforcement measures, the legal status of a third-party debtor in the context of the enforcement of monetary claims, and potential grounds for refusing enforcement that may arise with respect to international jurisdiction and any defects in service of process. Currently, French courts are seized of the question as to whether a German judgment—in which the German creditor of a Russian debtor was awarded an advance on costs pursuant to Section 887(2) ZPO—can be fully enforced in France by means of a garnishment order directed against a French third-party debtor.
“Yes, in principle, but not quite there yet…” – Some Observations on the Public Consultation on the HCCH Draft Text of a Future Convention on Parallel Proceedings and Related Actions
This post was written by Matthias Weller and Achim Czubaiko-Güntgen, both at the University of Bonn, Germany. Matthias is a Director of the Institute for German and International Civil Procedural Law. Achim is a PhD Student there who works on the HCCH Conventions on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.
Recently, the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) published the responses to the public consultation issued in November 2025 (all available on hcch.net here). Whilst each of the 72 reports is valuable in its own right, when viewed collectively they also provide an insight in the general perception of the HCCH’s Jurisdiction Project, as it is currently standing. We would like to take this opportunity to highlight certain aspects that are widely agreed upon, as well as others that still remain subject to further debate.
Judgment Mobility Rules in India’s Private International Law Regime: No place for a revision au fond?
This post was kindly prepared by Sai Ramani Garimella, Associate Professor, Faculty of Legal Studies, South Asian University.
A judgment-creditor is often concerned about the enforcement of foreign court orders, and that concern is not completely misplaced in India. The Supreme Court’s decision in Messer Griesheim v Goyal MG Gases is a useful illustration of the law governing the enforcement of foreign court orders and of the discussion of their finality and binding nature. Twenty-three years after the underlying loan transaction, and after much litigation, the Court has finally closed the chapter, refusing to enforce a 2006 English court’s summary judgment for roughly USD 5.8 million. Along the way, it has also clarified two recurring questions that often come up whenever a foreign money decree is sought to be executed in India:
News
RabelsZ: Issue 2/2026
The latest issue of RabelsZ has just be released. It contains the following articles as well as an editorial with important information regarding the journal’s future governance structure and publication process. All content is Open Access: CC BY 4.0.
EDITORIAL
New Governance Structure and Double-Blind Peer Review, pp 225–228, https://doi.org/10.1628/rabelsz-2026-0020
ESSAYS
Sören Segger-Piening,Grundstrukturen des Kollisionsrechts der Digitalisierung am Beispiel von DSGVO, Data Act, DSA, DMA und KI-VO. „Europe Rules the Waves?“, [The Private International Law Dimensions of Digitalization. »Europe Rules the Waves?«], pp 229–292, https://doi.org/10.1628/rabelsz-2026-0012
The private international law of the digital single market is characterized by unilateral scope rules. This article analyses multiple pieces of legislation from the perspective of both private and public international law. In terms of substantive law, there is a substantive duality between private law and public law. With regard to connecting factors and principles, the market location principle dominates, but there are considerable differences in the details of each piece of legislation, particularly between the GDPR, the Data Act, and the AI Regulation on the one hand and the DSA and the DMA on the other hand. From the perspective of public international law the goal of a global regulation can be identified, even though the hoped-for »Brussels effect« may have the opposite impact. While the scope rules do have an impact in private international law, they hardly fit into the existing system; recognized goals such as decisional harmony and party autonomy are not being achieved. De lege ferenda, there are options for achieving justice under private international law while also attaining global applicability.
Tobias Lutzi, Arvid Kerschnitzki, Streitgegenstand und Rechtskraft. Perspektiven für einen autonomen Streitgegenstandsbegriff in der EuGVVO [Subject-Matter and Res Judicata. The Prospects of an Autonomous Concept of Subject-Matter under the Brussels Ibis Regulation], pp 293–322, https://doi.org/10.1628/rabelsz-2026-0011
While the debate on the reform of the Brussels Ibis Regulation is well underway, the concepts of lis pendens and res judicatahave thus far received little attention, despite constituting some of the Regulation’s core mechanisms. In fact, there has long been a structural mismatch between the autonomously defined »subject-matter« of a dispute – underpinning the rules on lis pendens and the grounds for refusal of recognition – and a concept of res judicata that remains determined by national law. This incongruence may lead to unsatisfactory outcomes, e.g. where the lis pendens rules successfully prevent parallel proceedings but the resulting judgment produces only a limited preclusive effect, creating the potential for (further) decisions that will be incapable of circulation within the EU. Against this background, the present article explores the prospects of developing an autonomous concept of subject-matter under the Brussels Ibis Regulation. It advocates harmonization based on the doctrine developed by the ECJ in its interpretation of Art. 29 Brussels Ibis. A more far-reaching harmonization – one which could include an extension of the rules on lis pendens – would also seem useful, but for now it appears unlikely to receive sufficient support.
Saloni Khanderia, From Domestic Courts to Transnational Justice. An Examination of India’s PIL within a Comparative Asian Framework, pp 323–358, https://doi.org/10.1628/rabelsz-2026-0018
India, with its vast population, economic presence, and historical prominence in constitutional and human rights jurisprudence, has profoundly shaped international legal discourse. However, it has lagged in developing its PIL rules, chiefly due to its particularistic views favouring national law and its focus on international commercial arbitration. Judicial efforts striving to pace the country’s economic policies post-liberalization are insufficient without concomitant efforts by the Parliament and the Law Commission of India. Using Singapore, China, Japan, and South Korea as examples, the study suggests that modernising India’s framework predominantly involves relaxing restrictions on foreign legal practitioners, empowering the judiciary to investigate foreign law ex officio, and overhauling the recognition and enforcement regime to align with international standards. Pending comprehensive codification, interim guidelines drawn by the highest court should encapsulate case law to ensure consistency. The author contends that India’s PIL cannot be internationalized by courts alone. Rather, the effort will require a collective of institutional perspectives – spanning the legislature, the Law Commission, and the judiciary – to foster sustainable growth.
Jürgen Samtleben, Das Internationale Privatrecht Kolumbiens. Tradition und Vision, [The Private International Law of Colombia. Tradition and Vision], pp 359–384, https://doi.org/10.1628/rabelsz-2026-0019
The private international law of Colombia follows in the territorialist tradition of the Chilean Civil Code of 1855, which Colombia adopted in 1873/1887. But Colombia opted for an even more rigid territorialist conception, under which Colombian law applies to all domestic transactions. Colombian nationals abroad continue to be subject to Colombian law as their personal statute inasmuch as their activities have effects in Colombia. Foreign law is entertained only as an exception under a vested-rights theory for transactions concluded abroad. Subsequent legislation has done hardly anything to alter this archaic system despite unabated criticism in the Colombian legal literature. Two recent proposals by Colombian scholars have breathed new life into the discussion. These proposals are based on a bilateral conception of the domiciliary principle and show the influence of modern tendencies in the conflict of laws. This article compares and contrasts the current law with the newly proposed rules and thereby shows the deficits of the existing rules. The new proposals so far have not elicited any official response.
BOOK REVIEWS
This issue also contains several reviews of literature in the fields of comparative private and private international law and on related topics (pp. 385–409).
【Out Now – Open Access】Commercial Private International Law in Southern Africa: Comparative and International Perspectives: Essays in Honour of Professor Christopher F Forsyth KC
Professor Christopher F. Forsyth is undoubtedly one of the leading figures in private international law in Africa, particularly in Southern Africa, where his scholarship has had a profound and lasting influence. His seminal work, Private International Law – The Modern Roman-Dutch Law Including the Jurisdiction of the High Courts (5th ed., Juta, 2012), is not only an indispensable reference for scholars and researchers, but also an authoritative work before Southern African courts, where it is frequently cited with approval.