Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the instrument of Blocking Statutes and to place them in the interface between public international law and private international law. This article first establishes the meaning of extraterritorial jurisdiction and its consequences. It then describes different public international law measures that aim at avoiding or at least mitigating these consequences, followed by possible national reactions to foreign extraterritorial jurisdiction. In this context, the content of Blocking Statutes and their effects will be analyzed in detail. Particularly the latter, i.e. the effects of Blocking Statutes, will show that Blocking Statutes are not an appropriate alternative to international cooperation and coordination.
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Notes
- 1.
Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 protecting against the effects of the extraterritorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom, Official Journal L 309, 29/11/1996, p. 1.
- 2.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1100 of 6 June 2018 amending the Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 protecting against the effects of extraterritorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting there from, Official Journal LI 199, 7/8/2018, p. 1.
- 3.
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) of 14 July 2015, adopted on 18 October 2015 (United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 [2015]).
- 4.
Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (LIBERTAD), Pub. L. 104–114, 110 Stat. 785 (codified at 22 U.S.C. §§ 6021-91 [1995]); the Act is an important and controversial part of the extensive US economic embargo against Cuba.
- 5.
Gernert (2020a), p. 171.
- 6.
Süddeutsche Zeitung (2021), China demonstriert seine Macht. https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/china-sanktionen-menschenrechte-1.5320972. Accessed 14 June 2021.
- 7.
Meng (1994), p. 1.
- 8.
- 9.
- 10.
- 11.
See Lowenfeld (1986), p. 91.
- 12.
Ryngaert (2015), p. 9.
- 13.
See on jurisdiction in the sense of (territorial or extraterritorial) behaviour control Kim (2003), p. 387 f.
- 14.
See for a detailed distinction between territoriality and extraterritoriality Emmenegger (2016), p. 638.
- 15.
Parrish (2012), p. 1678.
- 16.
Tirkey (2019), p. 2.
- 17.
- 18.
Karpenstein and Sangi (2019), p. 309.
- 19.
- 20.
- 21.
Tehrani (2016), p. 87.
- 22.
- 23.
- 24.
See as an introduction to the Helms-Burton Act and the claim of Title III Kern Alexander (1998), p. 523 ff.
- 25.
See in detail on this claim for damages Adams (1997–1998), p. 157 ff.
- 26.
- 27.
Emmenegger (2016), p. 638 f.
- 28.
Colangelo (2014), p. 1304 f.
- 29.
Cf. Bertele (1998), p. 410.
- 30.
See for subpoena procedures in the U.S. Meng (1994), p. 252 f.
- 31.
See for example Warner Jr. (1990–1991), p. 372.
- 32.
Buxbaum (2019), p. 307.
- 33.
- 34.
Cf. Warner Jr. (1990–1991), p. 372.
- 35.
Cf. Rowold (2020), p. 51.
- 36.
Buxbaum (2019), p. 288.
- 37.
Buxbaum (2019), p. 288.
- 38.
For example, in competition law, see in detail Mestmäcker and Schweitzer (2014), p. 141 ff.
- 39.
- 40.
Buxbaum (2019), p. 351 f.
- 41.
Buxbaum (2019), p. 352.
- 42.
- 43.
Buxbaum (2019), p. 299.
- 44.
Buxbaum (2019), p. 299.
- 45.
- 46.
Buxbaum (2019), p. 317.
- 47.
- 48.
See in general Kämmerer (2006), http://opil.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e691?rskey=Ey5mjS&result=1&prd=EPIL. Accessed 14 Jun 2021.
- 49.
Dodge (2015), p. 2079.
- 50.
Buxbaum (2019), p. 289.
- 51.
See on such cooperation agreements in detail Du Toit (1999), p. 29 ff.
- 52.
Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters.
- 53.
For a description of the provisions of the agreement, see Heck (1986), p. 233–237.
- 54.
Meng (1994), p. 103 ff.
- 55.
Meng (1994), p. 90 ff.
- 56.
See for the term countermeasures Klein (1998), p. 42 ff.
- 57.
Basedow (2017), p. 209.
- 58.
- 59.
See Hoff (2019a), p. 31 ff.
- 60.
See for instance Klein (1998), p. 45 ff.
- 61.
Art. 23 para 2(c) of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (Annex 2 to the Treaty of Marrakesh, 1869 UNTS 401).
- 62.
Basedow (2017), p. 209.
- 63.
Nissen (1999), p. 352 f.
- 64.
Arendt (1998), p. 271 f.
- 65.
- 66.
Basedow (2017), p. 209.
- 67.
See Schnyder (1998), p. 88 f.
- 68.
See Schnyder (1998), p. 89 ff.
- 69.
Schnyder (1998), p. 92.
- 70.
See as the first Blocking Statute “The Business Records Protection Act of the Province of Ontario”, RSO 1980 ch. 56, passed in 1947.
- 71.
See as an example Art. 5 EU-Blocking-Regulation.
- 72.
See for the EU-Blocking-Regulation Bälz (2020), p. 416 ff.
- 73.
For example in France, see Forwick (1993), p. 103.
- 74.
Basedow (2017), p. 212.
- 75.
See as an example Art. 4 EU-Blocking-Regulation.
- 76.
See as an example of such clawback provisions Art. 4 EU-Blocking-Regulation; § 6 of the British “Protection of Trading Interests Act”, 1980 c. 11; Art. 5 of the Mexican,,Act to Protect Trade and Investment from Foreign Norms that Contravene International Law”, I.L.M. 36 (1997) 133–154.
- 77.
- 78.
- 79.
Basedow (2013), p. 341.
- 80.
See for provisions of this type in detail April (1984), p. 224 ff.
- 81.
- 82.
Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I), Official Journal L 177, 4/7/2008, p. 6.
- 83.
See ECJ, 18/10/2016 – C-135/15 (Nikiforidis), para 40 ff.
- 84.
This is the solution in German substantive law, see for example Mankowski (2016), p. 489 ff.
- 85.
- 86.
See on the conflict of duties in Blocking Statutes Mankowski (2019), p. 184.
- 87.
- 88.
American Law Institute (2018) Restatement (Fourth) of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States, § 442, Comment c.
- 89.
American Law Institute (2018) Restatement (Fourth) of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States, § 442, Reporters’ Notes Nr. 2.
- 90.
Cf. Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. California, 509 U.S. 764 (1993), at 799; Mannington Mills, Inc. v. Congoleum Corp., 595 F.2d 1287 (3d Cir. 1979), at 1293.
- 91.
See on the problem of effective enforcement of Blocking Statutes Mankowski (2016), p. 489.
- 92.
See for an overview of previous cases Bellinger III et al. (2021) Two Years of Title III: Helms-Burton Lawsuits Continue to Face Legal Obstacles. https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/perspectives/publications/2021/05/two-years-of-title-iii-helmsburton-lawsuits?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=LinkedIn-integration. Accessed 14 Jun 2021.
- 93.
Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale v. U.S. Dist. Court for S. Dist. of Iowa, 482 U.S. 522 (1987), at 541–42, 544 n.29.
- 94.
See Hoda (2018), p. 231 ff.
- 95.
See also Basedow (2013), p. 341.
- 96.
- 97.
Basedow (2013), p. 341.
- 98.
- 99.
See for examples Basedow (2013), p. 341.
- 100.
See on this Compromise Smis and Borght (1999), p. 227 ff.
- 101.
Lieberknecht (2018), p. 579.
- 102.
Basedow (2017), p. 209.
- 103.
Basedow (2017), p. 210.
- 104.
Basedow (2013), p. 342.
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Gernert, M. (2022). Blocking Statutes: Private Individuals Entangled in Interstate Conflicts. In: Sooksripaisarnkit, P., Prasad, D. (eds) Blurry Boundaries of Public and Private International Law. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8480-7_11
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