Today, the Commission is proposing to modernise and digitalise judicial cooperation for cross-border civil and commercial cases throughout the EU. It aims to make access to civil justice cheaper, more efficient and more accessible to citizens and businesses.
The updated rules will:
- Make it obligatory for courts to exchange documents electronically cross-border - Currently, in a cross border case, both Member States' justice systems involved submit the documents by post, which is slow and incurs some costs. Shifting communications from paper-based channels to electronic could save up approximately EUR 30 to 78 million per year across the entire EU.
- Introduce a uniform return slip for documents sent to people and companies by post – Currently there are many problems with receiving documents cross-border as return slips vary and often are not correctly filled out. It is estimated that with this improvement more than EUR 2.2 million could be saved every year.
- Promote the use of video-conferencing - It will make it easier for persons to be heard without requiring them to travel to another country. Videoconferencing will facilitate this and allow savings. The cost of a cross-border hearing of a party or of a witness carried out viavideoconferencing typically costs EUR 100, against EUR 400 and EUR 800 for a physical hearing.
- Strengthen procedural rights of the parties and access to justice – The rules will strengthen the rights of the defence, for instance it will clarify when and how people can exercise the right of refusal. Digitalising justice and using technologies cross-border will make justice more efficient and cheaper for people.
The rules provided for by the Regulation on service of documents may also be relied upon in various out-of-court proceedings, for example in succession cases before a notary, or in family law cases before a public authority.
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