non-Contracting State Research Articles

The Hague Convention on the Recognition of Divorces and Legal Separations 1970: an effective mechanism for regulating divorce as between the UK and the EU post-Brexit?

Abstract This article examines the potential of the 1970 Hague Convention on the Recognition of Divorces and Legal Separations to act as a replacement for Brussels IIa in regulating international divorce as between the UK and the EU. The article proceeds in two steps: first, there is a doctrinal analysis of the 1970 Hague Convention and of its merits and demerits by comparison with Brussels IIa, and secondly, there is a discussion of empirical research undertaken at the University of Aberdeen in conjunction with partner universities in six EU Member States, examining the practical utility of the Convention in Contracting States, and the treatment of international divorce in non-Contracting States. Insofar, as the 1970 Hague Convention is currently applicable in only 12 out of the 27 EU Member States, the article also discusses the likelihood of EU-wide adoption of the Convention. The article concludes that the 1970 Hague Convention has aged relatively well and, on the whole, offers a satisfactory alternative mechanism for the regulation of international divorce in the UK-EU context; however, the article also acknowledges the liberalism of many existing national laws on divorce recognition, suggesting that EU-wide adoption (if it occurs) might not have a very significant impact.

APPLICATIONAL AMBIGUITY? TAIWAN'S STATUS IN INTERNATIONAL SALES LAW

AbstractThe discussion on Taiwan's status under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) has picked up steam. After providing some historical background, it is argued that neither doctrinal nor policy arguments can support the application of the Convention to Taiwanese parties. Drawing on case law in the context of other uniform law treaties, the article concludes that the approbation of the CISG by the People's Republic of China should not bind Taiwan and that, as a consequence, Taiwanese parties should be treated as parties from non-Contracting States.

عدم طرد اللاجئ في القانون الدولي

Abstract The principle of non-refoulement is considered one of the basic principles in the international refugee law, as it protects the refugees from falling at the hands of the authorities persecuting them. The rights that the refugees enjoy according to the international conventions is considered as obligations over the refugees’ host State. The most important of which are: Right to protection against refoulement and constraining the host State’s authority regarding the expulsion of the refugee. The international refugee law rejects the expulsion of the refugee. Also, the principle of Non Refoulement is well entrenched in customary international law; it is binding for contracting and non-contracting states. In addition, he Contracting States shall not expel a refugee lawfully in their territory save on grounds of national security or public order. Articles (32) and (33) of the 1951 refugee convention are the core of international refugee protection. Keywords: Refoulement of Refugee, Host State, the 1951 refugee convention.

Phosphoproteomic profiling of skeletal muscle twitch torque potentiation in ovarian hormone deficient female mice

Skeletal muscle makes up ~40% of total body mass in a healthy adult. Muscle strength begins to decline with age. In females, preclinical and clinical studies have shown that reduction in estrogen reduces muscle force (i.e., strength). Previously, we showed the skeletal muscle phosphoproteome in a basal, non‐contracting state was remodeled in estrogen‐deficient females. Therefore, we questioned how estrogen deficiency would impact the skeletal muscle phosphoproteome after force generation. We performed two label‐free quantification phosphoproteomic analyses of the tibialis anterior muscle in ovariectomized (Ovx/Sham) and ovarian senescent (Old/Young) female mice after in vivo post‐tetanic potentiation protocol. We identified 25 and 60 differentially regulated phosphoproteins (p‐value<0.05 and ≥1.4‐fold change) in Ovx/Sham and Old/Young mice, respectively. Comparative analysis using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis’s activation Z‐score found similar patterns of predicted inhibition and activation of canonical pathways, such as inhibition of calcium signaling and activation of 14‐3‐3‐mediated signaling in both datasets. Likewise, parallel patterns in functional analysis were found relating to muscle contraction, fibrogenesis, etc. Overall, our findings suggest that the similarities identified in both datasets could elucidate the molecular characteristics of muscle proteins that might contribute to decrements in muscle function observed in Ovx and Old females due to the loss of estrogen.

Application of CISG in Kuwait

Abstract This article examines the impact of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) (signed 11 April 1980, entered into force 1 January 1988) on Kuwait as a non-Contracting State. By examining the potential application of CISG to countries around the world, it becomes clear that the applicability of this Convention is inevitable. This article identifies and examines the cases where CISG can be applied, according to its rules, and the process by which CISG, as a foreign law, would be applied in Kuwait. As this article shows, this can be achieved through the autonomy of the parties, Kuwaiti conflict-of-laws rules, or through customary law. This article also examines the cases where CISG cannot be applied in Kuwait and the implications of Kuwaiti’s ratification of CISG.

Applicability of United Nations Convention On Contract for The International Sale of Goods (CISG) On Non-Contracting States

Applicability of United Nations Convention On Contract for The International Sale of Goods (CISG) On Non-Contracting States

The relationship between transnational commercial law treaties and national law – A framework as applied to the Cape Town Convention

Treaties relate to and interact with national law in complex and important ways. That relationship directly impacts the extent to which transacting parties can reasonably rely on new and beneficial international norms. This article sets out a core conceptual framework, applicable to modern commercial law treaties, to assist in understanding that relationship. The article starts with threshold questions such as the extent to which a treaty has the prevailing force of law in a contracting state, then turns to the borderline between the scope of treaties and national law, including internal-treaty terms that contemplate application of national law, the question of which national law applies and when, and, finally, application of a treaty by virtue of the national law of non-contracting states. The article then applies this framework to the specific case of the Cape Town Convention and its Aircraft Protocol.

The Evolving Jurisdiction of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

This article deals with the examination of the jurisdictional requirements for ICSID arbitration set out in Article 25 of the ICSID Convention, as interpreted in ICSID case law. Emphasis is put on some of the most recent jurisdictional problems: competing jurisdictions, extension of MFN clauses to dispute resolution matters, definition of investment, effect of umbrella clauses and widely drafted dispute resolution clauses, and extent to which investors from non-Contracting States can avail themselves of ICSID arbitration. The article concludes that ICSID tribunals have shown a tendency towards liberal interpretation that favours assumption of jurisdiction. This attitude leads to the creation of a global investment protection system where a wide variety of investors, irrespective of their nationality, are able to go before ICSID in protecting their various economic activities, including purely contractual ones.

I. Forum non conveniens and the Brussels Convention

On 1 March 2005 the European Court of Justice in Owusu v Jackson held that the English doctrine of forum non conveniens was inconsistent with the Brussels Convention (the ‘Convention’) when a defendant was domiciled in the United Kingdom, even if the natural forum was in a Non-Contracting State.

Stays of Proceedings and the Brussels Convention

The Court of Justice has ruled in Owusu v Jackson that the Brussels Convention is applicable even where a case has objective connections to only one Contracting State and to a non-Contracting State. It has also held that where the court of a Contracting State to the Brussels Convention has jurisdiction on the basis of the defendant's domicile pursuant to Article 2, it has no general discretion to stay its proceedings in favour of the court of a non-Contracting State on the basis that the latter is the natural forum for resolution of the dispute. However, the ruling leaves a number of important questions unresolved. This article considers the reasoning behind, and implications of the ruling, and the permissibility of staying proceedings in other situations falling within the scope of the Brussels regime post-Owusu.

Time to Revisit Forum Non Conveniens in the UK? Group Josi Reinsurance Co v UGIC

There has been much debate in the United Kingdom over the last decade on whether the discretionary doctrine of forum non conveniens is compatible with the mandatory provisions of the Brussels Convention on jurisdiction issues in the European Union. A recent decision of the European Court of Justice has answered affirmatively the question of whether a plaintiff domiciled in a non-Contracting State can invoke the rules of the Covention. The Court has arguably not settled the more fundamental question of whether the Convention applies to conflicts of jurisdiction between courts of a Contracting State and non-Contracting State. However, there is evidence of a growing acceptance of an expansive view of the scope of the Convention. Such a development would bring welcome simplicity to cross-border litigation in the UK.

STAYS AND THE EUROPEAN CONVENTIONS-END-GAME?

MAY an English court, having jurisdiction under the Brussels or Lugano Convention, decline to entertain proceedings on the basis that a court in a non-Contracting State is the forum conveniens? Many would doubt it-can national law oust jurisdiction conferred by the Conventions? But the Court of Appeal famously decided otherwise in Re Harrods (Buenos Aires) Ltd. [1992] Ch. 72. The Conventions, it concluded, are designed to harmonise the jurisdictional rules of Contracting States only to the extent necessary to facilitate the enforcement of judgments between such States, their primary concern. That objective is unaffected if a case is eventually tried in a non-Contracting State, so stays in such cases are permitted. The House of Lords in Harrods referred the point to the European Court of Justice, but the case was settled, creating uncertainty about the correct solution, yet leaving all courts but the House of Lords bound by the Court of Appeal’s decision.

Evidence from a novel human cell clone that adult vascular smooth muscle cells can convert reversibly between noncontractile and contractile phenotypes.

Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) perform diverse functions that can be categorized as contractile and synthetic. A traditional model holds that these distinct functions are performed by the same cell, by virtue of its capacity for bidirectional modulation of phenotype. However, this model has been challenged, in part because there is no physiological evidence that an adult synthetic SMC can acquire the ability to contract. We sought evidence for this by cloning adult SMCs from human internal thoracic artery. One clone, HITB5, expressed smooth muscle alpha-actin, smooth myosin heavy chains, heavy caldesmon, and calponin and showed robust calcium transients in response to histamine and angiotensin II, which confirmed intact transmembrane signaling cascades. On serum withdrawal, these cells adopted an elongated and spindle-shaped morphology, random migration slowed, extracellular matrix protein production fell, and cell proliferation and [(3)H]thymidine incorporation fell to near 0. Cell viability was not compromised, however; in fact, apoptosis rate fell significantly. In this state, agonist-induced elevation of cytoplasmic calcium was even more pronounced and was accompanied by SMC contraction. Readdition of 10% serum completely returned HITB5 cells to a noncontractile, proliferative phenotype. Contractile protein expression increased after serum withdrawal, although modestly, which suggested that the switch to contractile function involved reorganization or sensitization of existing contractile structures. To our knowledge, the physiological properties of HITB5 SMCs provide the first direct demonstration that cultured human adult SMCs can convert between a synthetic, noncontracting state and a contracting state. HITB5 cells should be valuable for characterizing the basis of this critical transition.

How Non-Contracting States to the “Universal” New York Arbitration Convention enjoy Third-Party Benefits but not Third-Party Rights

How Non-Contracting States to the “Universal” New York Arbitration Convention enjoy Third-Party Benefits but not Third-Party Rights

Effect of wall stretch on coronary hemodynamics in isolated canine interventricular septum

The effects of stretch on coronary pressure-flow relations are not well understood. To examine the role of wall stretch per se on coronary hemodynamics, we studied arterially perfused isolated canine interventricular septa in a noncontracting state with vasodilated vessels. We compared the hemodynamic parameters of zero-flow pressure and resistance during passive stretching in the circumferential and the base-to-apex directions alone as well as during simultaneous biaxial stretching in both directions. Even in the unloaded state the zero-flow pressure was positive. Any type of stretching significantly increased the zero-flow pressure and the resistance from their unloaded values. The pressure-flow responses also showed directional dependence. When stretches with matched strains or stresses in each direction were applied sequentially, the resistance increases corresponded to the direction of higher stress. Conversely, the zero-flow pressure response increase corresponded to the direction of greater strain. However, neither response correlated with a measure of global tissue stiffness. Thus there is a complex and tight mechanical interaction between the vessels and the surrounding tissue. These interactions, but not the tissue stiffness, are important determinants of coronary pressure-flow responses during stretch.

Vernicos Shipping Co. v. United States

Treaties — Special kinds of — International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to the Immunity of State Owned Vessels, 1926 — Extension of waiver of immunity to noncontracting States — The law of the United States of America.State responsibility — Claims — State control over private claims — Claim for aid rendered to United States Navy vessels by Greek nationals — Requirement that State of foreign national recognize claims of United States citizens for services rendered to vessels of foreign State — Greek policy under International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to the Immunity of State-owned Vessels, 1926 — The law of the United States of America.

Jürgensen v. German Federal Republic.

Nationality — Acquisition of — As result of change of sovereignty — Cession of North Schleswig by Germany to Denmark in 1920 — Danish subjects — Service in German Waffen-SS during Second World War — Whether conferring German nationality.Arbitration — Procedure — Procedure before arbitral tribunal — Arbitral Commission on Property, Rights and Interests in Germany — Article 6 of Charter of Commission — Right of recourse to Commission — Whether possessed by nationals or residents of non-contracting States.

International Civil Aviation Organization

The eleventh session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly met in Montreal from May 20 to June 2, 1958. Represented at the meeting were 52 contracting states; two non-contracting states (the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia) sent observers, as did the UN, the International Labor Organization, and the International Air Transport Association. After statements by various delegations, the President of the ICAO Council reviewed the activities of the organization since the last Assembly meeting in 1956. He stated that the intervening period had been one of great activity in ICAO centering around preparations in all fields for the advent of turbine-powered aircraft. A specially created Jet Operations Requirements Panel had studied the requirements of the new long-range jet aircraft, and a Special Implementation Panel had been created by the Council. A preliminary study of the economic implications of long-range aircraft had been prepared by the Air Transport Committee and was being submitted to the Council. He stressed that while special attention was being given to the coming operations of jet aircraft, this emphasis should not cause the organization to disregard the continuous growth of aviation during 1956 and 1957. The technical assistance activity of ICAO had continued, during the period under review, to give important support to implementation through the assignment of experts and technicians and the training of students in countries where there were technical assistance missions, as also by granting fellowships and scholarships for study abroad.

International Civil Aviation Organization

The fifteenth session of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, meeting in Montreal, January 29 and April 2, 1952, referred thequestion of retroactive applications of amendments to Annex 1 of International Standards and Recommended Practices to the Air Navigation Commission for continued study; adopted amendment 1 to Annex 12 (Search and Rescue) and pertinent recommendations of the Air Navigation Commission; and accepted amendment 4 to Annex 10 (Aeronautical Telecommunications). In its discussion of secondment policy, the Council directed the Secretary-General (Ljunberg) to report to the Council on recruitment by the employment of secondment, as envisaged by the ICAO Service Code, and referred to a working group proposals for the revision of staff policy. The Council decided that the special conference for the finalization of a revised Rome Convention on Damage Caused by Foreign Aircraft to Third Parties on the Surface scheduled to convene in Rome on September 9, 1952 should be open to all states, including non-contracting states which were Members of the United Nations, and Rumania, and agreed to include in the documentation for the Rome conference the interpretation of the Air Transport Committee of the Council's insurance resolution of December 6, 1950 to the effect that the resolution was intended to establish maximum limits of state action to cover all forms of international air navigation.