What is the Network and who is it for?
The European Judicial Network (EJN) in civil and commercial matters ("the Network") was established, via a European Council Decision, in December 2002 to facilitate judicial co-operation between Member States. In June 2009 a revised Council Decision was agreed by the European Parliament and European Council.
The main purposes of the Network are:
- to provide information to the public, practitioners, judges and others on the working of Community instruments on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters, including information about the relevant laws and legal practices of other Member States;
- to help judges and relevant national authorities to resolve difficulties that may arise in the interpretation or application of EU legislation; and
- to provide a means of communication between judges in different Member States.
The fact that the Network's title is the European Judicial Network sometimes leads to a little confusion. The word "judicial" is used here in the wider sense of "legal". It is not, therefore, a network made up only of judges, but judges do have an important role. A key objective of the Network is to provide judges with general information concerning Community instruments relating to judicial co-operation in civil and commercial matters; and to help judges facilitate cases of cross-border judicial co-operation.
The Network's key players are the Contact Points in each Member State. Each Member State can have up to six; and the United Kingdom currently has four, including a dedicated Scottish Contact Point. Other members of the Network include the bodies and central authorities provided by Community law and international instruments; other judicial or administrative authorities with responsibility for judicial cooperation in the Member States. Under the revised 2009 Council Decision, the involvement of Member States' professional legal associations in the Network is envisaged.
European Justice Network Website
The EJN's own website provides :
- information on the laws and legal procedures on various domestic legal topics in each Member State.
- the full text of relevant community instruments such as the regulations on serving documents in other Member States, taking of evidence, jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, the European Enforcement Order and the European Order for Payment.
- access to proposed legislation and details on consultation on possible future legislation, such as European Commission Green Papers.
A useful feature of the site is that the UK pages have separate sections for the UK's different legal jurisdictions, including Scotland.
Details of recent developments in relation to EU legislation in the area of civil, commercial and family law are regularly updated on the " What's New" section of the site.