Volumes I, II and III of this reference work were published in 1976, 1980 and 1984, respectively. The core of the books consists of court decisions involving the Hague Conventions in force in the field of private international law. This wealth of information has been made accessible by arranging the decisions per Convention and then per legal issue, thus clearly showing similarities and differences in the application of each Convention by a variety of countries and tribunals. Considering the increasing number of Conventions between a growing number of parties, this system is eminently suited to illustrate problems of application. The cases decided in ten European countries, the U.S.A., Canada, Australia and Israel, cover the period from 1979 to 1989. Of at least equal importance in practice is the Situation actuelle as per April 1994, of the Conventions concluded since 1954. This survey shows the signatures, ratifications, reservations and other declarations relating to each Convention. The Conventions have given rise not only to a large number of cases, but also to a vast literature throughout the world, which appears in a 20-page bibliography arranged per session of the Hague Conference, and per Convention. The Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference has cooperated in the realization of this series, which will prove to be indispensable for practicing lawyers and legal scholars who have anything to do with the Hague Conference in any area of private international law or international procedural law.

European co-operation has resulted in many new and challenging opportunities for legal scholars who, since the so-called 'codification period', have become used to operating in a purely national context. This applies also to scholars in the field of civil procedure, who, for a considerable period of time, have resisted leaving the purely national domain. These scholars have devoted a great deal of attention to the question whether or not harmonisation of civil procedural law is a feasible option, and, if so, in what manner harmonisation should be achieved. The contributors to this book seek to further the harmonisation debate by exploring some of the main trends in the development of civil procedural law during the last two centuries in several European countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, England and Wales, The Netherlands and Belgium). Two of the central issues that are addressed by the contributors are the extent to which the various procedural models have influenced each other and the extent to which common traditions in civil procedural law may be distinguished in Europe. Each general chapter in this book is supplemented by three chapters devoted to specific procedural topics: Conciliation, Party Interrogation as Evidence and the Role of the Judge. In addition, extensive bibliographical references are included.

Designed to provide really usable, authentic translations, the new Council of Europe French-English Legal Dictionary is unusually comprehensive both in geographical range (Belgian, Luxembourg & Swiss terms are included) & in subject-matter, giving idiomatic English equivalents of countless terms unobtainable or inaccurately translated elsewhere; non-legal terminology has been rigorously excluded. The result is an incomparable reference work containing some 11 000 entries, clearly set out & easy to consult.