International civil procedure in the European Union: Small claims procedure under EC Regulation 861/2007

Abstract

76 Summary Procedural Private International Law in the EU: Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 establishing a European small claims procedure. European Private International Law is nowadays, beside the national and international, one level of the Private International Law. The judicial cooperation in civil matters intends to minimize the obstacles arising out of different regulations in Member States. The judicial cooperation in civil matters was regulated at first by the Maastricht Treaty. But it was the subsequent Treaty of Amsterdam which had great influence on this area by shifting it into the Community level. The first part of this thesis is an overview of European Private International Law legislation, it describes its system and history. The second part contains the main topic of the thesis, the European Small Claims Procedure established by the Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007. This regulation offers a procedure which is optional, it is an alternative to the procedures existing in the national law orders of the Member States. It is applicable in all Member States, except from Denmark, since 1st January 2009. It has been adopted in order to improve access to justice by symplifying..