At its 32nd meeting, held in Oslo at the invitation of Professor Guiditta Cordero-Moss, GEDIP continued its work on the law applicable to rights in rem, initiating the discussion on the insertion of a chapter on cultural property, in particular the question of the definition of such property. As part of its work on a European codification of general rules on conflict of laws, it finalized the drafting of guidelines on overriding mandatory provisions, and it began the examination of a mechanism of recognition of foreign situations.

In addition to a presentation of the Commission’s work and of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in the field of private international law, the Group heard an analysis of the proposal for a directive against strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP), as well as a commentary on the Pancharevo judgment of the Court of Justice on the recognition of parentage by surrogate motherhood in connection with European citizenship. Finally, having taken note of the proposal for a directive on the duty of care of companies with regard to sustainability, the Group adopted a recommendation for the insertion of a private international law mechanism to ensure the effectiveness of the European regulation.

KEYWORDS: Real rights, cultural property – Overriding mandatory provisions  – Method of recognition of foreign situations – Corporate social responsibility (CSR) – Fundamental rights and human rights, freedom of expression, environment, parenthood, surrogate motherhood, mutual recognition.