REGULATION (EC) NO 44/2001

Regulation (EC) No 44/2001

Regulation (EC) No 44/2001

Introduction

As stated by recent news on the European Judicial Network (EJN) website, a final version of the text of the new Lugano Convention on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters was agreed upon at a diplomatic conference held in Brussels on 28 March 2007 by the EC, Denmark and the three EFTA States which are party to the old Lugano convention (Switzerland, Norway and Iceland).

The definitive text of the Convention, resulting from the final round of negotiations, has not been made available on the EJN website yet: a final draft in English (as initialed by the Contracting Parties) is available on the website of the Swiss Federal Office of Justice, where a summary of the negotiation history is provided, including the several delays that the revision process has incurred (www.highbeam.com):

At the end of April 1999, an EU-EFTA working group completed a draft of the substantive part of the revision of the Lugano and Brussels Conventions. Shortly afterwards, in May 1999, the Treaty of Amsterdam came into force for the EU member states. This treaty provides the basis for EC competence in civil justice cooperation (www.eur-lex.europa.eu). The revised text of the new agreement was consequently moulded into an EC regulation known as the Brussels I Regulation, without having any substantive effect on the outcome of the negotiations. [...]

The formal revision of the Convention was delayed for several reasons: firstly, there was a difference in interpretation of the paragraph on consumers by the Internet providers and consumers. This question had to be resolved before the Brussels I Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001) was passed on 22 December 2000 (entry into force 1 March 2002). The Lugano negotiations were further delayed because a separate instrument had to be negotiated with Denmark, which under the EC Treaty is not a party to the EC-driven integration of police and judicial affairs (www.jmlc.org).

Status of the revision

At the end of April 1999, an EU-EFTA working group completed a draft of the substantive part of the revision of the Lugano and Brussels Conventions. Shortly afterwards, in May 1999, the Treaty of Amsterdam came into force for the EU member states. This treaty provides the basis for EC competence in civil justice cooperation. The revised text of the new agreement was consequently moulded into an EC regulation known as the Brussels I Regulation, without having any substantive effect on the outcome of the negotiations. The second, formal part of the revision concerns essentially the transitional provisions, the relationship between the Lugano Convention and the Brussels Convention and other agreements, jurisdiction and appeals procedures, as well as ratification and membership procedures. The formal revision of the Convention was delayed for several reasons: firstly, there was a difference in interpretation of the paragraph on consumers by the Internet providers and consumers (www.highbeam.com).

The Swiss Ratification and Implementation Act was adopted by the parliament on 11 December ...