Party Autonomy in International Property Law - Peace Palace Library

6. Party Autonomy in French and Belgian Law
territory of which the party that created the rights or that transferred the
rights has its habitual residence at the time of creation or transfer. The
effects of conventional subrogation on rights in rem is governed by the
law of the State on the territory of which the party that subrogated has
its habitual residence at the time of the transfer.
However, the PIL Code has not been able to terminate the debate. On
the one hand, discussions about the introduction of specific provisions of
the proprietary effects of an assignment in the Rome I Regulation have
given rise to new arguments. 53 Moreover, the rule of the PIL Code has
been especially criticised by financial institutions (e.g. clearing companies)
with regard to bank accounts. On the other hand, it is argued that
bank accounts have a fictitious situs: for instance, the place where the
payment obligation or obligation to make restitution of the money must
be complied with. This is the location of the financial institution that is
debtor with regard to that obligation. 54
6.4.2.2. Recognition of foreign trusts
We have already indicated that the French law introduced in 2007 a
trust-like device called the fiducie. We have also demonstrated that this
new device has led to a fundamental dogmatic debate about the foundations
of French property law (cf. supra). Except for the rules of third party
protection, which are remedied by publicity measures, 55 these rules can
be implemented without affecting the numerus clausus principle. Several
proprietary devices can be considered to be functionally equivalent to
53
V. Sagaert, H.C. Sigman and E.M. Kieninger, ‘De cessie van schuldvorderingen
in het voorstel van de Rome I Verordening: een kritische analyse’, Bank en
Fin. 2006, 336-347.
54
G. van Hecke and K. Lenaerts, Internationaal Privaatrecht, in A.P.R., Gent,
Kluwer, 1989, p. 310. Comp. J. Erauw, o.c., 644-645, n°. 561.
55
L. d’Avout, o.c., 675, n°. 512: ‘Le maintien de la sécurité juridique locale
implique simplement qu’un tiers ne puisse se voir opposer à son détriment un
droit réel inattendu créé dans le cadre d’une transaction internationale dont
le contenu lui serait resté inconnu. Il est suffisant de ménager l’ignorance, et
d’aménager la connaissance du tiers. Les règles locales de publicité y pourvoient
largement, bien plus que la règle abstraite du numerus clausus des droits
réels qui ne devrait pas être érigée en obstacle péremptoire à la reconnaissance
des droits réels constitués en verte de la loi applicable à l’acte juridique.’
Vincent Sagaert
139
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