The European Union and National Civil Procedure

The aim of the project is to uncover, understand and compare how the national civil procedure in different countries react to Europeanisation. Europe is in a period of increasing Europeanisation of civil procedure. One reason is increasing legislative activity from Brussels affecting civil procedure directly and indirectly. Doctrinal changes in case law stressing the direct enforceability of EU law, and downplaying procedural autonomy, also play an important role. It is interesting to know how the legal system, the practitioners and lawyers in the member states react to Europeanisation. The aim of the research project is to gain insight into Europeanisation of national civil procedure, to uncover and understand similarities and divergences between different countries. We invite colleagues from 10 different European countries to join us for a workshop, where we can present what is going on in our respective countries and discuss the national experiences in a larger context.

The theme of the workshop is the impact of EU law on national civil procedure. This might, inter alia concern questions such as the following. Has recent EU legislation or case law has caused national reforms of civil procedure? How affects ex officio application of EU Law national law? Has EU law affected the court system? Has EU law led to changes in legal culture? We will discuss which topics have caused debate and the underlying reasons for the debates.

Funded by Nansen fondene.

Head: Professor Dr. Anna Nylund, University of Tromsø & professor Dr. Bart Krans, University of Groningen