Seventh In-Person Meeting of the EAPIL Working Group on International Property Law to Take Place in Antwerp
The author of this post is Jonathan Schenk (University of Antwerp).
The EAPIL Working Group on International Property Law will hold its seventh in-person meeting in Antwerp from 22 to 24 May 2025. The University of Antwerp will warmly receive the participants as host of the meeting.
Since its establishment nearly four years ago, the Working Group has brought together legal scholars and practitioners from across Europe with the objective of drafting a legal instrument concerning the applicable law to property rights in tangible assets.
The agenda for the Antwerp meeting covers both topics that have been the subject of previous discussions — for which no definitive conclusions have yet been reached — and newly introduced matters.
Among the issues to be examined are the applicable law to immovable property, cultural and stolen objects, motor vehicles, and assets located beyond territorial waters, particularly within exclusive economic zones. The Group will also continue its deliberations on conflit mobile and overriding mandatory provisions.
The meeting is expected to lead to the finalisation of positions on a number of key topics, marking a significant milestone in the ongoing work of the Group.
Following the Antwerp meeting, the Group aims to produce a first complete draft of the envisaged instrument. This draft will serve as the basis for broader dissemination and discussion, in particular at the EAPIL Conference to be held in Geneva in June 2026.