Enforcement Agency Practice in Europe

Members of the Institute can access the full report for this project by clicking here.

In 2003 the Institute received a grant from the Commission of the European Communities to study Enforcement Agency Practice in Europe. The European Council's long-term goal, which resulted from the Tampere Summit in 1999, is to create an area of free 'movement' of judgments in the same way that there is free movement of goods, persons, services and capital within the EU. Just as the free movement of goods has required the harmonization of standards relating to the manufacture and distribution of goods, the free movement of judgments will require the harmonization of procedural standards and the creation of new interfaces between systems. The result should be lower transaction costs for businesses and consumers, and more confidence that agreements will be honoured.

The differences between the systems of civil procedure in the European Member States are deep-seated and relate in particular to different approaches to judicial organization. These approaches are underpinned by different policies and expectations. The development of appropriate rules for the European Judicial Area (EJA) is, therefore, a complex task. Misunderstandings are commonplace and inhibit the design of suitable interfaces and the removal of obstacles to judicial cooperation. Practitioners typically do not have the time or the incentive to explore the reasons for the difficulties they face in cross-border disputes. Policy makers lack input from practitioners into the policy-making process. It is therefore essential that a framework be created within which detailed comparative information can be provided on subjects that are of interest to policy makers so that structural differences can be properly taken into account.

The project therefore examines in depth the structure, status and procedures of selected Member States' enforcement agencies and the implications for individuals and companies in seeking to enforce a judgment in the EJA. The project is part of a more ambitious programme. It constitutes the starting point of a long-running and fruitful experience that will make a substantial contribution to the development of the EJA.

The European Research Interchange (ERI)

The participants in the ERI have worked closely together sharing information and research outcomes, co-operating closely with one another with the view to establishing a European Area of Freedom and Justice. The participants in the project were Dr Mads Andenas and Hugo Warner from the British Institute, Professors Burkhard Hess, Tübingen; Ton Jongbloed, Utrecht; Paul Oberhammer, Vienna; Juan Pablo Correa Delcasso, Barcelona; Marie-Laure Niboyet, Paris-Nanterre; Torbjorn Andersson, Uppsala.

External revision was provided by Professor Dr Peter Schlosser, University of Munich, author of the 'Schlosser Report' (on the 1st Treaty on Accession to the European Treaty on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judicial Decisions, OJ C 71, 1979) and Dr Wendy Kennett, University of Cardiff, an expert on enforcement issues.

Project Publication

The associated publication Enforcement Agency Practice in Europe was published in May 2005. This book examines the structure, status and procedures of enforcement agencies in Europe and the implications for individuals and companies in seeking to enforce a judgment in the European Judicial Area.