unalex. Projects

IPR Verlag GmbH

Dr. Thomas Simons

IPR Verlag GmbH (Germany), headed by: Thomas Simons, assisted by Sibylle Calabresi-Scholz

Asser Instituut (Netherlands), headed by: Jan De Jongh

H.E.E. Consulting Group S.p.r.l (Belgium)., headed by: Anton Nijssen

• Alegría Borrás Rodríguez, President of GEDIP – Groupe Européen de Droit International Privé; University Professor, i.a. for private international law and international civil procedural law, University of Barcelona (ES)
• Willibald Posch President of ELFA – European Law Faculties Association, University Professor, i.a. for private international law and international civil procedural law, University of Graz (AT)
• Franciscus Adrianus Nelissen, General Director of T.M.C. ASSER Instituut (NL)
• Rainer Hausmann, University Professor specialising i.a. in international civil procedural law, Konstanz University (DE)
• Tibor Varady, UniversityProfessor, i.a. for private international law and international commercial arbitration, Central European University, Budapest (HU); visiting professor Emory University, Georgia (USA)
• Hans Schulte-Nölke, Secretary of Acquis Group in the field of civil law harmonisation, University Professor, i.a. for private international law and civil law, Bielefeld University (DE)
• Peter Stone, University Professor, i.a. for private international law and international civil procedural law, University of Essex (UK)
• Franco Ferrari, University Professor, i.a. for private international law and international civil procedural law, University of Verona (IT)
• Thomas Simons, (project manager); lawyer; editor in chief The European Legal Forum; legal publisher (DE)
• Anton J. Nijssen, H.E.E., management of research organisations, public and private; management of large international projects and programmes (BE)
• Representative of the European Commission (as observer), Karen Vandekerckhove, DG Justice, Freedom and Security

• Andreas Schwartze, AT, University Professor, Chair of European Private Law, Comparative Law and Private International Law, University of Innsbruck; Director of the Department of European, International and Comparative Private Law.
• Marc Fallon, BE, University Professor, Chairs of Private International Law and of substantive Community Law, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve.
• Monika Pauknerová, CZ, University Professor of Private International Law and International Trade Law at the Faculty of Law, Charles University, Prague and University of West Bohemia, Pilsen.
• Peter Gjørtler, DK, Director of Lexnet European Information, Senior Lecturer at the Riga Graduate School of Law and attorney at DLA Nordic law firm.
• Heiki Pisuke, EE, University Professor for Intellectual Property Law, Institute of Law, University of Tartu.
• Tuulikki Mikkola, FL, Lecturer for Private International Law, University of Lapland; Researcher; Finnish Academy Helsinki.
• Didier Boden, FR, Maître de Conférence at the University of Paris I, Panthéon Sorbonne.
• Mathias Audit, FR, Agrégé des Facultés de Droit at the University of Caen.
• Rainer Hausmann, DE, University Professor specialised in International Civil Procedural Law, Konstanz University.
• CECL / Maria Mousmouti, GR and CY, Director of International Projects at the Centre for European Constitutional Law (CECL); LLM, lawyer at the Bar of Athens.
• Gábor Palásti, HU, Adjunct Professor of European Law and Private International Law, Deputy Head of Department, University of Miskolc.
• Noel J. Travers, IE, Professor, Trinity College Dublin, Irish Center of European Law, practising barrister at the Bar of Ireland, former Director of the Irish Center for European Law.
• Franco Ferrari, IT, University Professor, i.a. for Private International Law and International Civil Procedural Law, University of Verona.
• John J. A. Burke, LV, Rector and Professor of International Commercial Law, Riga Graduate School of Law, Latvia; Assistant Executive Director, New Jersey Law Revision Commission; Legal Editor.
• Valentinas Mikelènas, LT, University Professor of Civil Law and Civil Procedural Law, Vilnius University; Justice of The Supreme Court of Lithuania.
• Patrick Kinsch, LU, Secretary of GEDIP – Groupe européen de droit international privé; Assistant professor, University du Luxembourg; Avocat at the Barreau du Luxembourg.
• Ian Refalo, MT, Professor, University of Malta, Dean of Law Faculty.
• Guus Schmidt, NL, T.M.C. Asser Instituut, Senior Researcher.
• Maciej Szpunar, PL, Doctor of Law, LLM; Lecturer at the Chair of of Civil Law and Private International Law, University of Silesia, Katowice.
• Luís Barreto Xavier, PT, Private International Law researcher, Universidade Catolica Portuguesa, Faculty of Law, Lisbon.
• Elisabeth B. Crawford, SC, Professor of Private International Law, University of Glasgow.
• Janeen M Carruthers, SC, Reader in Conflict of Laws, University of Glasgow.
• Blažena Sedláková, SK, State Adviser Legislative and Approximation of Law Department in the National Council of the Slovak Republic.
• Aleš Galič, SL, Professor for Civil Procedural Law, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law.
• Alegría Borrás Rodríguez, ES, President of GEDIP – Groupe européen de droit international privé; University Professor of Private International Law and International Civil Procedural Law, University of Barcelona.
• Marie Larsson Linton, SW, Assistant Professor of Private International Law and International Civil Procedural Law, International Business School Jönköping.
• Martin P. George, UK, Post-Graduate Teaching Assistant, School of Law, University of Birmingham, School of Law, LLB. Leicester and LLM. Nottingham.
• Andrew Dickinson, UK, Solicitor advocate, Clifford Chance law office, London.

April 2005 - July 2006

IPR Verlag GmbH

Dr. Thomas Simons

Martiusstr. 1

80802 München

Germany

1. The study is a feasibility study. Its task is to analyse the conditions for the establishment of a European Research Network in the fields of international private law, civil law and civil procedure, the objectives for which it could be developed, the form it could take, and activities which it could develop.
2. With the purpose of establishing the present situation in the subject area which the Network shall cover and of drawing inspiration from possible models and examples, the study has undertaken different activities, among which, based on the cooperation with a network of correspondents in all Member States, a needs assessment and an assessment of the situation of private international law research in the form of “country reports”. Further to intensive discussions at the occasion of a conference with all correspondents and representatives of international associations and organizations and of “expert-meetings” organised in each Member State, a concrete network model has been worked out which has been submitted to all researchers addressed during the study for evaluation and in order to establish their interest in cooperating with it.
3. As a first result, the study has defined the objectives of the European Research Network. Since the Network shall respond to the development following the transfer of the law of judicial cooperation in civil matters from the Member States to the competence of the EU, its main objective has been identified in contributing to the overcoming of the present fragmentation of the legal discussion and research in the field of private international law into many separate “national” discussions of most different level, and their consolidation in a European discussion at the high levels which exist in some Member States.
4. The study has defined a series of activities of the network. They can be divided into three groups.
   • Instruments for promoting personal encounter and opinion exchange of researchers at European level like conferences, workshops, seminars, assistance to the stimulating of cross-border research, prize awards or training of young researchers.
   • Information products functional to developing and promoting the European private international law information infrastructure like a Network journal, the scientific reports or the European private international law internet portal.
   • Specialising information like the European private international law research directory, an electronic newsletter and, of course, a well prepared website.
5. In regard of the structure of the European Research Network, the study has established that the network should neither take the form of a legal institute nor that of an isolated legal association, but that it should seek to combine the openness of a legal association towards a large number of researchers with the organisational efficiency of an institute. The study proposes that the European Research Network is established in a form which combines three elements:
   • A legal association dedicated to European international private law;
   • with a strong executive nucleus, which can be established as a new executive structure, or, in the alternative in a structure composed of several existing entities and institutes which accept each to actively contribute to the objectives of the network;
   • based on the cooperation with a network of national contact points in each Member State.
6. The Network shall be of permanent nature. Its funding will require that sufficient general or “institutional funding” is assured through external support to enable the Network to perform its planned services and activities. Although in the organisation of individual activities the Network should seek to obtain “activity related” funding in EU programmes and at national level, it can be hardly expected to become self-funding, respectively to be able to fund individual activities through profits earned from other activities. A possible exception might be the European private international law internet portal. If developed in a comprehensive form, it could offer the chance of developing into a profitable activity, which could become a possible source of income for the Network.
7. The study has developed three feasible alternatives for the European Research Network. All three alternatives are based on the same organisation model composed of a European organisation, an organised executive nucleus and national contact points in each Member State. The three alternatives are distinguished by the number and by the intensiveness of the activities which shall in each case be developed:
   • The “lean network” is the less costly alternative, which is however in view of the network’s objectives also the less significant one.
   • The “equipped network” would accompany to the services of a well endowed scientific European association.
   • The “virtual institute” adds to the activities of the “equipped network” the private international law internet portal. Of the three alternatives, it would during the first years require the highest input in terms of funding, but would also provide the most significant input for the creation of the European information infrastructure, which is the focus of the Network.