All the participants of the jubilee 10th PIL Conference have evaluated the Conference proceedings as highly successful and rewarding in terms of quality contents, overall organization, good attendance and remarkable composition of participants.
The success of the Conference has been significantly enhanced by the organizer's decision to use a less usual conference format. Namely, the traditional conference model based on paper presentation has been replaced by a more interactive discussion format. Thus, the topics were introduced by carefully selected rapporteurs who provided the introductory report on the given topic, which was further discussed and elaborated in the course of a 2,5-hour debate (per session). Some topics inspired constructive polemic discussions, conducted with a lot of spirit and tolerance. Such a concept has given rise to a number of very significant PIL questions and concurrently resulted in a number of interesting proposals and solutions.
The participation of young PIL assistants from almost all law faculties of ex-Yugoslavia has given this Conference an added quality. The Conference was also attended for the first time by the official representatives of the Ministry of Justice, which is the central authority for some Hague conventions.
This Conference has been organized by prof. dr Mirko Živković and teaching assistant Sanja Marjanović.
Reffering to the beginnings of our traditional Private International Law conferences, it should be noted that there is a genuine sense of pleasure arising from the fact that the professors and assistants of Private International Law from the former SFRY countries were the first members of the academic community who embarked (in 2003) on reviving their cooperation and restoring the liaisons which had been disrupted by the unfortunate historical developments and the subsequent dissolution of the former SFRY. In the course of the past decade, our relations have been intensified, strengthened and deepened. We have managed to create a friendly community of professionals who have developed excellent mutual understanding and profuse cooperation. It is best reflected in the annual PIL conferences which are held in a different country every year.The organization of this kind of regional conferences is the idea of Professor Mirko Živković (Faculty of Law in Niš, Serbia). There is a general feeling of satisfaction that these professional gatherings have always involved the participation of both young assistants who have just entered the world of Private International Law and the distinguished experts from the neighbouring countries and other European states.
The first conference was held in 2003, at Facuty of Niš (Serbia), and then, in accordance with joint decision, every other PIL Conference was held in different states of the former Yugoslavia: 2004 Slovenia (Faculty of Law Maribor), 2005 Serbia (Faculty of Law Belgrade), 2006 Croatia (Faculty of Law Zagreb), 2007 Bosnia and Herzegovina (Faculty of Law Banja Luka), 2008 Montenegro (Faculty of Law Podgorica), 2009 Serbia (Faculty of Law Novi Sad), 2010 Croatia (Faculty of Law Rijeka) and 2011 Macedonia (Faculty of Law “Iustinuanus Primus” Skopje). During the 9th PIL Conference n Skopje, all participants decided to give a special tribute to the Faculty of Law in Nis by nominating this Faculty to host the jubilee 10th PIL Conference in 2012.
The next 11th PIL Conference was organized by the Faculty of Law University Josip Strossmayer in Osijek (Croatia). In 2015, the host of the 12th PIL Conference was the Faculty of Law in Zenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina). This year, 2016, the 13th Conference will be held at the Faculty of Law in Kragujevac (Serbia). It has to be emphasized that every PIL Conference was followed by the special Collection of Papers.
In brief, we have worked a lot, cooperated well and enjoyed the company of all involved in the world of Private International Law.
Finally, we would like to thank Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for joining us and supporting our Private International Law conferences.
