LUF grant for Ekaterina Pannebakker
The Committee for Academic Expenditure of the Leiden University Fund (LUF) awards grants for research and education projects. They have awarded Ekaterina Pannebakker a LUF grant on behalf of Leiden Law School.
Assistant Professor Ekaterina Pannebakker has received a LUF grant for her research into the locus sine lege in the conflict of laws.
Private legal relationships are often of an international nature. In these cases, the conflict of laws refers to the jurisdiction of the country that applies to this legal relationship. The conflict of laws assumes that a legal relationship is tied to a country. However, a legal relationship can also occur in a territory that does not fall under a legal jurisdiction. This is known as a locus sine lege. Examples of such legal relationships are an accident on a wind turbine in the North Sea outside territorial waters or a dispute over the ownership of that wind turbine.
In case the conflict of laws refers to a locus sine lege, the current legal framework is unable to provide a solution. With the grant provided by the LUF’s mr. S.J. Visser fund, an overview of possible solutions will be created based on the theory of the conflict of laws and jurisdiction. The demand for such solutions has arisen in the context of societal issues related to climate change and energy transition. For instance, oil rigs, wind turbines and other installations generating sustainable energy are often located in a locus sine lege. Private parties are also increasingly involved in the exploitation of these territories.