Professor Symeon C. Symeonides has added one more success to his record of law reform, which includes drafting legislation for three states and the European Union and participating in the drafting of two international conventions.
This time he drafted an international model law on conflicts of laws resulting from the cross-border use of the internet, such as when material posted on the internet in one country causes injury in another. The model law identifies the country whose courts will have jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute and the country whose law will govern the merits.
Symeonides drafted this law at the request of the Institut de Droit International (IDI), the world’s oldest and most prestigious international law organization. Founded in 1873 with the mission of promoting the development of international law, the IDI is based in Geneva and its membership comprises the world’s leading international law scholars. At its biennial meeting held in August 2019 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the IDI discussed Symeonides’ project and approved it by 75 votes in favor, zero against, and five abstentions.
In July 2019, Symeonides participated in an international diplomatic conference also held at the Peace Palace under the auspices of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Founded in 1893, the Conference is a permanent intergovernmental organization that comprises more than 80 countries and provides a forum for drafting and negotiating private international law treaties. The 2019 conference adopted a Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments. Symeonides was a member of an international group of experts that drafted the initial text of the convention in 2013. He participated in all the subsequent negotiations.
