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Research methods in Private International Law - launch events

Following the publication of the book Research Methods in International Private Law: A Handbook on Regulation, Research and Teaching (Elgar, 2024), edited by Xandra Kramer and Laura Carballo Piñeiro (see our earlier news item), two launch events were held.

The first webinar took place on 10 September 2024. After a brief introduction by the editors, eminent contributors to the book presented their views on methods of regulation, research and education in private international law. Topics addressed included recognition as a method, European law perspectives, the essence of comparative law, law & economics, and feminism in private international law. The webinar is co-organised by the University of Vigo. Speakers were Dulce Lopes (University of Coimbra), Adriani Dori (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Diego P. Fernández Arroyo (Sciences Po Law School Paris), Giesela Rühl (Humboldt University of Berlin), and Mary Keyes (Griffith University of Brisbane).

The second webinar took place on 23 September 2024. This webinar will zoomed in on the importance and methodology of education in private international law, addressing general educational aspects from the perspective of laymen and colonialism as well as teaching private international law in different jurisdictions, including The Netherlands and Nigeria. This webinar was co-organised by the University of Vigo, the American Society of International Law (ASIL) and hosted by the University of Sydney (moderated by Jeanne Huang). Speakers were Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm (University of Edinburgh), Chukwuma Okoli (Birmingham Law School), Abubakri Yekini (University of Manchester), Ramani Garimella (South Asian University) and Aukje van Hoek (University of Amsterdam).

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Published: September 14, 2023

On request of the Ministry of Justice, Xandra kramer conducted a study on a procedural fund for collective actions, together with Jos Hoevenaars (Council for the Judiciary/Erasmus University Rotterdam), and Ianika Tzankova and Karlijn van Doorn (Tilburg University).

We carried out research to map developments in collective actions, did quantitative research on WAMCA cases and qualitative research on the funding of collective actions, including on developments in the market and regulation of third party litigation funding in the Netherlands and several other countries. Noteworthy is that all claims for damages so far rely on third party funding. The key question we looked into is to what extent a revolving litigation fund could provide a solution to bottlenecks in the funding of collective actions and how such a procedural fund could be designed. Considering the relatively small number of cases for damages that have been brought under the WAMCA so far and uncertainties in legal practice and regulation, coupled with the complexities to set up such a fund, we conclude that the introduction of a revolving litigation fund seems premature. We make a number of suggestions for further research. The report is available here.
We are preparing an English version of the report to be published by Eleven International Publishing - coming soon!