On Thursday 31 May, the European Commission unveiled new measures to improve cross-border judicial cooperation in civil cases and adapt existing mechanisms to new digital techniques.
To this end, the Commission is proposing several targeted amendments to the regulation on the reporting of civil or commercial judicial acts and the regulation on the co-operation involved in taking evidence.
One major change involves making it is obligatory for the courts to exchange documents electronically cross-border through “a decentralised computer system consisting of national information technology systems that are linked up through a safe and reliable communications infrastructure”. The proposal does, however, include the possibility of using more traditional communication resources in the event of “unexpected and exceptional disruptions” to the computer systems.
In addition to speeding up procedures, the Commission considers that shifting communications from paper-based channels to electronic could save up to approximately €30 to 78 million per year across the entire EU.
The text also requests that member states provide assistance for locating the place where a recipient can be found in another member state. To this end, the Commission is proposing three different options: judicial assistance through an intermediary appointed by member states; access to public address registers by way of the e-justice portal; provision of detailed information about tools available for locating people on their territory through the e-justice portal. Every member state will be obliged to inform the Commission about which of the three options it will be proposing in the regulation.
It should be pointed out that the proposal also improves certain procedural rights of the different parties, such as the right of the recipient to refuse a judicial act if it is not drafted or translated into their language.
With regard to taking evidence, the Commission would like to promote the hearing of witnesses through videoconferencing. This would help make savings because on average videoconferencing costs €100 while the cost of a physical hearing is between €400 and €800.
The text also explains that the digital evidence taken in a member state cannot be refused as evidence in another member state on the exclusive grounds of its digital character and also includes measures to facilitate the taking of evidence by diplomatic or consular agents. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)