The members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) in turn discussed, on Thursday 14 January, the agreement on future relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom (see EUROPE 12628/6) with the members of the European Commission’s working group.
It was, above all, the major absences from the agreement, namely the provisions on cooperation in civil justice matters and in particular on family law, that occupied the discussions.
“In the field of civil judicial cooperation, the political declaration and the mandate for the negotiations confirmed that the existing international family instruments to which the EU and UK are parties will provide the appropriate framework for future cooperation”, said Sabine Tuerck, member of the working group.
The Hague Conventions provide “an appropriate alternative framework for cooperation”, she said, as they are very similar to European regulations. The United Kingdom is already party to many international conventions, such as the1998 Child Abduction Convention and 1996 Child Protection Convention
On 28 September 2020, the country also deposited its instrument of accession to the 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention and the 2007 Hague Maintenance Convention, which took effect for the United Kingdom on 1 January 2021. Until now, the United Kingdom has been a party to these conventions because of its status as an EU Member State.
Asked by MEP Sergey Lagodinsky (Greens/EFA, Germany) about a possible UK accession to the 2007 Lugano Convention, which goes further in terms of cooperation than the Hague Conventions, Ms Tuerck confirmed that the UK's request was under consideration.
“This requires careful analysis of pros and cons of the application, as it is linked to the wider framework of relations with the UK”, she said. Furthermore, according to her, for the Protocole 2 of the Lugano Convention, the UK accession would require a commitment from the UK to comply with case law of the Court of Justice of the EU.
Sabine Tuerck also assured the MEPs that under the withdrawal agreement, community law continues to apply to all civil legal proceedings that were pending on 31 December 2020. For proceedings commenced on or after 1 January, recognition and enforcement may still be provided either by the relevant international conventions or by the national rules of the Member States and the United Kingdom in which recognition and enforcement is sought.
“For the citizens, the field of family law is the key area of cooperation. If both EU and UK deem it useful there is a pace for enhanced judicial cooperation in the field of family law with the UK”, concluded the EU official.
The European Judicial Network on Civil and Commercial Matters is entitled to invite non-Member States to attend its meetings as observers. This option would allow to invite the UK to meetings in the interest of citizens to discuss practical cooperation and cases in the field of civil matters, she said. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)