N°1 / February 2021

Date: 28 February 2021

Author: UNIMI Team

Location: Milano

The EFFORTS Project in brief

Embracing a practice driven approach, a consortium of experts in international procedural law will analyse the existing legislation and case-law of the 7 targeted Member States (Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg), promote the exchange of practices among operators (at 7 seminars) and collect good practices, with regards to the interaction of EU Regulations on circulation of judicial decisions and national legislation.

The Project involves lawyers, judges, enforcement agents, EU and national policymakers, in-house counsellors, consumer associations, and academics.

EU involved legislative instruments are the Brussels Ia Regulation and the Regulations on the European Enforcement Order, the European Small Claims Procedure, the European Payment Order and the European Account Preservation Order.

The interaction of said EU and national rules signifies a major weakness of the system, making it difficult for practitioners, and even more for consumers and businesses, to be aware of the mere existence and practical functioning of the available mechanisms.

The consortium will: pursue clarity by means of 7 Practice Guides on cross-border recovery of claims in the targeted Member States – contribute to the improvement of existing EU and national legislation

by drafting Policy recommendations for national and EU policymakers – setting up the EFFORTS Network and a Working Group on the digitalization of enforcement procedures.

Entities that support the Project include: Italian Ministry of Justice, Croatian Ministry of Justice, Lithuanian Ministry of Justice, Lithuanian Chambers of Judicial Officers, EuroCollectNet Lawyers – International Debt Recovery Association, German Federal Bar Association, Milan Bar Association, Working group for international commercial law of the German Lawyer Association, Law – Made in Germany initiative of the German Lawyer Association, IBA Litigation Committee, Italian Association for Family Lawyers.

About the Project

The EFFORTS Project started on November 1^st, 2020. The kick-off meeting was held shortly afterwards with the appointment of the operative boards. At the moment, the Project is looking forward to its next deadline, at the end of March, for submission of the reports on national implementing rules regarding the 7 targeted Member States based on the templates drafted by one of its participants, the University of Heidelberg.

Forthcoming events

The Max Planck Institute Luxembourg is hosting its 3^rd Comparative Procedural Law and Justice webinar on 16 April 2021. For info and registration:

https://www.mpi.lu/news-and-events/2021/april/16/comparative-procedural-law-and-justice/

News on international and comparative civil procedure

1) Unidroit working group on a guidance document containing “Best Practices for Effective Enforcement”

The general aim of the project is to develop a legal tool to address the current challenges to a well-functioning domestic law system for enforcement. It would do so by offering to national legislators a set of global standards and best practices designed to improve the domestic normative framework applicable to enforcement. The preparation of Best Practices for Effective Enforcement is a high priority project on the UNIDROIT Work Programme 2020-2022. The second meeting of the Working Group is planned for 20-22 April 2021.

https://www.unidroit.org/work-in-progress/effective-enforcement-best-practices