New Trends for Cross-Border Litigation in Europe: The Directive of 2008 on Mediation in Civil and Commercial Cases

Meiji Law Journal, Forthcoming

19 Pages Posted: 21 May 2012

See all articles by Carlos Esplugues

Carlos Esplugues

University of Valencia - Faculty of Law

Date Written: May, 20 2012

Abstract

The existence of a single market renders cross-border litigation more and more usual. Cases with foreign elements increase widely directly putting the principle of access to justice under pressure. It is not only that the volume of disputes brought before national courts increase due to economic unification. This higher amount of cross-border litigation also shares some of the current problems that national justice suffers: proceedings are becoming more and more lengthy, the costs incurred by such proceedings increase for the parties and the quantity, complexity and technical obscurity of the highly growing legislation makes access to justice more difficult for them.

In this scenario, the use of ADR could be an excellent tool to gain three objectives: Firstly, to supply a “cross-effective tool(s) that provides increased access to justice” to the parties and at the same time, secondly, that “alleviates the burdens on over-crowded court systems” thus favoring the efficiency of the judicial system as a whole in resolving disputes. But besides, thirdly, parties are given the opportunity to heavily reduce their costs of litigation. The European Union seems to be growingly aware of this situation and is steadily advocating in favor of the use of ADR devices within its territory. Enactment of the Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 21.5.2008 on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters must be approached as a relevant step forward in this way.

Keywords: Mediation, Directive on Mediation, Cross-Border Mediation, Mediation in Europe

JEL Classification: K40

Suggested Citation

Esplugues, Carlos, New Trends for Cross-Border Litigation in Europe: The Directive of 2008 on Mediation in Civil and Commercial Cases (May, 20 2012). Meiji Law Journal, Forthcoming , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2063121

Carlos Esplugues (Contact Author)

University of Valencia - Faculty of Law ( email )

Avda. de los Naranjos s/n
Valencia, Valencia E-46022
Spain
34963828551 (Phone)
34963828552 (Fax)

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