Civil litigation in twentieth century Europe

Abstract

AbstractThe present article adresses one of the many topics on which Raoul van Caenegem has focused during his long career: the history of civil procedure. It concentrates on the twentieth century and offers a comparative perspective. The year 1898, in which the influential Austrian Zivilprozessordnung (öZPO) of the 1st of August 1895 took effect, forms the starting point of the article. This Code inaugurated a new era in civil procedure since it introduced a judge with extensive case management powers. The final part of the article discusses the English Civil Procedure Rules, which came into force in 1999. In 1999, even the English judge, who until that time had acted as a mere 'umpire', acquired extensive case management powers. Case management by the judge is now a common European phenomenon.