Sources of international jurisdiction
In terms of sources of law, a distinction must be made between sources at EU (or supranational) level, sources from the Hague Conference on Private International Law and sources from domestic law.
In Dutch practice, almost all important regulations for international jurisdiction come from the EU. In the form of regulations, the EU legislator has regulated a wide range of topics:
- international civil and commercial matters: Brussels Ibis Regulation;
- international divorce and parental responsibility: Brussels IIa (or IIbis) and Brussels IIb (or IIter) Regulation;
- International child support and spousal support: Maintenance Regulation;
- International matrimonial property law: Matrimonial Property Regulation;
- International law of succession: Succession Regulation.
The Hague Conference developed the 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention specifically for exclusive forum choices. This Choice of Court Convent is only relevant in relation to Mexico, Montenegro and Singapore.
If the above sources of law do not apply to your case, you will fall back on our national rules on international jurisdiction: Articles 1 to 14 Code Civil Procedural Law.
What our clients say about us
Lawyer Tim de Greve, partner at Stibbe
I regularly consult the IJI in cases involving private international law aspects. The institute has been around for over 100 years, so it boasts a long history and experience. There are eminent people associated with it. Not the least Mr Strikwerda. The IJI legal counsels think along with you, immediately understand the question you are facing and come up with solutions. They have the right connections at home and abroad to answer questions within a reasonable time. Apart from that, it is very pleasant working with the people of the IJI.
Lawyer mr Channa Samkalden, Prakken d'Oliveira
We have consulted the IJI in several cases. One example is a case brought by some Nigerian farmers against Shell about oil pollution in Nigeria. That case involved the application of Nigerian law by the Dutch courts. And the IJI figured out the framework of tort law in Nigeria for that purpose for us. We used that advice in the proceedings and also submitted it to the court and it showed, for example, that our claimants were also entitled to claim against Shell under Nigerian law. Actually in all those kinds of cases, the IJI is extremely useful because you get a very solid advice on the basis of which you know: do we want to have a number of things investigated further, can that be done by the IJI or should we turn to someone else? But at least you can use this information at an early stage of your proceedings.
Lawyer mr. Ria van Seventer, Meesters aan de Maas Advocaten
Our law firm is based in Rotterdam, a city with more than 170 nationalities, so we regularly have to seek private international law advice from the IJI. For example, I have had to deal with the recognition of a child by an Italian, to which Italian law has to be applied. I don’t speak Italian so I can’t do that myself. I also don’t have access to the sources and the IJI does.