This volume of the Proceedings of the Nineteenth Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law encompasses all preparatory work and records of meetings which led to the adoption of the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Certain Rights in Respect of Securities held with an Intermediary (the Hague Securities Convention). The signing of this Convention on 5 July 2006 by two of the world's major financial markets, the United States and Switzerland, shows the relevance of the new treaty. Traditional rules, based on physical transfers and direct holdings, are too diverse and inadequate to deal with securities which are nowadays transferred and pledged by electronic entries to accounts with clearing and settlement systems and other intermediaries. By identifying specific conflict rules, the Hague Securities Convention provides a means to remedy this lack of legal certainty which has characterized for too long the field of security transactions. The Proceedings will enable the financial world, but also legal practitioners and academics to grasp the background and full objectives of this very innovative international instrument.

The Hague Agency Convention is of great importance for every lawyer involved (or interested) in international business and finance. Its provisions become relevant whenever one is dealing with agency relationships in the broadest sense in an international context. Its scope is not confined to the `traditional' commercial agency relationships between principals and their agents, but extends to many other situations where agency takes place, both directly and indirectly. The rules of the Convention are applied to find the laws governing both the internal and external agency relationships in all areas of international business and finance. The Convention has currently been ratified by four states (the Netherlands, France, Portugal and Argentina), but several countries have enacted legislation inspired by it, for the interpretation of which the Convention may have significance. Moreover, now that it has entered into force (in 1992), it is not unlikely that it will be ratified by more states. Agency in Private International Law presents a detailed analysis of the Convention, with references to the laws of various jurisdictions. References to legal systems other than that of the Netherlands have been checked by local lawyers.

Despite the wealth of historical literature on the Second World War, the subject of religion and churches in occupied Europe has been undervalued – until now. This critical European history is unique in delivering a rich and detailed analysis of churches and religion during the Second World War, looking at the Christian religions of occupied Europe: Catholicism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Orthodoxy. The authors engage with key themes such as relations between religious institutions and the occupying forces; religion as a key factor in national identity and resistance; theological answers to the Fascist and National Socialist ideologies, especially in terms of the persecution of the Jews; Christians as bystanders or protectors in the Holocaust; and religious life during the war. Churches and Religion in the Second World War will be of great value to students and scholars of European history, the Second World War and religion and theology.

In The Pius War, Joseph Bottum has joined with rabbi David G. Dalin to gather a representative and powerful sample of these reviews, deliberately chosen from a wide range of publications. Together with a team of professors, historians, and other experts, the reviewers conclusively investigate the claims attacking Pius XII. The Pius War, and the detailed annotated bibliography that follows, will prove to be a definitive tool for scholars and students_destined to become a major resource for anyone interested in questions of Catholicism, the Holocaust, and World War II.