This in-depth commentary and analysis on the three main EU regulations facilitating cross-border debt collection compares them amongst themselves and with the solutions relating to recognition and enforcement in the enacted but not yet enforced Recast Brussels I Regulation. In country-by-country analyses written by local experts, the implementation of these measures in 13 Member States is accompanied with evaluation of national summary procedures. Emphasis throughout is on the analysis of legal remedies safeguarding the rights of parties, as access to remedies is among the chief factors determining the speed and success of proceedings.
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.
Due to the absence of due process and other procedural guarantees generally offered by judicial enforcement, informal debt collection practices (IDCPs) can become abusive, harming both consumers and the economy by threatening consumers’ physical, psychological, and economic wellbeing; exposing lawabiding debt collectors to unfair competition; undermining the financial system; and negatively impacting social peace by resorting to criminal activity. The need to control and harmonize IDCPs surfaced in connection with the European Commission’s Action Plan to tackle the high level of non-performing loans caused by the financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic –specifically the Proposal for a Directive on Credit Servicers, Credit Purchasers, and the Recovery of Collateral (CSD). Harmonizing the regulation of abusive IDCPs is vital for several reasons. First, IDCPs have a cross-border dimension due to the freedom of movement, enabling debt collection operations across the internal market. Second, the internal market’s size amounts to over 450 million citizens potentially exposed to abusive IDCPs. The regulatory frameworks addressing IDCPs in the E.U. display divergent characteristics that may be difficult to navigate and require creating a level-playing field for consumers and debt collectors, especially when approaches vary at Member State level. This book addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive guide to regulating informal debt collection practices in eight Member States of the E.U. and the United Kingdom (U.K.). It serves as a comparative law instrument for implementing the recently adopted CSD. It will be important reading for students, academics, and stakeholders with an interest in debt collection practices and the law.
This book examines the diversity of enforcement titles in cross-border debt collection, focusing on the types, structure, contents and effects of enforcement titles. It offers a comprehensive overview of judgments, court settlements and authentic instruments from a variety of EU Member States. It primarily employs the comparative legal method to draw conclusions on commonalities and differences, as well as prospects for future approximation of laws. The premise of the research is rooted in the finding that national authorities of EU Member States continue to treat enforcement titles from other Member States with reservations and mistrust despite being committed to the principle of mutual trust. The book identifies the issues of mistrust stemming from the diversity of enforcement titles. The research is based on a rich database of national reports compiled during the course of several large-scale EU Justice Projects. Divided into five parts, the book offers first some general considerations and presents attempts at a systemisation of enforcement titles. The following parts are then devoted to more specialised approaches toward the different types of enforcement titles. However, the connecting line between all parts of the book are the considerations of cross-border enforcement in the EU (and in a limited manner with third States). Herein, research also addresses critical factors regarding the free movement of judgments in the EU, including those of lis pendens and related actions. This book provides a valuable contribution to the Theory of European Civil Procedure. Since it is based on a comparative approach and employs both empirical and doctrinal viewpoints, it should also greatly benefit practitioners involved in cross-border dispute resolution. Overall, the findings should be of interest to a broad audience, including policymakers, judges, practitioners and scholars.
The ongoing reform in the organisation of the European Union courts makes an updated edition of this indispensable resource essential. Following the book established easy-to-use structure, the second edition offers a reliable, thorough guide to the renewed rules of procedure of the Court of Justice and the General Court as well as updated provisions and practice directions, including the relevant case law, together with a focus on the extensive treatment of remedies available in these courts and how to secure them. With the expert guidance of one of Europe foremost jurists, the book clearly explains which rules apply and how to proceed in the course of any kind of case and any situation likely to arise. From foundations and principles to specific issues regarding the assignment of cases, preliminary rulings, rules on evidence, annulment, illegality, failure to act, pleas, judgments and orders, appeal and much more, the book covers all essential elements of Court of Justice of the European Union procedure, including the following: division of competences between the Union courts; admissibility; rules regarding anonymity; service of documents; setting and extension of time limits, hearings, witnesses and experts; deposit and recovery of sums; application of competition rules, rules on state aid and rules on trade protection; rules in cases concerning intellectual property rights; rules in actions brought on the basis of an arbitration agreement; rules governing access to documents; languages; legal aid; interim measures; damages; expedited procedures; and scope of the rules on costs. Any lawyer seeking appropriate remedies in any case before the European Union courts will benefit enormously from this book, whether used as a hands-on manual in particular cases or absorbed over time. It is sure to serve as an essential resource for many years to come.
Infringement proceedings constitute a signi¬ficant proportion of proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union and play a key role in the development of EU law. Their immediate purpose is to obtain a declaration that a Member State has, by its conduct, failed to ful¬l an obligation under the EU Treaties. The aim is to bring that conduct and its effects to an end and, ultimately, to eliminate infringements across the Union. This book – the ¬first comprehensive and detailed full-length work in English on infringement proceedings under Articles 258-260 TFEU – provides not only an in-depth discussion on the role and function of infringement proceedings within the EU legal order, but also a critical assessment of the procedures as they currently stand, complete with proposals for future changes. Recognizing that Member States’ compliance with EU law is an integral part of the task of ensuring the rule of law throughout the Union, the author thoroughly explains the functioning of infringement proceedings, their requirements and related policies, including issues such as: – the Commission’s discretion to bring a case before the Court; – the author of the infringement, including national courts or private entities; – Member States’ procedural and substantive defences; – the different procedures under Articles 258, 259 and 260(2) and (3) TFEU; – rights of private parties; – interim measures; – ¬financial sanctions; – Member States’ liability; and – the roles played by the European Parliament and the Ombudsman. Particular attention is devoted to rules that have not yet been fully interpreted, or where the current interpretation or application of the rules seems problematic. The book tackles, in particular, whether infringement proceedings, as they stand, constitute an appropriate means of ensuring observance by Member States’ authorities of the EU acquis, and, if not, what reforms should be implemented in order to achieve this in the future. Such a detailed and in-depth examination of this fundamental procedure of EU law will be of great and long-lasting interest to EU and Member State administrators, legal practitioners and academics. Luca Prete is currently a référendaire (Legal Secretary) for Advocate General Wahl at the Court of Justice of the European Union, on secondment from the Legal Service of the European Commission. He is also a member of the Centre for European Law of the Free University of Brussels (VUB). He has published several articles in the fi¬eld of EU law and is a regular speaker at EU law seminars and conferences.
Procedural law is of vital importance in Europe. Nowadays, people and companies that intend to settle in Europe still are being confronted with a huge amount of diffenrent national procedures and a hallucinating number of regulations in the procedural field. Just consider the different procedural costs, strict time limits, prescription periods, notices of appeal, . Unlike other branches of law, historical or cultural impediments to the harmonisation of European procedural laws play a far more inferior role than technical aspects, Eventually, all comes down to the question: How can one lead a case to a result on a fast way and without high costs? In this publication, Europe's leading proceduralists share there views on the approximation of procedural laws. A specific in-depth analysis is made concerning enforcement, summary proceedings, fast-track proceedings and complex litigation. In 4 languages: English, Dutch, French and German.
Brussels I Recast (Regulation No 1215/2012 on the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters) is intended to simplify and expedite cross-border enforcement of debts. However, some existing issues remain unresolved, and new ones have already been identi?ed since the Regulation entered into force in 2015. This collection of expert essays, the ?rst book to focus systematically and comprehensively on the area of remedies in the light of Brussels I Recast, offers detailed analyses of inherent problems and includes practical hypothetical cases illustrating major issues and how they may be resolved. The aspects covered by the contributors – all well-known academics, lawyers, and judges from different EU Member States – include the following: – grounds for refusal of recognition and enforcement; – certi?cation of enforceability and timely service of the certi?cate; – adaptation of enforcement measures that are determined in the judgment but are not known in the Member State of enforcement; – effect of requesting a translation of the judgment; – ?nancial implications of remedies; and – provisional measures and their role in a timely protection of rights. Because the success of Brussels I Recast depends on a very unpredictable implementation into national systems, the extent to which national barriers represent obstacles to fair and ef?cient judicial protection is thoroughly examined. A very useful concluding chapter presents practical cases highlighting the most important, as well as problematic, issues concerning enforcement of foreign judgments. The in-depth analyses conducted by the contributors clearly de?ne serious obstacles and propose solutions that will lead to better implementation of Brussels I Recast, better protection of party's rights, and further harmonisation in this ?eld of civil justice. This book is sure to be of exceptional value to counsel for multinational enterprises, EU and Member State legislators, enforcement agencies, and academics worldwide.
Every legal system, at the outset of court proceedings, has rules aimed at safeguarding parties' interests during the time needed to obtain a judgment on the merits. However, as the European Commission put the case in a 1997 communication, 'a comparative survey of national legislation reveals that there are virtually no definitions of provisional/protective measures and that the legal situations vary widely. The only convergence that can be ascertained is between the function of such measures.' Recognizing that after almost twenty years the issues noted by the Commission have not found a satisfactory solution, here at last is a book that collects and compares the ideas behind the 'preliminary injunction' (an expression the authors use as a general term for a great variety of provisional and precautionary measures) with an eye to defining and organizing this small but very important aspect of the law. Although the analysis touches on relevant measures from many countries, the authors focus on the national legislation in four EU Member States – England, France, Germany, and Italy – to highlight the nature of the differences these kinds of measures entail. They compare and contrast such aspects as the following: – differences in civil procedure; - the types of measures that may be taken; - the terms on which preliminary injunctions, which are normally directly enforceable, may be ordered by a court; - the kind of assets that may be affected; - the relationship between proceedings in an interlocutory action and proceedings on the substance; - necessity of credible evidence that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result if no preliminary injunction is granted; and - the role of protective measures in summary proceedings. The study also describes and examines the recent European order for payment (EC Regulation No. 1896/2006), the most significant existing transnational instrument aimed at granting preliminary protection of creditors' rights. This incomparable book represents a major contribution to a growing debate, particularly in Europe, on ways and means of securing equivalent protection for all litigants. Given the variety of legal systems and of measures available, the debate will have to focus on the functions served by provisional/protective measures, the minimum conditions to be satisfied, the adversary procedure requirement, the enforceability of the measures, and possible redress procedures. There is no more thorough and reliable resource available to clarify these issues for practitioners and interested policymakers everywhere.
The first part of the book offers a unique reflection on enduring themes in public procurement law such as the shaping of the scope of this regulatory regime, the development of tighter criteria for the exclusion of candidates and tenderers, the conduct of qualitative selection, the consolidation of the court’s previous approach to technical specifications, new developments in tender evaluation, the inclusion of contract performance clauses with a social orientation, and, last but not least, the development of interpretive guidance concerning several aspects of the procurement remedies regime. The book shows that the period 2015–2017 has been an interesting and rather intense period for the development of EU public procurement law, where the CJEU has not only consolidated some parts of its long-standing procurement case law but also introduced significant innovations that can create future challenges for the consistency of this regulatory regime. The first part of the book concludes with some thoughts on some of the salient aspects of this recent episode of silent reform of EU public procurement law through CJEU case law. The second part of the book contains the essential excerpts of forty-one chronologically ordered judgments issued by the CJEU in the period 2015–2017, which have been selected because they either raise new issues or important matters of public procurement law. Each of the selected judgments is followed by an exhaustive and critical in-depth analysis, highlighting and providing insight into its legal and practical issues and consequences. An exhaustive subject-index offers the reader quick and easy access to the case law treated in this book. This unique book, a ‘must-have’ reference work for judges and courts of all EU Member States and candidate countries and academics and legal professionals who are active in the field of procurement law, will also be valuable for law libraries and law schools across the world and for law students who focus their research and studies on EU law.
