Book Review: Civil Procedure and EU Law. A Policy Area Uncovered
| Date | 01 December 2010 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X1001700406 |
| Published date | 01 December 2010 |
| Author | Jan-Jaap Kuipers |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
17 MJ 4 (2010) 453
BOOK REVIEWS
Eva Storskrubb, C ivil Procedure and EU Law. A Policy Area Uncovered, Ox ford
University Press, 2008 , xxxiii + 521 pp., hardback, ISBN 0–19–953317–6, £50
§1. CIVIL PROCEDURE AS A POLICY AREA
A. EU CIVIL PROCEDURE AND THE I NTERNAL MARKET
Civil procedure is an emerg ing area in Union law. Traditionally national procedur al law
was only regarded as relevant from an EU perspective with respect to rights derived from
Union law, but not as a tool for i ntegration as such. Nowadays it is accepted that Union
law not only enters via the notion of equivalence and eectiveness of national procedural
law when the enforcement of Union rights is at stake, but equally that dierences between
national procedural laws may h inder cross border trade. A c reditor may perceive the
uncertaintie s about the procedura l law of the Member States , and the relat ively high
litigation costs, to be a ba rrier in the pursuit of his civ il cross border claim.1 e limited
eectiveness of cross border enforcement of debts may ma ke tr aders war y of doing
business in other Member States in t he rst place. However, it is c lear that the need for
the improvement of enforceability of cross border cla ims has to strike a delicate ba lance
between national procedural autonomy, the sa feguard of national values embodied i n
procedural law and the protec tion of fundamenta l rig hts. Even within fund amental
rights, a ba lance should be struck b etween ensuring an eec tive legal remedy for a civi l
claim and the protect ion of the rights of defence.
e are a of civ il procedure has become increasingly i mportant due to the Union’s
own success. ‘Market integration has led to a need for a mutual judicial space but perhaps
also exposes t he fundamental asymmet ries between the legal systems w ith the resultant
diculty in ndi ng eective European solutions’.2 Ensu ring an eective possibilit y to
enforce cross border claims is a matter that cannot be le solely to the Member States.
Although the area of civil procedure has long been outside the scope of Union competence,
1 Case C-205/07 Gysbrec hts [2008] ECR I-9947, para. 42.
2 Scharpf, ‘Eur opean Goverance: Com mon Concerns vs. e Cha llenge of Diversity’, NY U Jean Monnet
Working Paper 6/2001, quoted by Storskrubb on pa ge 241.
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