The EU Civil Justice Framework and Private Law: ‘Integration through [Private International] Law

The diverse nature of substantive private law systems across Europe has amplified the development of an EU Civil Justice system based on harmonised EU private international law (PIL) mechanisms. However, the process of European integration and the free movement of people, goods, capital and services in an enlarged and diverse Union poses the question whether the current framework allows litigants to obtain an effective remedy in cross-border cases. The authors argue that the problems of jurisdiction, choice of law and recognition and enforcement of judgments will be recurrent for courts and litigants, and this may adversely affect the level of litigiousness. After analysing several types of cross-border cases brought before the English courts in the European context, the authors make a case that there is a need for an appropriately conducted comparative study to collect empirical evidence which explains the cross-border litigation pattern and assesses the effectiveness of the PIL instruments adopted at Union level. It is concluded that devising an appropriate institutional architecture for the interpretation and application of PIL legislative instruments is key to the creation of a genuine European area of justice as there cannot be rights without appropriate remedies.