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On the wave of the development of new ICT technologies and renewable energy, the power system will certainly experience great changes to its outdated architecture over the next several decades. One of the key drivers of change in the power system is distributed energy resources. They are completely changing the paradigm of the power system as a system with a centralized hierarchy and one-way power flows from generation to customer and from high voltage to low voltage. Because the goals of net zero greenhouse gas emissions are gathering pace and are being accepted by countries around the world, slowdown in the integration of distributed energy resources cannot be expected. Another reason why we can expect faster integration is the development of technology for energy production which is becoming more available to power consumers. Because of the problems that are currently occurring in the distribution system, it is clear that the system must be modernized in line with the development of these technologies. The technology that will likely have the greatest impact on the modernization of the power system is blockchain technology combined with the smart grid paradigm. Blockchain has the ability to completely change the way the power system is managed and optimized for performance.

This paper is a summary of the CIGRE Technical Brochure 824 The Role of Blockchain Technologies in Power Markets [17]. The work of the contributors to the Technical Brochure is recognised. It is proposed to follow up this work in a new working group with a more in-depth look at the potential applications for blockchain in the area of energy trading.

A critical decision in transnational commercial deals involves determining where any disputes that arise will be resolved. This chapter reviews and assesses the relative merits of the alternatives, including litigation in domestic courts (with differing national approaches to jurisdiction) or in the relatively new international commercial courts, in international commercial arbitration, in investor-state dispute settlement fora, or in international mediation. It addresses the nature, function, and enforceability of contractual forum selection clauses (including under the 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention), the problems of parallel proceedings in competing national jurisdictions, and the special challenges of litigating against foreign states and their entities in U.S. courts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

In many situations, parties to an international litigation must rely upon and introduce in court proceedings public documents (such as certificates of incorporation; birth, death, or marriage records; deeds and transfers of property; business licenses) and business records (bills of sale, trademark applications, assignments of patent, etc.) from a foreign jurisdiction. Typically, such documents must be formally authenticated or certified before they can be accepted by the court. Because the relevant requirements and procedures frequently differ sharply from one country to another, the international practitioner is often challenged to determine exactly which procedure to follow in preparing documents from abroad for use in a legal proceeding. This chapter describes the differing approaches under national law for the formal authentication or certification of documents from one national jurisdiction so they can be recognized and accepted in another. It outlines the problems with “chain legalization” and the requirements and benefits of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the Apostille Convention).

The first edition of Bruno Ristau’s International Judicial Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters was published in two volumes in 1984; its fourth (and final) edition was published in six volumes in 2000. Since then, the field of international civil and commercial litigation has continued to expand. An abundance of new material (including new treaties, conventions, norms, and principles) and the growing complexity of the field of transnational civil and commercial litigation justify an updated and reoriented version of Ristau’s volumes, providing an overview of this increasingly relevant yet still complex field. Chapter One summarizes the following seven chapters and emphasizes that the book is intended to serve as a practitioner’s guide to the major issues in international litigation, rather than an exhaustive compendium of national laws or judicial decisions, which we have included for context and as representative examples. The book surveys and discusses the major issues practitioners are likely to encounter, with particular emphasis on the most significant judicial assistance tools, international treaties, conventions, and instruments relevant to cross-border litigation.

Parties to international transactions may choose the law they want to govern certain aspects of their deal, including both the dispute resolution clause and the substantive provisions of their contract. The parties’ choice of law is a consequential but often particularly difficult aspect of cross-border transactions, particularly because the rules of enforceability of such clauses differ from one jurisdiction to another, and thus the parties’ choice may or may not be honored by a domestic court or other tribunal ultimately faced with the question. Moreover, no single agreed international approach or practice exists, much less any explicit rule or agreement, to guide a determination by a domestic court faced with deciding the validity of the parties’ choice or, in the absence of such a choice, under its “conflicts of law” rules. This chapter reviews differing domestic approaches in this area of “private international law,” the existing regional rules (e.g., within the EU and the Inter-American system), and the various emerging “soft law” instruments on “party autonomy.” We describe the U.S. rules on choice of law and conflict of laws in some detail because they are both complicated and often unfamiliar to foreign counsel.

Transnational discovery—the process of obtaining evidence in one country for use in legal proceedings in another—is increasingly important in contemporary international civil and commercial litigation. It is particularly challenging because different national rules exist both as to what information can be obtained and how, and by whom, it can be acquired. This chapter reviews a range of practical and legal challenges that practitioners may face when taking evidence in one national jurisdiction for use in another. It surveys existing multilateral instruments on the subject, in particular the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, the Inter-American Convention on Taking Evidence Abroad and its Additional Protocol, and EU Regulation No. 1206/2001. It also describes in some detail relevant U.S. rules and concludes by summarizing some of the growing challenges presented by the taking of electronic or digital evidence located within one country for use in another.

Today’s legal practitioners who deal with cross-border disputes in civil and commercial matters work in an increasingly complex transnational legal environment. This book provides up-to-date background, explanations, and practical guidance on how to deal with the most important challenges and recent developments in the field, including choice of forum, choice of law, service of process, proof of foreign law, taking of evidence, and enforcement of judgments. A major focus is on the mechanisms for international judicial assistance, in particular those provided by regional and international arrangements such as the Hague Conventions on service, evidence, Apostilles, choice-of-court agreements and the enforcement of judgments, as well as the regional arrangements within the OAS and the EU. The book builds on Bruno Ristau’s classic multi-volume work International Judicial Assistance, updating its discussions of service of process and the taking of evidence, supplementing comparative background material, and adding several chapters to cover a more complete span of litigation topics and provide the practical guidance today’s practitioners need to navigate the field of international civil litigation.

Whether a judicial judgment rendered in one country will be recognized and enforced by the courts of other countries (especially where the judgment debtor might have assets) is a critical question in international litigation. Traditionally, national legal systems have not accepted any binding obligation to recognize or enforce judgments rendered by the courts of other countries. That reality has long posed problems for successful litigants that obtain a judgment against a defendants whose assets are located in a different country. Increasingly, however, states are entering into bilateral arrangements with trusted states and trading partners for this purpose, and in 2019 the Hague Conference concluded the first multilateral “judgments” convention with the potential to transform this area of international civil and commercial practice. This chapter provides an overview of that Convention and a summary of relevant U.S. law and foreign law on enforcement of civil and commercial judgments, as well as arbitral awards.

It is increasingly common today for questions concerning the applicability, content, and meaning of foreign and international law to arise at multiple points in the course of a single litigation. In the absence of any internationally agreed rules or procedures, the task of proving and applying foreign law in domestic proceedings can be challenging. Different legal systems take different approaches to the task of “proving” foreign and international law. This chapter reviews the few relevant international instruments as well as the U.S. rules, which have recently received attention from the U.S. Supreme Court and others.

Blockchain technology offers some significant potential benefits for improving electricity markets. This TB reviews the potential applications for blockchain as energy markets transform. The WG also assessed 37 projects which have already implemented blockchain into energy markets to understand the current level of actual implementation and the benefits in the real world.