Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL): Latest News RSS

15 March 2012: Expert Meeting on Binding Corporate Rules - Implementing Legal Innovations

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:48:42 GMT

15 March 2012 | 09:30 - 16:30 hrs
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Amsterdam

By invitation only

On 15 March 2012, in cooperation with law firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, HiiL will organise a seminar on Binding Corporate Rules (BCR), a legal innovation that may facilitate global inter-company data transfers.

Particular attention will be paid to the proposed EU Draft Regulation on Data Protection which recognises the importance of BCR in authorising data transfers to group companies outside the European Economic Area. The envisaged Regulation raises a number of practical questions. These include:

What are key elements of the new rules for BCR?
How do they affect EU-headquartered multinationals already using the BCR framework? and
How well do the new rules respond to legitimacy demands?

The objective of the expert meeting will be to address these issues and to share the results of a HiiL case study into the effectiveness and legitimacy of Binding Corporate Rules (BCR) as an innovative form of transnational corporate self-regulation and as an alternative to public law.

Guest speakers include a a high level representative of the EU Commission, the European Data Protection Supervisor, the Chair of the Article 29 Working Party, as well as experts from civil society, academic experts on innovative regulation, and representatives from leading multinational companies which are already implementing BCR.

View the full programme here »

For more information please contact: communications@hiil.org.

See also:

HiiL Research Project: Private Transnational Regulation: Constitutional Foundations and Governance Design
HiiL Research Theme: Private Actors

HiiL is seeking a Head of Administration (full-time)

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:10:31 GMT

Today’s fast changing world presents a challenging environment. HiiL is passionate about making justice work and about making law an effective tool for people, communities, and states in the face of these challenges (www.hiil.org). HiiL is embarking on the implementation of its Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015, in which impact is the key word. The Head of Administration is a key member of the team that will take HiiL into this direction. HiiL is a young organisation, flatly organised. Creativity and unconventional thinking is part of the DNA of the team. We work hard, always strive for excellence and are driven by wanting to make a difference, but fun is also part of what we are. The team is international and English is the office language.

3 February 2012: Seminar 'Private law and nationalism'

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:30:54 GMT

Date: 3 February 2012
Location: University of Amsterdam, Room A009

The seminar is part of the research project 'National Resistance against the Europeanisation of Private Law' that is sponsored by HiiL.

Private law and nationalism
This seminar explores the relationship between private law and nationalism. At first sight, the days of private law nationalism may seem to be over in the light of Europeanization, globalisation and, more generally, our post-national condition. On the other hand, the Europeanization of private law has met with fierce resistance. And, if nationalism is the political principle according to which the political and the national unit should be congruent (Gellner) should then not the resistance against the Europeanization of private law, often in the guise of technical arguments, not regarded as a form of (crypto-)nationalism if such arguments consistently regard the nation state as the most natural locus for private law making? And, on the other hand, if nations are imagined communities (Anderson), construed by men and women over time, should not then the work on a Common European Sales Law and a European Law Institute count as important instances of European national building? Nationalism seems bad, indeed dangerous, in light of the catastrophic role it played in the 20th Century. However, more recently it has been argued that nationalism and liberalism are not irreconcilable (Tamir) and that the solidarity that is needed for a functioning welfare state requires a common sense of belonging that is found in the nation (Miller).

Can a similar normative argument be made in favour of liberal private law nationalism? These and similar questions will be at the heart of discussions in this international seminar organised by the Centre for the Study of European Contract Law in Amsterdam.

Download programme
Participation is free, but registration prior to the seminar is required. For registration, please, contact Yvonne ter Horst.

See also:

HiiL Research Project: National Resistance against the Europeanisation of Private Law
Centre for the Study of European Contract Law in Amsterdam

Workshop held in Beirut to discuss the status of the rule of law in Lebanon

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:18:15 GMT

30 November 2011

HiiL has launched a series of ‘Rule of Law Quick Scans’, featuring short reports presenting up to date information on the status of the rule of law in a given country. On 30 November 2011, HiiL in partnership with the Arab Center for the Development of the Rule of Law and Integrity (ACRLI) organised a multi-stakeholder meeting in Beirut, to provide feedback on the draft of the Quick Scan regarding Lebanon.

First Policy Brief of the HiiL Transnational Private Regulation Policy Brief Series to be published

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:18:15 GMT

20 December 2011

HiiL is pleased to announce its plans to publish the first Policy Brief titled ‘Effectiveness of transnational private regulation (TPR): impact assessment and the development of indicators’ authored by Prof. Fabrizio Cafaggi (European University Institute) and Prof. Andrea Renda (European University Institute). The brief will be published within the framework of the research project ‘Private Transnational Regulation: Constitutional Foundations and Governance Design’.

Workshop held in Amman to discuss the status of the rule of law in Jordan

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:18:15 GMT

5 December 2011

HiiL has launched a series of ‘Rule of Law Quick Scans’, featuring short reports presenting up to date information on the status of the rule of law in a given country. On 5 December 20011, local experts met in Amman to discuss the state of the rule of law in Jordan, particularly in light of the current reform process. This meeting was organised by HiiL in collaboration with the Arab Center for the Development of the Rule of Law and Integrity (ACRLI) as part of their joint initiative to promote the rule of law in the MENA region in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

Workshop held in Cairo to discuss the status of the rule of law law in Egypt

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:18:15 GMT

10 December 2011

HiiL has launched a series of ‘Rule of Law Quick Scans’, featuring short reports presenting up to date information on the status of the rule of law in a given country. On 10 December 20011, Egyptian experts met in Cairo to discuss the present state and the prospects for improvement of the rule of law in Egypt. This meeting was organised by HiiL in collaboration with the Arab Center for the Development of the Rule of Law and Integrity (ACRLI) as part of their joint initiative to promote the rule of law in the MENA region in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

PhD thesis defence within HiiL research project National Resistance against the Europeanisation of Private Law

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:04:00 GMT

HiiL is very pleased to announce that on Friday 2 December 2011 Gary Low defended his PhD thesis titled ‘European Contract Law Between the Single Market and the Law Market: A Behavioural Perspective’ at the Maastricht University. This thesis has been written under the supervision of Professor Jan Smits (Maastricht University) within the context of the HiiL-funded research project National Resistance against the Europeanisation of Private Law. The research project is led by Professor Smits and Professor Martijn Hesselink (Amsterdam University).

Innovating Justice Forum 2012: Towards basic justice care for everyone

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:04:00 GMT

In the justice sector, reform efforts and innovations are now increasingly focused on justice needs. These innovative approaches start from the problems that people experience and their capabilities to solve them. Rather than designing laws or working on the organisation of courts, these innovations focus on improving processes that lead to fair outcomes for the people involved.
HiiL and Tisco (Tilburg University) have initiated a Forum which will culminate in an event in The Hague on 16-17 April 2012. The goal of the forum is to organise support for innovations and to link innovators, experts and stakeholders. The forum will identify the most promising strategies and concrete steps to improve the climate to innovate, so that “basic justice care” can become available for everyone. A select group of Rule of Law experts and representatives from international organisations have been invited to take part.

Challenges and dilemmas of doing business in fragile states

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:26:10 GMT

On 18 November 2011 the HiiL Expert Meeting on Future of Business in Fragile States was held at VNO-NCW in The Hague. A small group of experts from both the corporate world and government, representatives of international initiatives and academics came together in order to discuss challenges and dilemmas of doing business in fragile states.

The central point of the discussion pertained to operations and due diligence practices within international networks of subsidiaries, joint ventures, and suppliers operating in fragile states in Africa and the Middle East and in the extractive, electronic and technical equipment sector.