Challenges for the Creation of a European Law of Civil Procedure

Abstract:     
The creation of a European law of civil procedure is a continuous and dynamic process that, in its present form has really only just started. In this contribution three issues involved in the creation of a European law of civil procedurewill be discussed. These issues are (1) the meaning of Article 65 of the EC Treaty for legislation in the field of law of civil procedure; (2) the choice between a separate European regime or a harmonization of national provisions in specific files; and (3) the emergence of sectoral European law of civil procedure in internal market dossiers, such as procurement law, intellectual property law and competition law and very recently, consumer law. In providing an outline of these issues, the author demonstrates some of the difficulties met in the creation of European civil procedural law. Moreover, the article intends to set the debate on the subject in motion and to contribute to finding answers to the issues discussed in it.

Keywords: Civil Justice, European law, harmonization, civil procedure

JEL Classifications: K33, K40, K41

Working Paper Series