CELEX: 51986PC0610
Language: en
Date: 1986-11-13
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION RELATING TO RATIFICATION BY MEMBER STATES OF THE CONVENTION OF 25 OCTOBER 1980 DESIGNED TO FACILITATE INTERNATIONAL ACCESS TO THE COURTS

13.12. 86                            Official Journal of the European Communities                               N o C 320/9
                                               COMMISSION
             Proposal for a Council recommendation relating to ratification by Member States of the
                  Convention of 25 October 1980 designed to facilitate international access to the courts
                                                    COM(86) 610 final
                           (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 24 November 1986)
                                                      (86/C 320/09)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                         civil and commercial proceedings on the same conditions
                                                                 as if they were themselves nationals of that State;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235                Whereas at present only four Member States of the
thereof,                                                         Community have signed the Convention and only one
                                                                 has ratified it;
Having regard to the proposal of the Commission,
                                                                 Whereas signature and ratification of the Hague
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-                Convention by all the Member States is the best way of
liament,                                                         obtaining for Community nationals equal access to the
                                                                 courts, where such equal access is not already
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                 guaranteed by existing Community law;
Social Committee,
                                                                 Whereas equal access to the courts would encourage
Whereas in its resolution of 10 April 1984 on a                  intra-Community tourism, which is of importance for the
Community policy on tourism the Council emphasizes               economies of the Member States;
the need for the tourism dimension to be taken more
fully into account in the Community's decision-making            Whereas this action comes within the scope of the aims
process;                                                         of the 'people's Europe' called for at the European
                                                                 Councils held in June 1984 and March 1985; whereas
Whereas, to facilitate tourism in the Community, steps           legal aid for all nationals of the Member States in
must be taken to do away gradually with all the obstacles        dealings with the civil and commercial courts of another
— particularly administrative and legal ones — which             Member State on the same conditions as nationals of
stand in the way of the free movement of persons within          that Member State would give citizens of the Member
the Community;                                                   States the feeling of belonging to a Community;
Whereas one of these obstacles is the fact that a national       Whereas the Treaty does not provide specific powers for
of a Member State is not always entitled to legal aid in         the purpose;
another Member State on the same conditions as the
nationals of that Member State;                                  RECOMMENDS:
Whereas the Hague Convention designed to facilitate              that those Member States which have not yet done so
international access to the courts, concluded on 25              sign, and ratify the Hague Convention designed to faci-
October 1980, provides for extension to nationals of the         litate international access to the courts, concluded on 25
other contracting States of entitlement to legal aid in          October 1980.