The Evolution of Free Movement of Civil Judgments in the European Union

Abstract

This chapter outlines the development of legislation on free movement of civil judgments in the European Union. This legislation has evolved radically over the past decades. The chapter shows that whereas legislation on civil justice cooperation was originally motivated by the internal market rationale, aimed at facilitating trade, the objective of creating a true European area of freedom, security, and justice, and the introduction of mutual recognition, meant that civil justice cooperation became more ideologically motivated. Since the Tampere European Council of 1999 made mutual recognition a principle of civil justice cooperation, the EU legislature made it a priority to simplify cross-border recognition and enforcement as much as possible and to remove potential obstacles. The chapter then goes on to discuss how recognition and enforcement are currently organized under EU legislation in the field of civil justice. It considers how this mechanism is laid down in a number of instruments: the Brussels I bis Regulation (the recast Brussels I Regulation), the Brussels II bis Regulation, the Insolvency Regulation and the Succession Regulation. It also discusses the two uniform European Procedures, the European Small Claims Procedure (ESCP) and the European Order for Payment Procedure (EOP), as well as the European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims (EEO).