Spanish courts and Private International Law: central Santa Lucía v. Meliá Hoteles case. History of an obvious disagreement… (to be continued)

Abstract

In April 2019, the Trump Administration activated Title III of the Helms-Bruton Act, causing a stir in the International Community. To defend themselves against the extraterritorial effects of a measure of such magnitude, the States that maintain commercial relations with Cuba have developed “antidote norms”, the main objective of which is to neutralize the economic damages that could derive from the potential lawsuits presented before the United States Courts by citizens of that country in claim of compensation for the act of nationalization carried out by the State of Cuba in 1959. In this context of international litigation established by unilateral norms of different States, Central Santa Lucía, a United States company, files an action for unjustified enrichment before the Spanish Courts against Meliá Hoteles, a company domiciled in Spain, thus initiating a true “judicial viacrucis” regarding essential questions of Private International Law.