Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the framework programme for judicial cooperation in civil matters (2002-2006) {SEC(2005)176}
Date: 2005-02-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: access to the courts, action programme, civil law, database, dissemination of information, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, project evaluation, public awareness campaign, report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 9.2.2005 
COM(2005) 34 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

ON THE implementation of the FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME FOR JUDICIAL 
COOPERATION IN CIVIL MATTERS (2002-2006) 

{SEC(2005)176} 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

1.1. 

1.2. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

3.5. 

3.6. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.3. 

4.4. 

4.5. 

4.6. 

5. 

6. 

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 3 

PURPOSE OF THE REPORT ..................................................................................... 3 

OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................ 3 

BACKGROUND.......................................................................................................... 4 

COMMISSION INITIATIVES.................................................................................... 4 

EUROPEAN JUDICIAL ATLAS................................................................................ 4 

CASE-LAW DATABASE........................................................................................... 4 

INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS ................................................................................. 5 

CONFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 5 

STUDIES ..................................................................................................................... 6 

PROSPECTS................................................................................................................ 6 

SPECIFIC PROJECTS ................................................................................................ 6 

PROGRAMME CYCLE.............................................................................................. 6 

GEOGRAPHICAL BREAKDOWN............................................................................ 7 

SUBJECT BREAKDOWN.......................................................................................... 7 

PUBLICATION OF RESULTS................................................................................... 8 

MONITORING AND SUPERVISION ....................................................................... 8 

GRANTS TO NGOs .................................................................................................... 8 

CONCLUSIONS: PROGRAMME IMPACT AND RESULTS.................................. 9 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

1.1. 

PURPOSE OF THE REPORT  

Article 15(1) of Regulation (EC) No 743/2002 establishing a general Community framework 
for  activities  to  facilitate  judicial  cooperation  in  civil  matters1  requires  the  Commission  to 
submit an interim report on the implementation of the programme to the European Parliament 
and to the Council. 

This  report  describes  progress  on  the  programme  since  its  adoption  in  April  2002  until  the 
30th  of  June  2004.  The  first  activities  financed  by  the  programme,  whether  Commission 
initiatives, specific co-financed projects or NGO schemes, began at the end of 2002, and only 
a  few  are  already  completed.  Consequently,  the  report  will  essentially  focus  on  the 
programme’s structure and management. 

1.2. 

OVERVIEW 

The programme has four objectives:  

–  to  promote  judicial  cooperation  in  civil  matters,  aiming  in  particular  at  ensuring  legal 
certainty  and  improving  access  to  justice,  promoting  mutual  recognition  of  judicial 
decisions  and  judgments,  and  promoting  the  necessary  approximation  of  legislation  or 
eliminating obstacles created by disparities in civil law and civil procedures; 

–  to  improve  mutual  knowledge  of  Member  States'  legal  and  judicial  systems  in  civil 

matters; 

–  to  ensure  the  sound  use  of  Community  instruments  in  the  area  of  judicial  cooperation  in 

civil matters; 

–  to improve information to the public on access to justice, judicial cooperation and the legal 

systems of the Member States in civil matters. 

To attain these objectives, the programme provides for three different types of activity:  

–  specific actions taken by the Commission, 

–  actions providing financial support for specific projects of Community interest (this second 
type of action essentially corresponds to the previous Grotius - civil programme 2001),2 

–  actions  providing  financial  support  for  the  activities  of  non-governmental  organisations 

(NGOs). 

With regard to the Commission actions, the programme has financed three major projects (the 
European  Judicial  Atlas,  a  case-law  database  and  an  information  campaign  targeting  legal 
practitioners) besides conferences and research. 

1 
2 

OJ L 115, 1.5.2002, p.1. 
OJ L 43, 14.02.2001, p.1. 

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With regard to specific projects, the first three calls for proposals received  106 applications 
for co-financing, of which 51 were accepted (17 per year). The programme has also provided 
support for the activities of two NGOs. 

Appropriations  for  commitments  entered  in  the  budget  (budget  heading 18 06 01 02)  for  the 
programme amounted to €3 000 000 in 2002 and 2003, and €3 750 000 in 2004. The budget 
for 2005 is also €3 750 000.  

2. 

BACKGROUND 

The current programme is a continuation of the former Grotius (1996 – 2000), Grotius civil 
(2001) and Schuman (1999 – 2001) programmes. 

Its  adoption  in  2002  reflected  the  Commission’s  desire  to  ensure  the  correct  application  of 
European law in the field of civil justice. The proper application of common rules necessary 
to  the  smooth  operation  of  the  internal  market  requires  them  to  be  known,  understood  and 
applied in the same way as national rules. 

3. 

COMMISSION INITIATIVES 

3.1. 

EUROPEAN JUDICIAL ATLAS 

which 

The  European  Judicial  Atlas  is  a  database  tool  available  in  all  the  official  European  Union 
languages 
at 
since  March 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/judicialatlascivil/html/index_en.htm. 
enables 
professionals  and  the  general  public  to  easily  identify  which  authorities  to  contact  and  is 
particularly useful for: 

2004 
It 

been 

line 

has 

on 

•  finding the competent courts, 

•  serving documents, 

•  taking evidence, 

•  enforcing judgments,  

•  other issues. 

The procedures involved will be made easier by giving users access to an internet tool based 
on forms that must be filled in for application of the different legal instruments.  

The  budget  for  this  initiative  is  €483 331  for  the  first  part  (creation)  and  €182 340  for  the 
second part (updating).  

3.2. 

CASE-LAW DATABASE  

line 

A database designed to collate judgments and decisions delivered by Member States will be 
on 
I 
Regulation” (Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  44/2001  on  jurisdiction  and  the  recognition  and 
enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters), the Brussels Convention of 1968, 

in  2005.  The  database 

the  application  of 

the  “Brussels 

relates 

to 

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the  Lugano  Convention  of  1988  and  the  “Brussels II  Regulation”  (Council  Regulation  (EC) 
No 2201/2003, which entered into force on 1 March 2003, repealing the previous “Brussels II 
Regulation”).  

Analysis  of  the  data  collected  will  help  evaluate  the  performance  of  these  instruments.  The 
database  will  also  contribute  to  the  uniform  implementation  of  Community  legislation  by 
national courts. 

It was launched at the start of 2002 and its scope was extended to the Brussels II Regulation 
in 2004. 

The  budget  for  this  initiative  is  €204 725  for  the  first  part  (creation)  and  a  maximum  of 
€1 000 000 over four years for the second part (preparation of files). 

3.3. 

INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS 

At its meeting in Tampere in October 1999, the European Council called on the Commission 
to  launch  an  information  campaign  designed  to  make  legal  practitioners  aware  of  judicial 
cooperation in civil matters in the European Community. Launched at the start of 2002, the 
campaign got underway in May 2004. 

It includes the following initiatives: 

•  publication and distribution to practitioners of a pocket guide on Community instruments 

in the field of judicial cooperation in civil law, 

•  creation of a web portal accessible during the campaign at http://www.eurocivil.info, 

•  advertisements in the specialist press, 

•  media relations, 

•  promotion of conferences on civil justice in the Member States. 

The budget for this initiative is €829 733. 

A new information campaign aimed at legal practitioners in the new Member States will open 
in March 2005. The planned budget is €400 000. 

3.4. 

CONFERENCES 

The programme has funded the following conferences: 

–  “Towards Better Access to Justice”, jointly organised by the Commission and the Council 
of Europe and attended by some 200 people in Brussels in October 2002. The budget was 
€100 000.  

–  A conference on family law at Lecco, jointly organised with the Italian Presidency of the 

Council in October 2003. The budget was €200 000. 

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3.5. 

STUDIES 

The programme has also financed different studies: 

–  Comparative  study  on  the  recovery  of  maintenance  claims  in  the  Member  States  (study 

completed in November 2003). The budget was €68 800.  

–  Study on compensation to victims (ongoing). The budget provided for is €89 510. 

3.6. 

PROSPECTS 

–  A  multilateral  conference,  organised  in  collaboration  with the Council of  Europe  on best 

practices in civil proceedings in Europe, took place in October 2004.  

–  Study on the impact of EC legislation on insolvency.  

–  Feasibility study on the creation of a structure/network for increasing European research on 
international private law, civil law and civil procedure from a Community perspective.  

–  Launch  of  several  new  information  campaigns  on  judicial  cooperation  in  civil  matters 

chiefly intended to inform the general public about how to exercise their rights. 

–  The European Day of Civil Justice will be used to increase the impact of these campaigns. 
A  focus  on  the  issue  of  parental  child  abduction  will  strengthen  the  dissuasive  effect  of 
Brussels II, which aims to prevent this phenomenon.  

–  A joint conference will be held with the Hague Conference on Private International Law on 

the recovery of maintenance claims at European and world level.  

–  Launch of an evaluation study on the implementation of the Brussels I Regulation.  

–  To reinforce the creation of a European area of justice, exploratory studies on civil judicial 
cooperation will be undertaken to throw light on existing barriers to the four freedoms of 
the  internal  market  and  the  effective  exercise  by  citizens  and  businesses  of  the  rights 
conferred on them by Community legislation. 

4. 

SPECIFIC PROJECTS 

4.1. 

PROGRAMME CYCLE 

The  programme  cycle  follows  a  fixed  timeframe,  at  least  with  regard  to  "specific  projects", 
which  run  for  three  years.  In  the  first  year  the  cycle  begins  with  an  annual  work  schedule, 
followed  by  a  call  for  proposals,  project  selection,  contract  signing  and  initial  payments. 
Execution takes place in the second year. After 12 months of activity project leaders have 3 
more months to present the final report and accounts.  

SELECTED PROJECTS 

–  NUMBER 

17 projects were selected each year, viz 51 projects over the lifetime of the programme. The 
number  of  proposals  is  declining  not  only  year  by  year  but  also  in  comparison  to  previous 
programmes such as Grotius, Grotius civil and Schuman.  

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–  OBJECTIVES 

The  vast  majority  of  the  projects  selected  focus  primarily  on  two  of  the  four  objectives 
pursued  by  the  programme,  namely  “promoting  judicial  cooperation  in  civil  matters"  and 
“ensuring the sound use of Community instruments in the area of judicial cooperation in civil 
works’ matters”.  

–  PROJECT TYPE 

Most initiatives consist of one of the following types of activities, or a combination of two or 
more:   

–  studies and research 

–  training 

–  placements and exchanges 

–  conferences, seminars and meetings 

–  publications (written or internet sites) 

4.3. 

GEOGRAPHICAL BREAKDOWN 

The table in Annex 3 shows that organisations from 6 Member States (BE, DE, ES, FR, IT, 
UK) submitted 88% of the proposals and were awarded 90% of the projects. This trend had 
already been observed during previous programmes. 

A  more  detailed  analysis  shows  that  in  2004  27  proposals  for  specific  initiatives  were 
received  from  16  organisations  based  in  5  Member  States.  This  contrasts  with  35 proposals 
from 34 organisations in 9 Member States in 2003 and 44 proposals from 36 organisations in 
11  Member  States  and  a  third  country  (Switzerland)  in  2002.  Thus,  there  is  a  decrease  not 
only in the number of countries represented but also in the number of proposals and above all 
of candidates. 

But the temptation to give a “nationality” to the projects should be avoided because they are 
frequently  proposed  by  organisations  operating  internationally  and  involving  different 
countries. 

Consequently  in  2004,  although  project  leaders  came  from  only  five  Member  States,  seven 
others (AT, DK, FI, NL, PT, SE, UK) as well as three accession countries (HU, LV, PL), one 
candidate  country  (RO)  and  one  third  country  (US)  were  “concerned”  in  terms  of  the  work 
programme by one or more of the proposals. 

4.4. 

SUBJECT BREAKDOWN 

The statistics on the breakdown of co-financed projects by civil law subject area are not very 
meaningful because many projects not only cover several themes and Community instruments 
at  the  same  time  but  also  embrace  judicial  cooperation  in  general,  and  many  should  be 
classified under “other”. 

The  complete  list  of  specific  projects  selected  in  2002,  2003  and  2004  can  be  found  in 
Annex 4. 

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4.5. 

PUBLICATION OF RESULTS 

The  attention  given  to  publishing  the  results  of  co-financed  activities  is  one  of  the  main 
innovations of this programme when compared to its predecessors.  

The  main  ways  of  disseminating  the  results  of  the  initiatives  are  as  follows:  sending  or 
distributing  the  record  of  proceedings  to  conference  participants,  sending  or  distributing  the 
record  of  proceedings  to  conference  participants  and  to  third  parties,  on-line  publication  of 
results and/or expert reports on internet sites which can be accessed by the general public, or 
publication of books and brochures. 

The results of initiatives are generally published on the web to ensure widespread circulation. 
This  is  particularly  true  of  conference-based  projects.  Moreover,  in  the  case  of  training 
seminars  there  is  also  a  multiplier  effect  in  that  participants  can  share  experience  and 
knowledge gained during training with their colleagues. 

4.6.  MONITORING AND SUPERVISION 

Project supervision is carried out at several stages: 

During  the  selection  process,  the  Commission’s  financial  services  verify  that  budgets  are 
eligible  and  correctly  presented.  Failing  this,  project  leaders  are  contacted  so  that  they  can 
correct  errors,  and  grant  agreements  are  concluded  only  when  all  the  budgetary  conditions 
have been met. 

During  the  project  execution  stage,  Commission  officials  frequently  participate  in  activities 
such as conferences and seminars. That said there is no provision for interim reports or visits 
from experts. 

At  the  end  of  the  project,  payment  of  the  balance  is  made  only  after  the  Commission  has 
approved the final report, as regards both matters of substance and finance. 

Documentary evidence such as invoices, supplied with the report, is examined by the financial 
services on a sample basis.  

5. 

GRANTS TO NGOS 

Financial  support  may  be  granted  to  fund  activities  included  in  the  annual  programmes  of 
non-governmental organisations.  

Participation  in  this  part  of  the  framework  programme  is  low,  with  only  5  applications  for 
co-financing submitted in 2 years, of which 3 were accepted. Two associations have received 
grants in this way: 

–  PEOPIL  (Pan-European  Organisation  of  Personal  Injury  Lawyers)  in  2003  and 
2004;  its  objectives  are  to  develop  cooperation  and  liaison  between  lawyers 
dealing with personal injury claims in Europe and to promote access to justice for 
citizens who have personal injury claims. 

–  CEFL  (Commission  on  European  Family  Law)  in  2004 ;  its  goal  is  to  establish 

principles in the area of family law with a view to future harmonisation. 

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6. 

CONCLUSIONS: PROGRAMME IMPACT AND RESULTS 

The  framework  programme  came  into  being  little  more  than  two  years  ago  and  few  of  the 
initiatives  that  have  benefited  from  financing  are  completed.  It  is  still  too  early  to  make  an 
in-depth  analysis  of  the  programme’s  impact  and  results.  This  will  be  the  objective  of  an 
assessment to be made next year with a view to renewal of the programme; the results will be 
communicated to Parliament and the Council.  

The principal Commission actions already underway seek to inform legal practitioners and the 
general public about recent developments in European law on civil matters - which is in the 
throes  of  major  change  -  using  a  range  of  different  but  complementary  methods.  Particular 
emphasis  is  put  on  practical  and  relevant  information  that  can  be  accessed  using  modern 
communication technologies. 

The  project  selection  for  2002,  2003  and  2004  shows  that  there  is  keen  interest  in  projects 
meeting current priorities in the area of civil law. Although the first three calls for proposals 
received only a limited number of applications (106 proposals, of which 51 were accepted), it 
was still possible to choose interesting projects designed to familiarise legal practitioners with 
new  Community  instruments  and  allow  them  to  meet  and  exchange  views.  The  virtual 
absence  of  projects  providing  for  the  exchange  of  judges  or  for  information  initiatives  is 
unfortunate.  

With  its  more  limited  share  of  the  budget,  the  co-financing  of  NGOs  attracted  very  few 
applications for the first two years.  

In conclusion, the programme has had an auspicious start; it already plays a crucial role in the 
Commission’s civil justice policy and contributes significantly to the practical administration 
of Community instruments. 

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