The regulation of cross border civil and commercial litigation is a burgeoning EU policy area. Legislative measures and other initiatives now provide a framework for the regulation of cross border service of documents, obtaining evidence, establishing jurisdiction and enforcement of judgments, enforcement orders, legal aid, alternative dispute resolution, payment orders, and small claims. In addition, overarching measures have been enacted including the creation of a judicial network and judicial training structures. This book offers the first detailed analysis of the EU's activity in procedural harmonization, spanning civil procedure, private international law and European law. The book situates the development of the policy area and its regulation in relation to broader themes of the European integration process: market building, citizenship, fundamental rights, subsidiarity and governance. It provides a detailed analysis of the legislative measures and assesses their impact on fundamental principles of civil justice, including due process rights. The case-law in the area is also analysed, including the introduction of the principle of mutual recognition. The book concludes with a comparative analysis of the EU's approach with broader international efforts for procedural harmonization.

Greater efficiency in civil dispute resolution is very much dependent on organized but fair fact-finding. Under European law, however, no clear-cut categorisation of means of evidence exists as yet, and significantly diverging interpretations persist of what is considered 'evidence' in the sense of the foundational Council Regulation (EC) No. 1206/2001 (EER). The EER fails to provide comprehensive rules for many other aspects of evidence taking, pointing instead to national legislation for solutions. As long as evidentiary rules remain different from country to country, there is an inherent risk of conflict of laws between different systems in the course of cooperation between courts in cross-border matters, leading to mistrust amongst judiciary and other participants in the proceedings. Focusing on national rules, and using a comparative method which takes into consideration legal experiences from all legal circles in the EU, this book explains and analyses how the law of evidence works in Europe today. The authors draw on the vast base of relevant information collected in twenty-seven Member States by national reporters. Following the classical enumeration of types of evidence – production of documents, examination of witnesses, expert evidence, inspection by the judge, and examination of the parties – chapters encompass such issues and topics as the following. - judicial cooperation in cross-border cases; – general principles in evidence taking (the right to be heard, oral vs. written form, directness of evidence, burden of proof); – judges' case management powers regarding evidence; – means of evidence; – extent of influence of traditional principles and evidentiary rules on electronic evidence; – application of communication technology in cross-border proceedings; – legal costs; – language; – inadmissible evidence; and – instances in which a court can refuse a request for evidence. The authors offer well-grounded recommendations on requested judge's entitlements, direct and convenient communication, cost issues, revised provisions concerning language obstacles, unification of presumptions, and much more. Armed with the wide-ranging knowledge presented here, practitioners handling civil cases anywhere in Europe will derive great practical benefit from this book. As a masterful synthesis of how evidence is used in national courts in EU Member States, and of how that use is changing, the book will be greatly valued as a unique resource by legal scholars and academics. With featured recommendations it can contribute to the development of mutual trust among the national courts inside the EU as well as trust among policymakers and national courts.

'This publication is extremely interesting since it shows that the law of the European Union has an impact on national procedural law. Cross-fertilisation is indeed a very important tool.'--Marcel Storme, Honorary Pres. of the International Assoc. of Procedural Law ***This book discusses the impact of EU law on selected national legal systems. The authors analyze how the civil procedure system of their countries has reacted to increasing Europeanisation and the influence of EU law. They identify significant changes and disseminate the reasons for particular developments and the further implications of EU law on the civil procedure. Europe is in a period of increasing Europeanisation of civil procedure. Procedural elements of EU law are based on decentralised enforcement, leaving enforcement and procedural issues to the Member States. Consequently, there is vast amount of EU case law that is relevant for national procedural law. The supremacy of EU law and, inter alia, the requirements of effectiveness and equivalence may be relevant for several topics of national civil procedural law. Both EU legislation and doctrinal changes in EU case law touch upon various topics of the procedural law of the Member States. A comprehensive comparison between the countries represented in the book is made. (Series: Ius Commune Europaeum, Vol. 150) Subject: EU Law, National Law]

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this convenient volume provides comprehensive analysis of the legislation and rules that determine civil procedure and practice in the European Union. Lawyers who handle transnational matters will appreciate the book’s clear explanation of distinct terminology and application of rules. The structure follows the classical chapters of a handbook on civil procedure: beginning with the judicial organization of the courts, jurisdiction issues, a discussion of the various actions and claims, and then moving to a review of the proceedings as such. These general chapters are followed by a discussion of the incidents during proceedings, the legal aid and legal costs, and the regulation of evidence. There are chapters on seizure for security and enforcement of judgments, and a final section on alternative dispute resolution. Facts are presented in such a way that readers who are unfamiliar with specific terms and concepts in varying contexts will fully grasp their meaning and significance. Succinct, scholarly, and practical, this book will prove a valuable time-saving tool for business and legal professionals alike. Lawyers representing parties with interests in the European Union will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its comparative value as a contribution to the study of civil procedure in the international context.

Zwanzig Jahre nach der Verabschiedung des Amsterdamer Vertrags über die justizielle Zusammenarbeit in Zivilsachen wurden vom europäischen Gesetzgeber zahlreiche Instrumente des EU-Zivilprozessrechts entwickelt, die heute in der nationalen Rechtsprechung fest verankert sind. Diese Instrumente haben einen grenzüberschreitenden Raum der Rechtssicherheit geschaffen, dem Bürgerinnen und Bürger sowie und Unternehmen vertrauen können. Das vorliegende Buch fragt nach den "best practices" gemeinsamer Regeln und Praktiken. Inspiriert von der Verschiebung des Schwerpunkts von der Schaffung neuer Rechtsvorschriften hin zu einer Konzentration auf die konkrete Umsetzung, bietet der Band einen Überblick über einen einheitlichen europäischen Rechtsraum und seinen Regeln.

This book explores how EU and international civil procedure rules (hard law, soft law, and judicial decision) shape national civil procedure law of the EU member states.