Judicial Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Matters

1. Judicial Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Matters Council Regulation (EC) No 1206/2001 of 28th May 2001 And Regulation (EC) No 1393/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2007

2. District Judge Gordon Y Lingard Skipton, Keighley & Bradford County Courts Yorkshire, UK. Districtjudge.lingard@judiciary.gsi.gov.uk

3. Service and Taking Evidence in another Member State of the European Union • The regulations: • Apply to all Member States EXCEPT • Denmark has opted out of the Evidence Regulation • Do not apply to criminal proceedings • Rely on multilingual forms as Annexes • Require use of the forms • Are designed to speed the taking of evidence in other Member States and to facilitate the service of Judicial documents

4. The regulations: (2) • Prohibit contracting out except where specified • Permit Member States to enter into bilateral agreements which complement the regulations • Aim to cut formality • Encourage speedy communication and use of information technology • Prescribe which language must be used in each circumstance

5. The regulations: (3) • Prescribe which Member State’s law applies in the operation of the regulations • Prevail over national law • Prescribe strict time limits for compliance • Lay down procedures as to who sends what to whom – • In general terms • documents for service are sent from and to specified bodies in the respective Member States • requests for taking of evidence are made from court to court

6. The European Judicial Network in Civil and Judicial Matters - the EJN • An organisation set up to foster judicial cooperation • Has a website in every official language of the EU • http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/network/network_en.htm • Provides vital information on each Member State’s legal system or systems ( in all the official languages) • Has an interactive ATLAS

7. The European Judicial Network Atlas • http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/judicialatlascivil/html/te_information_es.htm • Has dedicated tabs for both the Service Regulation and the Evidence regulation • Sets out all the necessary information required by the regulations to be notified to the European Commission • Lists the relevant courts for receiving requests to take evidence • Lists the relevant and “acceptable” languages for each Member State

8. The European Judicial Network Atlas (2) • Sets out the details of • Courts which can receive requests to take evidence- • not necessarily all courts in each Member State • Central Bodies, • Competent Authorities • Receiving Agencies and • Transmitting Agencies • Whether or not there is more than one of the above and if so their territorial jurisdiction

9. Central Bodies, Competent Authorities Receiving Agencies and Transmitting Agencies • Are required to be created maintained and notified by each Member State to the Commission • Are the lifeblood of operation of the Regulations • Are there to assist • THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE PER MEMBER STATE – consult the Atlas for information • Remember just because your Member State has a unified legal system does not mean the same applies elsewhere

10. SERVICE of JUDICIAL DOCUMENTS • Is always requested by a transmitting Agency to a Receiving Agency • May be direct if the law of both Member states permits • May in certain cases be by Consular Agents

11. Taking of Evidence • Usually requested by any court or tribunal to a court specified in the Atlas • Exceptionally may be via Central Bodies • May involve the judicial personnel or representatives of the requesting court • Can include expert evidence

12. The end Let us go forth and cooperate with each other