The External Dimension of EU Private International Law, Ferrara, February 13, 2015

Pietro Franzina, University of Ferrara, who has guest-posted here before, has brought this conference to my attention. A first session will look at “Recent developments in the law of EU external relations inside and outside judicial cooperation in civil matters” and a second session focuses on “Developing the external dimension of EU private international law: policies, prospects, techniques.” The conference looks at these issues in the light of Opinion 1/13 of the European Court of Justice. Click here for the programme. It is one of these events (and locations, I may add) where one would like be a graduate student again, with ample time to attend…

Labyrinth of Lies: Fritz Bauer and the Auschwitz trials

Today is the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. It may seem odd to recommend a movie on this occasion, but if you are interested in post-war (legal) history, this “smart and well-acted take on a historically significant if little-known story” is a must-see. Labyrinth of Lies (Labyrinth des Schweigens) is a compelling movie about the Frankfurt public prosecutors, led by Fritz Bauer, who brought the atrocities in Auschwitz to trial. Continue reading

Sports Arbitration – Munich Court of Appeals Does Not Recognize CAS Arbitral Award in Pechstein Case

Today, the Munich Court of Appeals (Oberlandesgericht) issued an interim judgment (Zwischenurteil) in the case of Claudia Pechstein, the speed skater. It held the arbitration agreement between Pechstein and the sport’s governing body, the International Skating Union (ISU), to be invalid on competition law grounds. As a consequence, Pechstein’s claims for damages suffered as a result of the doping ban can be brought in the German courts. Continue reading

Choice Architecture in Democracies – Behavioural Economics Meets Constitutional Law. Verfassungsblog Conference, January 13/14, 2015, Berlin

“Nudging” is all the rage in German government. The concept of designing choice architectures for consumers was developed by University of Chicago economist Richard H. Thaler and Harvard Law School Professor Cass R. Sunstein in their 2008 book “Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness”.  Heiko Maas, the Federal Minister of Justice, last month ran a conference with Cass Sunstein on the art of nudging and Angela Merkel, the chancellor, recently hired a bunch of behavioural economists to help her design better policies. Verfassungsblog, Germany’s blawg on matters constitutional, has organized an interdisciplinary conference on the topic. It kicks off with a lecture by Cass Sunstein tonight. Continue reading