Brussels News June 2008
House of Lords Inquiry On The Initiation Of EU Legislation
The Bar Council European Committee has given evidence to the House of Lords Sub-Committee E's Spring 2008 inquiry on where ideas for EU legislation come from. For more details, see: http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/lords_s_comm_e.cfm
Justice Forum
The Commission has created a new consultative body, the "Justice Forum", bringing together practitioners and the judiciary to advise the Commission on its legislative strategy in the justice field. The inaugural meeting took place in Brussels on 30 May, with a senior member of the Bar there as part of the Council of the Bar and Law Societies of Europe ("CCBE") delegation.
E-Justice
Responding to calls from the Council, in June the Commission is expected to issue a Communication on e-justice, setting out plans to harness new technology in the field of judicial cooperation, including the possible use of IT for communications between judicial authorities and interested parties, and in the context of specific procedures.
European Contract Law – Common Frame of Reference
The Council has set narrow parameters for the Commission's future work on European Contract law and the common frame of reference (CFR). The eventual CFR instrument should be "a set of guidelines to be used by lawmakers at Community level on a voluntary basis" for use in drawing up new legislation or reviewing existing. The European Parliament may continue to call for a more ambitious instrument, but it too has become
more realistic than before.
Rome I – Applicable Law in Contracts
HMG is currently consulting on whether or not the UK should opt-in to the soon-to-be adopted Rome I regulation, which provides rules to determine which law applies to cross-border contracts. The Bar is responding. With or without the UK, the regulation will soon be adopted in Council, and enter into force around the beginning of 2010.
Family Rome III – Jurisdiction and Applicable Law in Matrimonial Matters
Agreement on this July 2006 proposal for a regulation on jurisdiction and applicable law in divorce looks next to impossible. It is expected that either the applicable law provisions will have to be dropped or dealt with separately, or a smaller group of Member States will proceed with the instrument as currently drafted. The June Justice Council may clarify this, but no political agreement is expected.
Family – Jurisdiction and Applicable Law on Maintenance Obligations
It looks increasingly likely that, to secure agreement, the draft regulation on Maintenance obligations will have to either draw inspiration from the 2007 Hague Convention in its treatment of applicable law, or be limited in its scope to claims for maintenance for children.
Family – Conflict of Laws Concerning Matrimonial Property Regimes
A senior member of the Family Law Bar Association should be on the Commission's new experts' panel advising it on future legislative proposals on the property consequences of marriage and other forms of union. Plans to issue a proposal in 2008 have been delayed until after the European Parliament elections in 2009.
Wills & Succession – Jurisdiction, Enforcement and Applicable Law
The Commission has postponed its plans to issue a legislative proposal to Spring 2009.
Improving the Transparency of Debtors’ Assets
In March the Commission adopted this Green paper seeking to identify possible measures at a European level to improve the transparency of debtors' assets whilst respecting the debtor's privacy. The deadline for responses is 30 September 2008. The Bar is considering it. See: http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/news/consulting_public/news_consulting_public_en.htm
Mediation in Civil and Commercial Matters
By the time of reading, the Council should have finally adopted this directive. As I write, the best available text is that of Council Common Position of 28 February. See: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/07/st15/st15003-re05.en07.pdf
Environmental Crime and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters
Adoption this year of the 2007 proposal for a directive on the protection of the environment through the criminal law remains likely. A senior member of the Bar is to speak at the Commission's conference on "Access to Justice in environmental matters" in Brussels on 2 June 2008
Crime – Enhancing Procedural Rights in Trials “In Absentia”
Council negotiations have run into difficulties on this January 2008 joint Member State proposal on rights and procedures in respect of judicial decisions rendered in the absence of their subject. Some Member States refuse to lower their standards, whereas others refuse to raise them.
Fight Against Terrorism – New Preparatory Offences
Agreement is imminent on this November 2007 proposal for a Council Framework Decision ("FD") amending and updating FD 2002/475/JHA on combating terrorism. The key change is the inclusion of three categories of preparatory offences.
Competition – White Paper on Antritrust Damages
In April the European Commission published this long-awaited White Paper, which suggests a new model for achieving compensation for consumers and businesses that are victims of antitrust violations. The deadline for comments is 15 July 2008. The Bar will respond. See:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0165:FIN:EN:PDF
Simplification of the Business Environment in Company Law
The European Parliament is calling for concrete simplification measures in the field of company law. See: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+REPORT+A6-2008-0101+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN
European Private Company Statue
Following its successful public consultation of 2007/8, the Commission is expected to have ready the text of a possible legislative proposal by the summer.
Community Patent – Revival Under the French Presidency?
It seems that the French Presidency, which takes over from the Slovenians on 1 July, is planning another attempt at agreement on an EU patent jurisdiction.
Transparency Initiative
The European Parliament formally supports plans for a one-stop shop register of lobbyists of the EU institutions, including a code of conduct, but excluding from the definition of lobbyist, lawyers when giving legal advice. The Legal Profession will press to have this important exclusion reflected in the future instrument creating the register and code.
