Cross-border litigation in England and Wales

Abstract

In the pre-Brexit era, England has established itself as one of the dominant jurisdictions for the resolution of cross-border disputes in the European Union (and the world). The legal regime in relation to private international law (PIL) in England and Wales has been significantly influenced by the EU PIL framework that was adopted at EU level. The United Kingdom decision to leave the EU might have significant implications for the parties’ access to justice in cross-border cases. This paper aims to devise a theoretical framework that is necessary to evaluate the potential impact of the UK’s decision to leave the EU on the private parties’ access to legal remedies. To this end, the author relies on empirical (qualitative) data that was gathered in 2015 and early 2016 in the context of the EU Private International Law: Legal Application in Reality (‘EUPILLAR’) project, indicating how the current EU PIL framework is functioning in England and Wales. An analysis of the way the parties’ strategies are devised under the current EU PIL regime helps in identifying the aspects which need to be considered, in order to set the research agenda and ascertain how the legal landscape in relation to PIL should be revised in the post-Brexit era.