03 November 2025
Sentient Companions Classified As Baggage
In Iberia (C-218/24), the Court of Justice held on 16 October 2025 that a passenger’s companion animal lost during international air carriage falls within “baggage” under Article 17(2) of the 1999 Montreal Convention. Accordingly, the liability cap under Article 22(2) applies. The ruling sidesteps both the ordinary-meaning consequence that “baggage” denotes objects and the EU legal context recognising animals as sentient beings. Finally, turning dogs into luggage neglects the social reality where the loss of companion animals foreseeably causes moral harm to their human guardians. Continue reading >>
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28 October 2025
A Judicial Compromise
On 3 October 2025, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands handed down its judgment concerning the export of parts for the F-35 jet fighter to Israel. We highlight two notable elements. First, the Court did not follow the teleological interpretation typically taken by the ECJ. Another approach to interpretation of international and EU law could have led to a (partly) different outcome of the case. Second, we agree that, given the State’s discretionary power, civil courts must exercise restraint when dealing with foreign policy and national or international security. Continue reading >>
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